There we went...1996, The Year Of The Monkee!
In Autumn 1995, Having just returned from Japan, Aiden decided to recruit new musicians to join Liam and himself under the Shorties banner. Several drummers were considered but none came near to having the spirit and vibe of old drummer Saul Penfold. In mid November, therefore, Aiden approached Saul to sound him out about the possibility of his rejoining the band. To Aiden's surprise, Saul leapt at the chance. The band was three quarters complete.Completing the lineup in Jan1996, came Dan Auty, a gifted bass player with a keen sense of humour who Liam met through a mutual friend.
Originally the plan was to work on new material, but the turning point came when Kirk White, head of the Uk Monkees Fan Club, asked Aiden if the Shorties would play at a Monkees Convention he was organizing. Galvanized by this goal the band agreed, and Aiden set to work organizing publicity shots. A few weeks later, Aiden, Liam and Saul ventured down to Norwich in the South of England to have some shots taken by Chris Shortis, a friend of the band since the very beginning. Dan had a prior engagement, and didn't feel the shots would be used much, and thus declined to attend. His place was taken by a friend of Saul's, Matt. The decision would return to haunt Dan.
Above right: Almost The Shorties: L to R:Aiden, Liam, MATT and Saul
Rehearsals took place from January 1996 onwards, and in April the band arranged a warm-up gig bottom of a bill headed by Sir Bald Diddley and the Wig-Outs at a special Garage Rock night at the Zodiac, Oxford.
Left/Right:Saul and Aiden rehearse in Norwich.
(feb 96)
The Monkee tunes we were practicing in those early days included the 9 we would perform at our 1st ever gig: Monkees Theme, Last Train To Clarksville, Circle Sky, You Just May Be The One, Girl I Knew Somewhere, Listen To The Band, Oklahoma Backroom Dancer, Steppin' Stone and I'm A Believer.
There's a huge thrill that comes when you first see your band's name on a poster. (left)
Meanwhile, Katherine Norris, an aquaintence of Aiden's, agreed to come in to play Keyboards on the 2 gigs, and at one time considered joining full time, but in the end both parties agreed it would be best if Katherine restricted herself to occasional appearances.
Dan couldn't make the warm up gig and his place on the bass was taken by Saul's friend, the very groovy Jimmy White.
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