Michael Jackson
The King Of Pop, Michael Jackson died on 25th June 2009 just a fortnight before a comeback tour kicking off with 50 gigs in London. His musical legacy is comparable to any of the 20th century's most iconic performers, and 1982's 'Thriller' is still the biggest selling album of all time.
Children of the '60s, '70s and '80s grew up with Michael Jackson as ever-present star. He started performing aged 11 in The Jackson Five and a childhood spent in the glare of the media's attention, with a troubled family life created an introverted, not to say an extremely weird young man.
Embarking on a solo career in 1971, Jackson was to record five solo albums, with record sales exceeding 250 million: 'Off the Wall' (1979), 'Thriller' (1982), 'Bad' (1987), 'Dangerous' (1991) and 'HIStory' (1995). Whenever he performed or appeared in public, the King of Pop caused hysteria. His live shows were spectacular, and Jackson was an incredible dancer, famously wowing the world with the Moonwalk in the '80s. Jackson also produced mini feature films and some of the best loved pop videos of all time.
In the video for the song 'Thriller', a 10 minute horror tribute directed by John Landis which was a cultural event in itself (and also the first by a black artist to get huge rotation on MTV) there's a moment where Jacko turns to his girlfriend and proclaims 'I'm not like other guys'.
How true. Jackson was not only uniquely gifted but unique in many other ways. He suddenly went white between 'Thriller' and 'Bad', citing a skin condition, but it was bleach, OK? He had so many nose jobs his face fell apart. He was aquitted of being a child molester, but there was definitely something odd about a man who never wanted to grow up and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, and fed them booze. He was very odd, and slightly sinister, and just completely untouched by reality. A famous example being his own children, one of whom he dangled off a hotel balcony.
While Jackson is a hugely significant artist, a genius who shook up the white-dominated pop media, in recent years most 'Jacko moments' were meltdowns, bits of weird behaviour, bankruptcy suits and child molesting trials. A huge comeback tour was slated for summer 2009, and who would have bet against Jackson making it a spectacular success? But sadly it was not to be. The King of Pop died just a fortnight before the London leg of the tour.
If you asked most people under 50 to name the biggest icons in their lifetime, Jackson would figure in almost anybody's top five. Although his life became a sad, almost never-ending celebrity freak show, we would like to remember him as the guy who gave us 'Thriller', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Beat It' And 'Billie Jean' and whose dance moves made school discos fun. We'll miss him.
Children of the '60s, '70s and '80s grew up with Michael Jackson as ever-present star. He started performing aged 11 in The Jackson Five and a childhood spent in the glare of the media's attention, with a troubled family life created an introverted, not to say an extremely weird young man.
Embarking on a solo career in 1971, Jackson was to record five solo albums, with record sales exceeding 250 million: 'Off the Wall' (1979), 'Thriller' (1982), 'Bad' (1987), 'Dangerous' (1991) and 'HIStory' (1995). Whenever he performed or appeared in public, the King of Pop caused hysteria. His live shows were spectacular, and Jackson was an incredible dancer, famously wowing the world with the Moonwalk in the '80s. Jackson also produced mini feature films and some of the best loved pop videos of all time.
In the video for the song 'Thriller', a 10 minute horror tribute directed by John Landis which was a cultural event in itself (and also the first by a black artist to get huge rotation on MTV) there's a moment where Jacko turns to his girlfriend and proclaims 'I'm not like other guys'.
How true. Jackson was not only uniquely gifted but unique in many other ways. He suddenly went white between 'Thriller' and 'Bad', citing a skin condition, but it was bleach, OK? He had so many nose jobs his face fell apart. He was aquitted of being a child molester, but there was definitely something odd about a man who never wanted to grow up and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, and fed them booze. He was very odd, and slightly sinister, and just completely untouched by reality. A famous example being his own children, one of whom he dangled off a hotel balcony.
While Jackson is a hugely significant artist, a genius who shook up the white-dominated pop media, in recent years most 'Jacko moments' were meltdowns, bits of weird behaviour, bankruptcy suits and child molesting trials. A huge comeback tour was slated for summer 2009, and who would have bet against Jackson making it a spectacular success? But sadly it was not to be. The King of Pop died just a fortnight before the London leg of the tour.
If you asked most people under 50 to name the biggest icons in their lifetime, Jackson would figure in almost anybody's top five. Although his life became a sad, almost never-ending celebrity freak show, we would like to remember him as the guy who gave us 'Thriller', 'Man in the Mirror', 'Beat It' And 'Billie Jean' and whose dance moves made school discos fun. We'll miss him.
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