The Official BAD 25 Thread

[MaryK]

 :michael_jackson-1135:

 :multiplespotting:

[hesouttamylife]

Bad must've been a helluva birthday present back in 1987, 2 days right after MJ turned 29.  Time flies...

[Adi]

Bad 25 Documentary: Venice Review

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Spike Lee captures a specific pinnacle in Michael Jackson's career and a precise period in American popular music culture with his comprehensive recap of the making, marketing and legacy of the 1987 album, 'Bad.'

VENICE – Michael Jackson continues to be bigger dead than alive. It might have seemed that Kenny Ortega had his legacy covered with the 2009 documentary This Is It, but Spike Lee goes one better with Bad 25
an obsessively detailed quarter-century anniversary tribute to the 1987 album that capped the three-prong commercial tsunami Jackson began with “Off the Wall” and “Thriller.”

The film is a sensational snapshot of the peak of the music video as art form, as well as the intricately layered process by which superior pop is crafted. More poignantly, it serves to remove the veil of late-period
craziness and allegations and restore the reputation of Jackson as a multi-hyphenate musician of peerless discipline, professionalism and perfectionism – not to mention a pioneering influence in dance and fashion.

Following its Venice and Toronto bows, Bad 25 is scheduled to air on ABC at Thanksgiving.

Lee directed Jackson’s 1996 music video for “They Don’t Care About Us.” Despite conducting the interviews personally, he keeps himself out of the picture here aside from one or two audio snippets. But it’s clear
that his connection to this material runs deep, revealing itself, for example, in his exhaustive attention to the making of Martin Scorsese’s short film for the album’s title track. No less fascinating is his recap of the
multiple choreographic influences that went into the video for “Smooth Criminal,” ranging from Fred Astaire in The Band Wagon to Soul Train to Bugs Bunny to Buster Keaton. The wealth of primo talking-heads
fodder makes this of interest far beyond Jackson fans to anyone curious about the production and marketing of popular music.

The director’s appetite for trivia is contagious. Who remembered that Wesley Snipes made his acting debut in the “Bad” video? Or that the arcane refrain “Shamone!” was Jackson’s homage to Mavis Staples?
Or that the line “Annie, are you OK?” was inspired by the standard name given to CPR demonstration dummies?

It’s obvious that Lee is having as much fun as the audience sitting in with Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker as they look back over their work on the Bad short 25 years on. Writer Richard Price, who
scripted the film for Scorsese, is – forgive me – priceless, discussing how an asthmatic Italian and an asthmatic Jew were enlisted by Jackson to make a video “to show the brothers that he’s down with them.”
But Lee also gives serious consideration to the ways in which Jackson reaffirmed his connection to the black community.

Despite acknowledging the album’s flaws – everyone, including Stevie Wonder, agrees that his duet with Jackson, “Just Good Friends,” was a dud – the film is not guiltless of hagiography. But the fandom
of interviewees like Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Chris Brown and Sheryl Crow, who performed as a big-haired backup singer on the Bad Tour, is generally disarming. (Perhaps the exception
is Kanye West, who seems too self-regarding to really serve someone else’s tribute.)

Arguably, Lee’s one significant misstep is to lurch abruptly – at the end of a meticulous track-by-track reconstruction of the album’s recording and the shooting of its many music videos – to footage of
Jermaine Jackson announcing his brother’s death. Lee then strings together a series of “Where were you when you heard he’d died?” responses, holding the camera on the subjects as they tear up.
This feels manipulative and heavy-handed compared to the stimulating social context and illuminating insights that distinguish the doc and pinpoint it at a key moment in Jackson’s career.

But that’s just nitpicking. As forcibly inserted as they are, the memorials do serve to usher in a stirring assessment of “The Man in the Mirror” as a master class in how to build the perfect anthemic pop song.
Input here comes from co-writers Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett, as well as producer Quincy Jones and choirmaster Andrae Crouch, among others. The knockout closing footage of Jackson performing the
song in a 1988 Wembley Stadium concert, accompanied by 72,000 screaming fans, is the film’s emotional high point.

