He gained international fame with the 1960s American pop phenomenon, The Monkees, but Davy Jones began his career as a child actor in the north of England. He was only 11 when he got a part in the long-running English TV soap Coronation Street and also appeared in another popular TV series Z-Cars but, a slight figure, he decided at the age of 14 to give up acting to pursue a career as a racing jockey. That all changed when he was offered the role of the Artful Dodger in a London production of the musical Oliver! In 1964 he appeared on the Ed Sullivan TV show in New York and seeing The Beatles on the same show convinced him to try his hand at singing, a move that led to more American TV appearances and the release of his first solo album David Jones at the age of 19. His big break came in 1966 when he was recruited to join The Monkees, a pop group formed specifically for a wacky TV series aimed at the teen market. Pitched into a manufactured group with Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith, the TV series was a runaway success and The Monkees became a real act, releasing records and becoming one of the world's most successful groups on the back of it. Jones took lead vocals on some of their hits, including Daydream Believer and I Wanna Be Free. When The Monkees split in 1971, he formed Dolenz, Jones, Boyce And Hart - Jones and Dolenz joining forces with Monkees songwriters Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. It wasn't successful and Jones disappeared from view but reunited with The Monkees (minus Mike Nesmith) in 1986 on a promotional tour and album Pool It marking their 20th anniversary. They split a couple of years later but reunited again in 1996, releasing a new studio album Justus, this time including Nesmith. Outside of The Monkees, Jones recorded another solo album Davy Jones in 1971 and also had various acting roles and sang Daydream Believer in Sabrina The Teenage Witch. He also appeared in various productions of Oliver and in 2001 released an album of self-written songs, Just Me and in 2009 made his last recording with a series of classic songs, She. Living in Florida tending horses, he had a heart attack and died early in 2012.
