On this day

Andrew Sandoval (any relation to Hope?) has one of the coolest jobs in the world, writing liner notes for Rhino Records stuff. He got the job as a teenager. Lucky guy.
He just put out a big book called The Monkees: the day by day story.
He combed through studio reels, session notes, microfilm, as wel as interviewed folks, and put together this book. It's exhaustive and it's exhausting (and addictive) to read. I've learned a lot

Today is July 3--on this date in 1967 the Monkees are in London for their first UK tour and Brian Epstein throw a wild party in their honor at the ultrahip Speakeasy.
Among the guests are John, Paul and George (with their wives/girlfriends), Eric Clapton, Dusty Springfield, and members of The Who, Manfred Mann and Procol Harem.
Ringo cannot attend because wife Maureen is very pregnant. Davy cannot attend because he's visiting Ringo and Maureen.
At 3:30 am, there is a historic jam: George Harrison on ukulele, Peter Tork on banjo and Keith Moon banging on a table. The party finally ends at 6am.
In the early morning hours, a still-tripping Micky Dolenz takes a stroll through Hyde Park where he is spotted by dozens of kids walking to school. They excitedly corner this unguarded idol of theirs, who is lost and still a little out of his head from the party. He tells them there's no need to be so crazy. He eventually has them participate in a sing-along and they peacefully escort him to where he needs to go--back to his hotel. Tearfully, the two parties say goodbye.