It’s to Lee’s credit that he doesn’t just go for the famous faces. Instead he digs into every aspect of the music by talking with engineers, arrangers, session musicians, vocal coaches, video actors,
dancer-choreographers, recording industry execs, managers, lawyers, biographers and music journalists. Particularly humorous is plain-speaking Joe Pytka, who directed the “Dirty Diana” and
“The Way You Make Me Feel” videos. But invaluable contributions come from a wide variety of sources.

The film doesn’t shy away from the negatives. It covers the inescapable hype that accompanied the album release; the “Wacko Jacko” stigma; the specter of racism; the animosity toward Jackson in some
circles for his stratospheric success; and the perceived encroachment on sacred terrain when he purchased the Beatles catalogue. Significant time is spent on the goldfish-bowl vulnerability of being in the
spotlight since childhood, reflected in the song “Leave Me Alone,” with its “Gulliver’s Travel”-style, tabloid-nightmare photo-animation video.

Mostly, however, Lee keeps the focus on the extraordinary professional achievement that the album still represents, capturing Jackson at the apex of his quest for full creative independence. Beyond its
value as a deep-probe portrait of the artist, this is a superb account of the music business and an indispensable pop-cultural time capsule.

[MJonmind]

I'm looking forward to seeing the docu!

He mentioned about Mavis Staples being the originator of the word 'Shamone', which I found interesting.
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[Elsa]

I read that Bad25 includes a DVD of the July 16, 1988 concert at which Michael met with Princess Diana.  I guess its understandable that its not released on the anniversary but why September 18?  Is it something with the dates - 7’s and 9’s?

[katy (MJFAN7)]

This rolling stones cover is interesting to me, (not 100% sure if it's an actual rolling stone cover) see where it says "It's Alive!"

[paula-c]

It's alive

:suspect:

[applehead250609]

The 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad.
de Darren Hayes la 12 august 2012 la 04:46 ·



I was asked to give a quote or two regarding the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' album.  If you know anything about me you'd know this is virtually impossible.  I have years of good things to say about this album and so I decided instead to write a blog about the record, from which I'll let someone else try to snip out a few relevant sentences!

 

Bad is without doubt my favourite Michael Jackson album of all time.  It evokes such strong and bittersweet associations for me.  While on one hand it was an astounding musical hurricane of smash hit singles and dazzling visuals - it also occupied that awkward space of being the album that had to follow up the biggest selling album of all time; an expectation I don't think even Michael himself could ever escape.  It's a shame because the album WAS a phenomenal success.   It spawned 5 Billboard Number One singles (a world record) and went on to sell in excess of 35 million copies - it ranks as the 5th greatest seller of all time.  Still, it seemed to this fan that at the time, Bad was unfairly judged simply for not being Thriller.  The irony is, I'm so glad it wasn't.

 

I didn't own Thriller at the time.  Shock! Horror! But it's true.  It was a matter of economics - we couldn't afford it.  By the time I saved up enough money to buy Thriller, the massive moonwalking Grammy Award winning world dominating wave of 3 years had finally passed.  So I waited patiently for the 'next' album. 

 

By the time Bad started gearing up to crack open the sky - I was the prime age to appreciate music.  The year was 1987 and I was 15 years old.   On August 31 that year there was a massive pre-release hype for the entire project and the premiere of the music video was no exception.  It was a prime time television event - 'Michael Jackson : The Magic Returns' and featured the full 17 minute Martin Scorcese directed video for the single 'Bad': Michael's 'sequel' to Thriller - the most successful music video of all time.  No pressure!  Granted, we'd already been treated to the ballad 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You' - but that was not really the big first single. It was like a teaser. Almost a way to take the pressure off.  In the business we'd call that a 'soft release'.  No, the real event was the first big pop song and the accompanying music video for 'Bad'. So the pressure was there!  I  even applied some as a fan.

 

What would it sound like?  What would he look like?  Most importantly - would I love it as I adored Thriller?

The answer was a big massive YES!   Musically - the title track Bad, was FUN. It was up and energetic and I did not see the funk or soul coming.  I did not expect Michael to look the way he did.   I loved his androgyny and his new slick black leather and buckles image.  His hair. His makeup.  He was a proper pop star.  A hero.

