The Monkees

The Monkees is an American television sitcom that first aired on NBC for two seasons, from September 12, 1966, to March 25, 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men (The Monkees) trying to make a name for themselves as a rock 'n roll band.

There's a lot of rubbish talked about the Monkees, that they were a talentless, synthetic band put together by a studio to underpin a comedy TV show. While they were undoubtedly a product, they were not without talent, you don't sell 75 million records if you are no good. I always liked them and although I only saw a few of their TV shows they were harmless and funny. I don't think they were necessarily trying to be the Beatles so much as following the zeitgeist. They were a type for their time.

Every TV show had to have a car and this is theirs. The Monkeemobile. It was a modified Pontiac GTO designed and built by designer Dean Jeffries, who also made Adam West's Batmobile. The car featured a tilted forward split two-piece windscreen, a convertible top, modified rear quarter panels and front wings, exaggerated tail lamps, a set of four bucket seats with an extra third row bench where the rear deck should have been and a parachute. There were two cars made, one for the show and one for promotional tours. They both still exist and after heavy restoration are in the hands of private collectors.

Corgi Toys released theirs in 1968 while the TV show was still on air in the UK and before the band broke up in 1970. It was released both as a full size Corgi Toy and in the smaller scale Husky Toys range. The Corgi Toy remained in production until 1972, variations during production mainly refer to packaging and whether or not a Monkees guitar shaped badge was included. Corgi re-released the car well into the post-Mettoy era in 2001, the rebooted car does not have the four band members on board.