Davy Jones, the British lead singer of The Monkees, has died aged 66.
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Davy Jones at the Royal Albert Hall in May 2011 Photo: REX
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The Monkees were a manufactured band put together in 1965 for a television series as an American alternative to the Beatles Photo: GETTY
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He was reportedly admitted after complaining of chest pains at home the previous evening Photo: REX
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Davy Jones, lead singer of the sixties rock band The Monkees, performs at the Newcastle Arena in this March 7, 1997 Photo: REUTERS
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The Monkees , Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Michael Nesmith Photo: REX
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
6:51PM GMT 29 Feb 2012
Jones died in Martin County, Florida, after suffering a heart attack, according to the local medical examiner’s office.
He was reportedly admitted to the Martin Memorial Hospital after complaining of chest pains at home the previous evening.
Baby-faced Jones was the lead singer of the 1960s made-for-television band, whose string of hits included Daydream Believer, I’m a Believer and Last Train to Clarksville.
He was the lone Englishman in the group alongside Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork.
He played a series of US solo tour dates earlier this month and British television viewers saw him this week in a BBC documentary about the history of boy bands.
The Monkees were put together in 1965 for a television series as an American alternative to the Beatles. They split in 1971 but later reformed, and their last comeback tour was in 2011.
Paul Gambaccini, the broadcaster and music historian, said Jones brought a vital British element to the band.
"People at that time loved the Beatles and he had that north-western English sound, which is what America wanted. And it was the charisma - he was so charming," said Gambaccini.
Jones is survived by his four children. He lived in the US with his third wife, Jessica Pacheco, who is 31 years his junior and whom he met in a stage production of Cinderella.
In a recent interview, he recalled the moment they fell in love: “She turned to me one day and said, Let’s run upstairs and make love’.
“I looked at her. ‘At my age,’ I said, ‘it’s going to have to be one or the other’.”
Davy Jones of The Monkees dead at 66 - Telegraph