 

I was also being bullied quite badly at high school during that time so you can imagine the impact Michael's video for 'Bad' had. His character was taunted and what did he do?  He only shot up into the air and dropped down as a super hero in black leather and buckles.  Then he danced up a storm and sang like an angel spitting out rhetoric and confidence.

 

When I finally got the album, listening to it was a religious experience.  I still remember the paper stock of the album cover, the smell of the ink - the incredible liner notes and of course that amazing Matthew Rolston inner sleeve photo spread with Michael in black sunglasses and turtleneck and through a distorted lens as he contorted for the camera.

The sounds - well they were surreal.  The percussion and aggressive vocals of 'The Way You Make Me Feel' in sharp contrast to the honey sweet harmonies of the backing vocals.  The insanity of 'Speed Demon' - the joy of Stevie Wonder Duet 'Just Good Friends' and of course that goose bump inducing global anthem 'Man in the Mirror'.  It has the violence of 'Dirty Diana' and finally the jewel of Bad's crown : Smooth Criminal.  Forget Billie Jean, keep Thriller. I wanted to see a music video for this adrenaline rush of a song! As a collected works - the songs were a million miles away form the brilliant Thriller. Where Thriller was sparse and conservative in its punches, Bad was a techincolour of sound.  Brooding, angry or sexy.  Nothing on there sounding like a repeat of where he'd been before. 

 

The rest of the campaign unfolded with equal amounts of mystery shock and awe.  Who could have seen 'sexy Michael' on the horizon?  But there he was in the video for 'The Way You Make Me Feel' converting even my rock loving sister into a fan. This previously harmless elfin like child man was suddenly the confident lead in his own West Side Story musical - puffing his chest and chasing the pretty lady down the street.  Every music video was an event.  MTV had just come to Australian television (albeit a 2 hour show 3 times a week late at night!).  But I sat there for every single video premiere at midnight - fumbling with the controls for the VCR to record them so I could watch them over and over again.  Studying the dance moves and obsessing over the details.   Then there was the tour. Long standing fans of mine would know about the transformative experience I had seeing Michael live for the first time.  Brisbane Entertainment centre - November 25 and 28 1987. Famously and rather embarrassingly, the Australian press launched a pretty aggressive negative campaign about Michael back then, informing locals that he would be performing behind a plastic screen to avoid catching germs from Australians.  Ridiculous. But it worked: ticket sales virtually halted.  MJ was supposed to play in stadiums but due to the poor ticket sales in my home town he was downgraded to arenas. Instead of one night in a 40 thousand seat stadium he played 2 nights at a 9 thousand seater.  It's unfathomable now to imagine the King of Pop couldn't sell a concert ticket - but in that moment in time, that was the reality in my home town. 

 

The tour book was extraordinary.  It featured photographs of Michael in a mysterious white pin striped suit with a white Fedora.  Had I missed something?  What video was this from?  I had to wait a year to find out (see the end of this story!).

 

I've written numerous accounts of this night but suffice to say I ended up almost front row by complete accident (my cheap seat field tickets for the stadium randomly exchanged for floor seats right near the stage) and the performance changed my life: it made me know what I wanted to do for the rest of mine.  It was a spectacular show, and I managed to buy tickets to the 2nd show as well - where I saw both Stevie Wonder perform a duet with Michael but also the debut of choreographer and local Brisbane resident Wade Robson as he made his debut on stage at 5 years of age, dancing with Michael during the encore. 

 

During the course of the promo period for Bad, I had all the 12 inch singles on vinyl.  For the record, Man In The Mirror was my favourite artwork - this incredible black and white portrait of Michael with silver ink and black.  The boots from Dirty Diana were also fawned over and I may have worn a pair just like them complete with a Triumph motorcycle buckle belt to my high school prom that year .

 

Bad filled up 2 years of my life at high school.  It saw me go from bullied teen with no allies to lead in the school musicals full of confidence and a purpose in life.  It gave me a hero to look up to.  Someone strange, marching to the beat of his own drum and someone proud not to fit into the mould.

 

By the time Bad promo finished up - and the magic felt like it was about to drain out of my world, I saw an ad in a movie magazine that stopped me in my tracks.  'Moonwalker' - starring Michael Jackson. 

