Davy Jones, lead singer of The Monkees, has died suddenly at the age of 66.
The frontman, who lent his voice to the band’s most enduring hits, died in his sleep from a massive heart attack in his Florida home, his publicist has confirmed.
“The pop world at that time loved The Beatles and that north-western English sound was something that America wanted, when they put together the so-called Pre-Fab Four,” broadcaster Paul Gambaccini has said of the group’s origins.
“There had been individual teen idols who had been literally picked up off the street and groomed to be popstar, but there had never been a band that was put together, and they were assembled because the two producers had liked A Hard Day’s Night, the Beatles’ movie.”
Despite being one of the first manufactured pop acts, The Monkees never-the-less released a string of singles in the grandest tradition of the Sixties era, and achieved cross-Atlantic hits with tracks such as ‘Daydream Believer‘, ‘Last Train To Clarksville‘ and ‘I’m a Believer‘.