The Monkees star Michael Nesmith has died aged 78.
The singer and guitarist of the famous 1960s group has passed away at the age of 78 while surrounded by loved ones, his family confirmed on Friday (10.12.21).
While an exact cause of death has not yet been confirmed, his family did say he passed away from natural causes.
In a statement, they said: “With infinite Love we announce that Michael Nesmith has passed away this morning in his home, surrounded by family, peacefully of natural causes.”
Michael rose to fame as a member of the ‘I’m A Believer’ hitmakers, who were manufactured for a TV show about a rock ‘n’ roll group.
The band – who were also comprised of last surviving member Micky Dolenz, and late members Davy Jones and Peter Tork – went on to have a hugely successful career and had hits including ‘Daydream Believer’ and ‘Last Train to Clarksville’.
After forming in 1966, the group initially parted ways in 1971, but got back together in 1986 and went on to have three further revivals after that.
In 2018, Michael and Micky were due to hit the road on their ‘The Monkees Present: The Mike & Micky Show’ tour, but the last four dates had to be postponed when Michael was hospitalised.
And in June of that year, it was confirmed the singer had undergone quadruple bypass heart surgery to help ease his congestive heart failure.
By July, he said he was “80 percent recovered”.
He explained at the time: “I was using the words ‘heart attack’ for a while. But I’m told now that I didn’t have one. It was congestive heart failure. It has taken me four weeks to climb out of it. If anybody ever comes up to you on the street and offers you [bypass surgery] for free, turn them down. It hurts.
“It’s this complete other community of the dead and nearly dead. It’s frightening. There’s also a lot of pain involved and I didn’t like that. You can’t cough and you can’t walk and you can’t get up. And you’re hooked to these gadgets that are annoying. I didn’t even know where I was for a couple of weeks.
“I think, candidly, I’m back to 80 percent. I feel like I’m increasing exponentially daily, or at least by orders of five or six percent at a time. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My thinking is clear and I know who I am and where I am. It all feels like a natural healing process.”