 

There he was in that white pin striped suit in a movie poster reminiscent of a George Lucas or Steven Spielberg film.  What did it all mean?  I had to wait until the movie was released.  Luckily because I worked part time in a record store - I managed to score tickets to a press screening and I marked the date on my calendar.  Soon enough the mystery of the white suit was revealed - it was the outfit Michael famously wore in the music video for Smooth Criminal and I embarrassingly and proudly wore a replica version of it to the screening myself.  I felt a bit of a fool catching a bus in the middle of a humid Australian summer day - in full white suit complete with suspenders and blue socks!  I was one of two people dressed up.  The other, the now 6 year old Wade Robson.  He was in a perfect replica of the white gangster suit complete with identical dance moves.  I said hello to him after the screening.  No one else realised who he was but I said to him 'Are you the little boy who danced with Michael Jackson at the concert?'.  He looked up with his big wide brown eyes and smiled knowingly, 'Yes'.  He and his family would eventually be moved to the U.S with Michael's assistance, and under Michael's mentoring, Wayde would grow up to be a choreographer for Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.  But back then, in 1988 he was still a baby.  I said goodbye to him, and to the Bad era and caught the bus home with my own white fedora in my hand.  Wayde was off to Neverland and I was off on a journey that would put me on stage at that same arena in my home town just 10 years later. 

 

It was the best bus ride of my life.


The original cover for Bad - before the pesky record company forced MJ to change it. I still prefer it.

OMG what a wonderful and emotional life experience,isn't it  ?

[applehead250609]

A little teaser for you girls from the DVD. Dirty Diana  :michael_jackson-1135:  :icon_lol: !!!!!

[hesouttamylife]

On his toes even . . . I have to say it, geez Louise that is too FREAKIN  HOT  :fresse:

[RK]

Lovely well written article from Darren Hayes. Thanks for posting it applehead.
I especially loved it cause he is a boy from my home town and I could relate to his visual pictures of growing up in this neck of the woods.

I'm lovin' your avatar also applehead. :icon_lol:
 

[ellyd]

I did not find any calendar or French forum - pls feel free to copy or move:

Michael Jackson, les années Bad : inédit, le 18 septembre sur France Ô.

A découvrir le mardi 18 septembre à 20h45 sur la chaîne France Ô, un documentaire inédit de François Chaumont, à l'occasion des 25 ans de l'album Bad. Coproduction : BBC WorldWide France/France Ô/RTBF (80 minutes) . A noter la diffusion ensuite d'un concert.

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[MJonmind]

It saw me go from bullied teen with no allies to lead in the school musicals full of confidence and a purpose in life.  It gave me a hero to look up to.  Someone strange, marching to the beat of his own drum and someone proud not to fit into the mould.

Yes!! :Michael_Jackson_dancing_smile

Australian press launched a pretty aggressive negative campaign about Michael back then, informing locals that he would be performing behind a plastic screen to avoid catching germs from Australians.

How could anybody have believed this ridiculousness? :icon_evil:

[mjj4ever777]

The 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad.
de Darren Hayes la 12 august 2012 la 04:46 ·



I was asked to give a quote or two regarding the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' album.  If you know anything about me you'd know this is virtually impossible.  I have years of good things to say about this album and so I decided instead to write a blog about the record, from which I'll let someone else try to snip out a few relevant sentences!


My sweet sweet Applehead...you always deliver great stories and Michael "tidbits"....Thank you thank you thank you!!!! It is soooooo good to see you again my friend...I missed you so much!!!!

 :bearhug: Sending LOVE to you and yours ...always!!

@BTC...You are one lucky Lady that you got to see the film already!! Thanks for the report, can't wait to see it!! LOVE you too sister!  :bearhug:

 :bearhug:s and LOVE to everyone!!

