Thoughts On Davy Jones–in which I make no apology for getting sentimental.

It’s been just over a week since Davy Jones passed away, and it still feels slightly unreal.

My Monkees fandom predates my Beatles fandom. Saturdays and school holidays were spent watching the antics of these four wacky musicians on their TV show and singing along to the songs. Even when I moved on to other music, they lurked in the background and when I first got online in the 90s, I sought out information on the Monkees and found this amazing community of fans who not only welcomed me as a fan but also taught me the etiquette of the internet back in those days. (It’s all changed now and sadly not always for the better.)

Over time, I gradually moved away from fandoms en masse. Experience jaded me somewhat, and as I retreated, the collateral damage was moving away from the Monkees list and losing touch with some of the people there. It has taken losing a Monkee to seek out and rekindle those relationships via social media.

It seems alien for there not to be a full set of Monkees out there. The loss hits home at random moments, and I remember Davy’s not here any more. I still go through something similar with the loss of George Harrison. That may have been over ten years ago now but when events come along that he used to attend to almost expect to see him there, and have to remind yourself he’s not on this earthly plane any longer.

The empty feeling will linger, but already, happier thoughts are diminishing the sadness. My lovely “cyber family” grew from Monkee fandom, and they have been a constant source of love, understanding and support. The music is meant for pleasure, not sadness and therefore will always make me smile. I took a step back from the music for a short time as I made the mistake of thinking it was attached to what turned out to be a very negative time for me, but I was wrong to do that. There’s nothing negative there, just good clean fun! (See what I did there?)

So after some tears, it is time to practice what I preach to others all the time – don’t dwell on the loss, celebrate the life and all that that life brought to the world.

Here’s to the Lancashire Midget Greenie!