“Here we come, walking down the street. We get the funniest looks, from everyone we meet…”

When the Monkees debuted on television in the fall of 1966, they may have looked funny but they were on their way to becoming a timeless phenomena. This year three of the original Monkees, Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, and Peter Tork, have again reunited for their third tour.

Monkeemania will be coming to central Iowa on Friday, as the Monkees’ 30th Anniversary Tour arrives in Des Moines.

Much like other popular groups from the 1960s, the Monkees have added to their following second generation (and even third generation) fans. Originally created as a TV version of the Beatles, the Monkees were quickly dubbed “the Pre-fab Four” in reference to the fact the group had been fabricated for the TV show.

However they started, the Monkees became an overnight sensation. Their first single, “Last Train to Clarksville,” soared to number one. Their first five albums each went gold. During the height of 1960’s Monkeemania, the Monkees outsold both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined.

While the 1960s and the 1980s have been high points for the Monkees, the 1970s found them in relative obscurity — primarily because members of the group had quit one-by-one. The first to go had been Peter Tork, the Monkee with the highest level of musical ability who played the buffoon in the TV series.

“The fact that they made the music around me and without me was much to my chagrin. I was very disappointed about that,” said Tork about his decision to leave the group in the late 1960s. “Only one Monkee has never quit and that’s Davy. Every other one of us has quit at some point or other.”

Coincidentally, it was a handful of recordings by Tork and fellow Monkee Micky Dolenz in 1986 that renewed interest in the Monkees. The song “That Was Then, This is Now,” was the first song recorded under the Monkees name since 1970.

Davy Jones, the youngest member of the Monkees, quickly became the teen idol of the group. He had already recorded some songs when he was cast for the Monkees. Jones has maintained his popularity throughout the years, always catering to his fans, and proudly carrying on the Monkees’ name, even throughout his solo career — which included a recently re-created film role as himself in the Brady Bunch.

It is Micky Dolenz whose voice is perhaps the best known among the Monkees. As the singing drummer of the group, Dolenz’s voice filled the lead on most of the Monkees’ top hits. While Dolenz was able to hold his own as a singer (he auditioned for the Monkees singing Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”) he had never touched the drums. “I was hired as an actor to play the role of a singing drummer,” Dolenz recalls. “I had to learn to play the drums.” Dolenz can now be seen playing himself as the mayor of Santa Monica, Calif. on the USA series “Pacific Blue.”

Mike Nesmith, the fourth Monkee who was best known for his large sideburns and green stocking cap, is not touring with his bandmates this time out. He has stated that he wishes them his best, but that he was unable to get away for a tour with them. Nesmith currently oversees a large music and video business. His seed money was from his mother’s invention: LiquidPaper.

One of his greatest successes was taking the concept of the Monkees and creating a whole network called Nickelodeon. Eventually Nickelodeon was spawned off of its older sibling, MTV, which in turn, breathed new life into the Monkees and introduced them to brand new fans.

Fueled by criticism that the Monkees’ songs were completely performed by others — that the group themselves played little if any role — the group took to the road in 1967 for a series of live concerts featuring them playing their own instruments. Unlike the more recent Milli Vanilli, the Monkees showed that they were capable of performing their own songs and will be demonstrating it again during their 30th Anniversary Concert in Des Moines.

The concert will take place following the Iowa Cubs baseball game against New Orleans Friday, June 28 at Sec Taylor Stadium starting at 6:05 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at all Ticketmaster centers or by calling 243-1888.