Michael...LOVE you so much Brother!!  :bearhug:

Bad is without doubt my favourite Michael Jackson album of all time.  It evokes such strong and bittersweet associations for me.  While on one hand it was an astounding musical hurricane of smash hit singles and dazzling visuals - it also occupied that awkward space of being the album that had to follow up the biggest selling album of all time; an expectation I don't think even Michael himself could ever escape.  It's a shame because the album WAS a phenomenal success.   It spawned 5 Billboard Number One singles (a world record) and went on to sell in excess of 35 million copies - it ranks as the 5th greatest seller of all time.  Still, it seemed to this fan that at the time, Bad was unfairly judged simply for not being Thriller.  The irony is, I'm so glad it wasn't.

 

I didn't own Thriller at the time.  Shock! Horror! But it's true.  It was a matter of economics - we couldn't afford it.  By the time I saved up enough money to buy Thriller, the massive moonwalking Grammy Award winning world dominating wave of 3 years had finally passed.  So I waited patiently for the 'next' album. 

 

By the time Bad started gearing up to crack open the sky - I was the prime age to appreciate music.  The year was 1987 and I was 15 years old.   On August 31 that year there was a massive pre-release hype for the entire project and the premiere of the music video was no exception.  It was a prime time television event - 'Michael Jackson : The Magic Returns' and featured the full 17 minute Martin Scorcese directed video for the single 'Bad': Michael's 'sequel' to Thriller - the most successful music video of all time.  No pressure!  Granted, we'd already been treated to the ballad 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You' - but that was not really the big first single. It was like a teaser. Almost a way to take the pressure off.  In the business we'd call that a 'soft release'.  No, the real event was the first big pop song and the accompanying music video for 'Bad'. So the pressure was there!  I  even applied some as a fan.

 

What would it sound like?  What would he look like?  Most importantly - would I love it as I adored Thriller?

The answer was a big massive YES!   Musically - the title track Bad, was FUN. It was up and energetic and I did not see the funk or soul coming.  I did not expect Michael to look the way he did.   I loved his androgyny and his new slick black leather and buckles image.  His hair. His makeup.  He was a proper pop star.  A hero.

 

I was also being bullied quite badly at high school during that time so you can imagine the impact Michael's video for 'Bad' had. His character was taunted and what did he do?  He only shot up into the air and dropped down as a super hero in black leather and buckles.  Then he danced up a storm and sang like an angel spitting out rhetoric and confidence.

 

When I finally got the album, listening to it was a religious experience.  I still remember the paper stock of the album cover, the smell of the ink - the incredible liner notes and of course that amazing Matthew Rolston inner sleeve photo spread with Michael in black sunglasses and turtleneck and through a distorted lens as he contorted for the camera.

The sounds - well they were surreal.  The percussion and aggressive vocals of 'The Way You Make Me Feel' in sharp contrast to the honey sweet harmonies of the backing vocals.  The insanity of 'Speed Demon' - the joy of Stevie Wonder Duet 'Just Good Friends' and of course that goose bump inducing global anthem 'Man in the Mirror'.  It has the violence of 'Dirty Diana' and finally the jewel of Bad's crown : Smooth Criminal.  Forget Billie Jean, keep Thriller. I wanted to see a music video for this adrenaline rush of a song! As a collected works - the songs were a million miles away form the brilliant Thriller. Where Thriller was sparse and conservative in its punches, Bad was a techincolour of sound.  Brooding, angry or sexy.  Nothing on there sounding like a repeat of where he'd been before. 

 

The rest of the campaign unfolded with equal amounts of mystery shock and awe.  Who could have seen 'sexy Michael' on the horizon?  But there he was in the video for 'The Way You Make Me Feel' converting even my rock loving sister into a fan. This previously harmless elfin like child man was suddenly the confident lead in his own West Side Story musical - puffing his chest and chasing the pretty lady down the street.  Every music video was an event.  MTV had just come to Australian television (albeit a 2 hour show 3 times a week late at night!).  But I sat there for every single video premiere at midnight - fumbling with the controls for the VCR to record them so I could watch them over and over again.  Studying the dance moves and obsessing over the details.   Then there was the tour. Long standing fans of mine would know about the transformative experience I had seeing Michael live for the first time.  Brisbane Entertainment centre - November 25 and 28 1987. Famously and rather embarrassingly, the Australian press launched a pretty aggressive negative campaign about Michael back then, informing locals that he would be performing behind a plastic screen to avoid catching germs from Australians.  Ridiculous. But it worked: ticket sales virtually halted.  MJ was supposed to play in stadiums but due to the poor ticket sales in my home town he was downgraded to arenas. Instead of one night in a 40 thousand seat stadium he played 2 nights at a 9 thousand seater.  It's unfathomable now to imagine the King of Pop couldn't sell a concert ticket - but in that moment in time, that was the reality in my home town. 

