Paul McCartney meets Micky Dolenz, from the Monkees

Yesterday’s other Summit Meeting… a Monkee and his god

A MONKEE met his god yesterday. It was a pop summit meeting between the group’s 21-year-old drummer Micky Dolenz and Beatle Paul McCartney. Micky said after flying into London on Monday: “I haven’t met the Beatles and, frankly, I don’t want to. If I met one it would be like meeting God. I wouldn’t know what to do or how I’d feel.“

Less than twenty-four hours later, I went with Micky to Paul’s home in St. John’s Wood. Paul, Emperor of pop, greeted his disciple royally.

The emperor and the new young noble shook hands, and Paul said: “It’s good to see you. Come on in.“

Micky — his group’s “I’m a Believer” disc is top of the pops — whispered to me: “Golly, I never thought I would meet one of the Beatles like this. He is a hell of a guy.” And later yesterday Micky told what it was like to meet a Beatle. “I felt really scared at the gate,” he admitted, “but Paul certainly gave me a tremendous welcome. I was sitting back within a few seconds with a drink in my hand and chatting away as though we had known each other for years. Paul is real groovy. So is his new moustache. I thought that one day I might grow one like it. All of us dig the Beatles although we’ve never set out to copy them. For us and everyone they are the greatest and always will be. But we had to start somewhere and other things do happen.“

Micky went on: “Paul told me he liked our music a lot and it was a nice tribute. He also told me he watched our television show and he thought it was good.“

And what did Paul say of the Monkee? “He’s up on the scene,” said Paul, “and he doesn’t miss a word you say. You can see why Monkee fans dig him. And I’m sure now the Monkees are going to live up to a lot of things many people didn’t expect.“

Maybe the Monkees will be as big as the Beatles one day. Then they could share top billing. Or even amalgamate, calling themselves the Animals… Or perhaps that’s been done already.

From The Daily Mirror – February 8, 1967

GREAT FRIENDS

The Beatles got on famously with Monkees Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones, when they visited this country during February. Paul was first off by inviting Micky, and road-manager Ric Klein, over to his St. John’s Wood home as soon as they arrived. Many of you will have seen the photo, which appeared in the “Daily Mirror” the next morning, of Micky and Paul sitting in front of “Solo” in Paul’s music room. John, also, lent the boys his Rolls Royce when they had trouble with their car. And, of course, the Monkees went to that special recording, when Paul conducted a large orchestra.

From The Beatles Monthly Book – March 1967

The Monkees Meet The Beatles

Micky Monkee meets Paul McCartney!

That was the exciting pop surprise which happened at Paul’s St. John Wood’s home when Micky visited London.

Micky had once said that “meeting a Beatle would be rather like seeing God!” But he had an entirely different impression after coming away from his chat with Paul (which he relayed to me during a quick flip in and out of a London TV studio).

“Paul turned out to be a tremendously real and likeable person,” he said. “He said that he watched and enjoyed our TV show and that he liked our records. That I think is a tremendous tribute. I expected to be overawed by him—but he’s such a relaxed friendly person that I felt completely at ease.

“The Beatles have always been revered by us as a group and there isn’t a person on the pop scene who has not been influenced by them but that does not mean we have tried to imitate them on film. Our humor is based upon the type of comedy the Marx Brothers had in their early films.

“Paul is a beautiful guy—his moustache knocked me out—I may grow one like that some day and he wore the most fantastic tie. He asked me if I wanted to drink and I had an orange juice.

“Originally the whole thing was set up as a publicity thing and although I didn’t dig that idea much I was really pleased that it worked out so well and that we seemed to get on well together.

“Most of the evening we sat around talking about just everything and he played me “Penny Lane” and some of the tracks off the new LP like “When I Was ’64” which is fantastic old jazz type number.”

Paul, ever the Beatles diplomat, had obviously completely won over Mickey [sic] and any skeptical opinions he might have had were completely eliminated.

“Micky knows what its [sic] all about,” says Paul, “I fully expect the Monkees to go from strength to strength. This is no here today and gone tomorrow group. The Monkees are going to surprise everyone.”

The little resentment which still exists in British pop circles over the Monkees taking over from English groups seems to be dying and it is quite certain that the cordial meeting Paul and Micky have helped put millions of minds at rest.

Paul once said to me: “When you are young and you are new and you are a big attraction it is inevitable that comparisons will be made between you and established artists—no matter how original you are but eventually, if you have talent, the individuals come through.”

Paul was then talking about the Beatles but he might well have been referring to the Monkees.

Paul knows that as the Monkees today are being compared to the Beatles, one day another group will be compared to the Monkees.

And, in their short surprise meeting, Paul gave Micky an idea of what that day will be like.