Micky Dolenz: It's my job to keep The Monkees' legacy alive

Micky Dolenz believes it's his "job" to "uphold the legacy" of The Monkees as the last surviving member of the band.

The 78-year-old drummer-and-singer found global fame on '60s TV series 'The Monkees' which showed four young men - Micky, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith - trying to make it as a rock 'n' roll group. It was inspired by The Beatles film 'A Hard Day's Night' and was a huge hit, also becoming popular again in the 1980s when it was repeated.

Micky is about to embark on a 25-date North America tour which kicks off on April 1 in Orlando, Florida, on which he will be playing the band's greatest hits, which include, 'Daydream Believer', 'Last Train to Clarksville' and 'I’m a Believer', as well as the 1967 album 'Headquarters' in full, and he insists it is his job to keep The Monkees' music alive.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said: "I’m not necessarily a spiritual person, but I am a philosophic person.

“It’s sort of a ‘Why me?’ to the universe... It’ll remain unanswered. But I am trying to uphold the legacy. It’s also my job.

"It is weird being the last man standing.

“We’ll open with some of the big hits, people love that, and then do 'Headquarters', and then end with some of the big hits.”

Micky admits he will miss his bandmate Michael - who died aged 78 in 2021, a month after the pair had headed out on the road - because he played such an integral role in creating the show he'll soon be touring.

He added: "I wish Nesmith would have been around long enough to [be on the new tour performing] this album, which he was so responsible for putting together.

“We were all obviously supporting him... It was so apparent he had health issues.

“He had them for a few years. We were getting more and more worried. He was not forced in any way, obviously. At times, I was like, ‘Nez, are you sure you want to do this? Let’s take some time off’. ‘No! I’m going to get through it’. Looking back, I think he saw the writing on the wall.

“He was a very private person. He didn’t talk about it. Every once in a while he made a joke about it to me, but I was about the only one he’d even talk to about this.”