 

The tour book was extraordinary.  It featured photographs of Michael in a mysterious white pin striped suit with a white Fedora.  Had I missed something?  What video was this from?  I had to wait a year to find out (see the end of this story!).

 

I've written numerous accounts of this night but suffice to say I ended up almost front row by complete accident (my cheap seat field tickets for the stadium randomly exchanged for floor seats right near the stage) and the performance changed my life: it made me know what I wanted to do for the rest of mine.  It was a spectacular show, and I managed to buy tickets to the 2nd show as well - where I saw both Stevie Wonder perform a duet with Michael but also the debut of choreographer and local Brisbane resident Wade Robson as he made his debut on stage at 5 years of age, dancing with Michael during the encore. 

 

During the course of the promo period for Bad, I had all the 12 inch singles on vinyl.  For the record, Man In The Mirror was my favourite artwork - this incredible black and white portrait of Michael with silver ink and black.  The boots from Dirty Diana were also fawned over and I may have worn a pair just like them complete with a Triumph motorcycle buckle belt to my high school prom that year .

 

Bad filled up 2 years of my life at high school.  It saw me go from bullied teen with no allies to lead in the school musicals full of confidence and a purpose in life.  It gave me a hero to look up to.  Someone strange, marching to the beat of his own drum and someone proud not to fit into the mould.

 

By the time Bad promo finished up - and the magic felt like it was about to drain out of my world, I saw an ad in a movie magazine that stopped me in my tracks.  'Moonwalker' - starring Michael Jackson. 

 

There he was in that white pin striped suit in a movie poster reminiscent of a George Lucas or Steven Spielberg film.  What did it all mean?  I had to wait until the movie was released.  Luckily because I worked part time in a record store - I managed to score tickets to a press screening and I marked the date on my calendar.  Soon enough the mystery of the white suit was revealed - it was the outfit Michael famously wore in the music video for Smooth Criminal and I embarrassingly and proudly wore a replica version of it to the screening myself.  I felt a bit of a fool catching a bus in the middle of a humid Australian summer day - in full white suit complete with suspenders and blue socks!  I was one of two people dressed up.  The other, the now 6 year old Wade Robson.  He was in a perfect replica of the white gangster suit complete with identical dance moves.  I said hello to him after the screening.  No one else realised who he was but I said to him 'Are you the little boy who danced with Michael Jackson at the concert?'.  He looked up with his big wide brown eyes and smiled knowingly, 'Yes'.  He and his family would eventually be moved to the U.S with Michael's assistance, and under Michael's mentoring, Wayde would grow up to be a choreographer for Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.  But back then, in 1988 he was still a baby.  I said goodbye to him, and to the Bad era and caught the bus home with my own white fedora in my hand.  Wayde was off to Neverland and I was off on a journey that would put me on stage at that same arena in my home town just 10 years later. 

 

It was the best bus ride of my life.


The original cover for Bad - before the pesky record company forced MJ to change it. I still prefer it.

OMG what a wonderful and emotional life experience,isn't it  ?

[applehead250609]

The 25th Anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad.
de Darren Hayes la 12 august 2012 la 04:46 ·



I was asked to give a quote or two regarding the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' album.  If you know anything about me you'd know this is virtually impossible.  I have years of good things to say about this album and so I decided instead to write a blog about the record, from which I'll let someone else try to snip out a few relevant sentences!


My sweet sweet Applehead...you always deliver great stories and Michael "tidbits"....Thank you thank you thank you!!!! It is soooooo good to see you again my friend...I missed you so much!!!!

 :bearhug: Sending LOVE to you and yours ...always!!

@BTC...You are one lucky Lady that you got to see the film already!! Thanks for the report, can't wait to see it!! LOVE you too sister!  :bearhug:

 :bearhug:s and LOVE to everyone!!

