29th) Florida, USA - On this day, the entertainer, Davy Jones died of a heart attack on his ranch near his home, and with that, the world sadly lost its first Monkee. "I fell in love with The Monkees at a very young age," Keith admits, "and, without doubts, alongside my parents and The Beatles, they were (and are) one of my life's biggest influences. To say I adored that band is a great understatement. I even learnt drums because of them. I had the honour of meeting Davy twice and he was most friendly and hospitable. He will be sadly missed. Let's hope now that the rest of the world finally wakes up to the fact that The Monkees were far, far more than just a TV-manufactured band. " (A tribute to Davy, penned by Keith will appear in the next issue of Record Collector magazine.) He was 66 years-of-age.
(27th) Marilyn Monroe: The Final Years (Thomas Dunne Books / hardback) - Keith's book reached the #15 position in the Marilyn Monroe biographies section on Amazon.com. (It is released officially in the States on July 17, two weeks before the 50th anniversary of the great actress's death.)
(23rd) BAFTA: The Home of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London - For the second time in three months, our Mr. Badman was present at the prestigious Baftas, this time to celebrate AP Archive’s acquisition of the absolute legendary and stunning, Movietone news library. A truly superb night and a most enjoyable time was had by all. (Look out for the forthcoming souvenir DVD of the evening. Cheers to Alan, Obi, Jenny, et al for a truly cracking evening.)
(22nd) Marilyn Monroe: The Final Years (Thomas Dunne Books) - With a deal for an ebook version of the book already struck in the States, orders for it are already being taken by Amazon.com. And on this day, it reached the #38 in the pre-paid Kindle chart. Impressive!
(20th) The Final Years of Marilyn Monroe: The True Story (Aurum Press) - At last! A deal to release Keith's 2010 book on Marilyn Monroe as an ebook in the UK/ Europe and the rest of the World (bar America) was struck. It will be available for instant download on June 1, the same day as a paperback version is released.
(2nd) Twickenham, London - Keith was in attendance at the grand reunion of friends and staff members of the much-lamented pub, Filthy's. A superb night, with more than a few bottles of wine being drunk (and spilt) that night. (Cheers Tel & Fi.)