Michael...LOVE you so much Brother!!  :bearhug:

Bad is without doubt my favourite Michael Jackson album of all time.  It evokes such strong and bittersweet associations for me.  While on one hand it was an astounding musical hurricane of smash hit singles and dazzling visuals - it also occupied that awkward space of being the album that had to follow up the biggest selling album of all time; an expectation I don't think even Michael himself could ever escape.  It's a shame because the album WAS a phenomenal success.   It spawned 5 Billboard Number One singles (a world record) and went on to sell in excess of 35 million copies - it ranks as the 5th greatest seller of all time.  Still, it seemed to this fan that at the time, Bad was unfairly judged simply for not being Thriller.  The irony is, I'm so glad it wasn't.

 

I didn't own Thriller at the time.  Shock! Horror! But it's true.  It was a matter of economics - we couldn't afford it.  By the time I saved up enough money to buy Thriller, the massive moonwalking Grammy Award winning world dominating wave of 3 years had finally passed.  So I waited patiently for the 'next' album. 

 

By the time Bad started gearing up to crack open the sky - I was the prime age to appreciate music.  The year was 1987 and I was 15 years old.   On August 31 that year there was a massive pre-release hype for the entire project and the premiere of the music video was no exception.  It was a prime time television event - 'Michael Jackson : The Magic Returns' and featured the full 17 minute Martin Scorcese directed video for the single 'Bad': Michael's 'sequel' to Thriller - the most successful music video of all time.  No pressure!  Granted, we'd already been treated to the ballad 'I Just Can't Stop Loving You' - but that was not really the big first single. It was like a teaser. Almost a way to take the pressure off.  In the business we'd call that a 'soft release'.  No, the real event was the first big pop song and the accompanying music video for 'Bad'. So the pressure was there!  I  even applied some as a fan.

 

What would it sound like?  What would he look like?  Most importantly - would I love it as I adored Thriller?

The answer was a big massive YES!   Musically - the title track Bad, was FUN. It was up and energetic and I did not see the funk or soul coming.  I did not expect Michael to look the way he did.   I loved his androgyny and his new slick black leather and buckles image.  His hair. His makeup.  He was a proper pop star.  A hero.

 

I was also being bullied quite badly at high school during that time so you can imagine the impact Michael's video for 'Bad' had. His character was taunted and what did he do?  He only shot up into the air and dropped down as a super hero in black leather and buckles.  Then he danced up a storm and sang like an angel spitting out rhetoric and confidence.

 

When I finally got the album, listening to it was a religious experience.  I still remember the paper stock of the album cover, the smell of the ink - the incredible liner notes and of course that amazing Matthew Rolston inner sleeve photo spread with Michael in black sunglasses and turtleneck and through a distorted lens as he contorted for the camera.

The sounds - well they were surreal.  The percussion and aggressive vocals of 'The Way You Make Me Feel' in sharp contrast to the honey sweet harmonies of the backing vocals.  The insanity of 'Speed Demon' - the joy of Stevie Wonder Duet 'Just Good Friends' and of course that goose bump inducing global anthem 'Man in the Mirror'.  It has the violence of 'Dirty Diana' and finally the jewel of Bad's crown : Smooth Criminal.  Forget Billie Jean, keep Thriller. I wanted to see a music video for this adrenaline rush of a song! As a collected works - the songs were a million miles away form the brilliant Thriller. Where Thriller was sparse and conservative in its punches, Bad was a techincolour of sound.  Brooding, angry or sexy.  Nothing on there sounding like a repeat of where he'd been before. 

 

The rest of the campaign unfolded with equal amounts of mystery shock and awe.  Who could have seen 'sexy Michael' on the horizon?  But there he was in the video for 'The Way You Make Me Feel' converting even my rock loving sister into a fan. This previously harmless elfin like child man was suddenly the confident lead in his own West Side Story musical - puffing his chest and chasing the pretty lady down the street.  Every music video was an event.  MTV had just come to Australian television (albeit a 2 hour show 3 times a week late at night!).  But I sat there for every single video premiere at midnight - fumbling with the controls for the VCR to record them so I could watch them over and over again.  Studying the dance moves and obsessing over the details.   Then there was the tour. Long standing fans of mine would know about the transformative experience I had seeing Michael live for the first time.  Brisbane Entertainment centre - November 25 and 28 1987. Famously and rather embarrassingly, the Australian press launched a pretty aggressive negative campaign about Michael back then, informing locals that he would be performing behind a plastic screen to avoid catching germs from Australians.  Ridiculous. But it worked: ticket sales virtually halted.  MJ was supposed to play in stadiums but due to the poor ticket sales in my home town he was downgraded to arenas. Instead of one night in a 40 thousand seat stadium he played 2 nights at a 9 thousand seater.  It's unfathomable now to imagine the King of Pop couldn't sell a concert ticket - but in that moment in time, that was the reality in my home town. 

 

The tour book was extraordinary.  It featured photographs of Michael in a mysterious white pin striped suit with a white Fedora.  Had I missed something?  What video was this from?  I had to wait a year to find out (see the end of this story!).

 

I've written numerous accounts of this night but suffice to say I ended up almost front row by complete accident (my cheap seat field tickets for the stadium randomly exchanged for floor seats right near the stage) and the performance changed my life: it made me know what I wanted to do for the rest of mine.  It was a spectacular show, and I managed to buy tickets to the 2nd show as well - where I saw both Stevie Wonder perform a duet with Michael but also the debut of choreographer and local Brisbane resident Wade Robson as he made his debut on stage at 5 years of age, dancing with Michael during the encore. 

 

During the course of the promo period for Bad, I had all the 12 inch singles on vinyl.  For the record, Man In The Mirror was my favourite artwork - this incredible black and white portrait of Michael with silver ink and black.  The boots from Dirty Diana were also fawned over and I may have worn a pair just like them complete with a Triumph motorcycle buckle belt to my high school prom that year .

 

Bad filled up 2 years of my life at high school.  It saw me go from bullied teen with no allies to lead in the school musicals full of confidence and a purpose in life.  It gave me a hero to look up to.  Someone strange, marching to the beat of his own drum and someone proud not to fit into the mould.

 

By the time Bad promo finished up - and the magic felt like it was about to drain out of my world, I saw an ad in a movie magazine that stopped me in my tracks.  'Moonwalker' - starring Michael Jackson. 

 

There he was in that white pin striped suit in a movie poster reminiscent of a George Lucas or Steven Spielberg film.  What did it all mean?  I had to wait until the movie was released.  Luckily because I worked part time in a record store - I managed to score tickets to a press screening and I marked the date on my calendar.  Soon enough the mystery of the white suit was revealed - it was the outfit Michael famously wore in the music video for Smooth Criminal and I embarrassingly and proudly wore a replica version of it to the screening myself.  I felt a bit of a fool catching a bus in the middle of a humid Australian summer day - in full white suit complete with suspenders and blue socks!  I was one of two people dressed up.  The other, the now 6 year old Wade Robson.  He was in a perfect replica of the white gangster suit complete with identical dance moves.  I said hello to him after the screening.  No one else realised who he was but I said to him 'Are you the little boy who danced with Michael Jackson at the concert?'.  He looked up with his big wide brown eyes and smiled knowingly, 'Yes'.  He and his family would eventually be moved to the U.S with Michael's assistance, and under Michael's mentoring, Wayde would grow up to be a choreographer for Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.  But back then, in 1988 he was still a baby.  I said goodbye to him, and to the Bad era and caught the bus home with my own white fedora in my hand.  Wayde was off to Neverland and I was off on a journey that would put me on stage at that same arena in my home town just 10 years later. 

 

It was the best bus ride of my life.


The original cover for Bad - before the pesky record company forced MJ to change it. I still prefer it.

OMG what a wonderful and emotional life experience,isn't it  ?

Hy mj4ever777  :bearhug: !!!!
I try my best you know  :beerchug:   .Even if this song is a response for Michael from Siedah to his I just can't stop loving you  ,it's also my response to all your love you showed me.Thank you very much and please don't miss Michael's jacket from Bad era lol  :icon_e_wink: .

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-XOEFUPmr0[/youtube]