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Bad (tour)

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Bad World Tour
World tour by Michael Jackson
File:Badtour1988.jpg
Poster advertising the concert in Berlin, 1988
Associated albumBad
Start dateSeptember 12, 1987
End dateJanuary 27, 1989
Legs2
No. of shows23 in Japan
5 in Australia
54 in the United States
41 in Europe
123 in total
Michael Jackson concert chronology

The Bad World Tour was the first world concert tour by Michael Jackson as a solo artist, covering Japan, Australia, United States and Europe from September 12, 1987 to January 27, 1989. The tour, sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries.[1][2] When the tour concluded it grossed a total of $125 million, adding two new entries in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest grossing tour in history and the tour with the largest attended audience.[1] In the United States alone, where just 54 concerts were held, the tour came in as the 6th largest grossing tour from 1988-89, grossing a total of $20.3 million.[1]

In April 1989, the tour was nominated for "Tour of the Year 1988" at the inaugural International Rock Awards. The tour lost to Amnesty International, but nothing could detract from the fact that Jackson's first solo tour was one of the largest and most successful in history.[3]

At every concert (at least in the United States) Jackson made sure that 400 tickets were reserved for underprivileged children. These tickets were distributed across hospitals, orphanages and charities. Jackson also donated concert takings to multiple causes.

Overview

First leg

The release of Jackson's seventh solo album, Bad, on August 31, 1987 led to a huge rise in popularity for Jackson in Japan, with Jackson being nicknamed "Typhoon Michael". Other popular artists such as George Michael and Madonna had similarly begun their solo world tours in Japan, as it was seen as the ideal place for the last "live dress rehearsal".[4] The Japanese press only idolise their artists,[4] unlike the tabloids seen in the United Kingdom where they are most popular. When Jackson's Japan Airlines Flight 61 touched down at Narita International Airport in Tokyo over 600 journalists, cameramen and hundreds of screaming fans were waiting to cover his arrival.[4] Even Bubbles, Jackson's pet chimp, who took a separate flight, was greeted by more than 300.[4] To transport the stage equipment, a chartered jumbo jet flew into Tokyo carrying 22 truckloads along with Jackson's tour entourage of 132 people.[5]

While Jackson was in Tokyo, Australian pop music critic Molly Meldrum flew in to record a world exclusive one hour television special with Jackson and Frank DiLeo, his then-manager, which was later featured on 60 Minutes in the United States.[4] Whist performing in Osaka, Jackson met with then-Mayor Yasushi Oshima to receive the Key to the City. Jackson also brought along Bubbles, the first animal allowed inside the Osaka Town Hall. It was also in Osaka where Jackson announced the dedication of his Japanese tour and each performance of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You"[6] to Yoshioka Hagiwara, a 5 year old boy who was kidnapped and murdered. Jackson gave £12,000 to the parents of Hagiwara.[7]

The total attendance for the concerts in Japan (14 in total) during the first leg was 450,000[8] with performances in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. Previously, performers only managed to draw a crowd of 200,000 on a single tour.[9] A granddaughter of Emperor Hirohito attended the first concert in Tokyo.

After the first fourteen concerts in Japan, the tour went to Australia with five concerts with performances in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Similar to that of Japan, the Australian press were naming Jackson "Crocodile Jackson". When he was not performing, Jackson spent time visiting sick children at their homes in the suburbs in Sydney, where in one instance he actually put children to bed after a plea from their mothers over the phone.[4] It was also in Brisbane on November 25, 1987 where Stevie Wonder made a surprise appearance at a concert to perform "Just Good Friends", a song that was featured on Bad. This is the only ever live performance of the song.

Due to various reasons, scheduled concerts in Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand were cancelled.[4][10]

Second leg

File:Michael jackson bad tour liverpool concert 1988.JPG
A helicopter shot of the last concert of the European tour at the Aintree Racecourse, Liverpool with 125,000 in attendance, the largest attended concert of the tour.

Before the tour even kicked off, new costumes and more spectacular effects were being designed for the second leg.[11] This was due to the lack of preparation time Jackson had, in which many aspects of the first leg resembled the 1984 Victory Tour by The Jacksons. For this Jackson changed his costume, switching the silver shirt with a black bolted strap and multiple leg buckles[12] for a silver zipper with multiple black buckles down his arms[13] and white undershirt. Accessories including a belt, arm badge, and shoulder and leg buckles also varied. One of Jackson's entourage commented that Jackson "thought he was wearing too much leather back then [during the first leg] and looked a bit ridiculous". "So he grew his hair, threw away his jacket and strapped on a massive belt. The result makes him look raw and street-wise."[14]

Following Japan and Australia, Jackson and his band rehearsed in Pensacola, Florida for the tour's first set of concerts in the United States.[15] Jackson himself mentioned in a Kansas news report that him and his crew "are starting all over again with the American tour." "We are building a new show with new sets, staging and new songs."[15] The American tour was intended to start in Atlanta, Georgia yet Pepsi officials objected the idea as Atlanta is the home base for rival drinks company Coca-Cola.

On March 3, 1988 Jackson performed a private concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City where all proceeds were donated to the United Negro College Fund.[16] Tickets for the concert could not be purchased at regular box offices, as a special lottery system determined ticket receivers. Tatiana Thumbtzen, who was featured in the video for "The Way You Make Me Feel," kissed Jackson during the song's performance. The incident created further stories on Jackson and Thumbtzen's relationship.[17] Siedah Garrett, who provided vocals for "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" on Bad and co-wrote "Man in the Mirror" also made a special appearance. While touring the states, the 2 performances in St. Louis, Missouri had to be cancelled due to Jackson suffering from laryngitis after catching a cold.[1] For both concerts in Atlanta, Georgia, Jackson gave 100 tickets to the Children's Wish Foundation for terminally ill children.[1]

Following the United States, the tour went to Europe with the opening concert in Rome, Italy on May 23, 1988. Just hours before the concert began, Jackson sneaked out the back of the Lord Byron Hotel where he was staying, dressed in a curly haired wig, false moustache and raincoat to walk around the streets alone. This created a panic amongst his security.[18] Jackson was then found returning to the hotel on his own in a taxi. While in Rome, Jackson donated £100,000 to the Bambino Gesù Hospital, the leading children's hospital in Italy.[18] Performances in Italy were held in Rome and Turin.

The concert in Basel, Switzerland on June 16, 1988 was attended by Elizabeth Taylor and Bob Dylan. While in Basel, Jackson met with Oona O'Neill, widow of Charlie Chaplin, one of Jackson's all-time heroes. The two concerts in Gothenburg, Sweden on June 11 and June 12, 1988 were scheduled at the Ullevi Stadium but it was under repair. Instead the concert was held at Gothenburg's shipyard in Eriksberg. While touring in Europe, Jackson would be given the names "The Earl of Whirl" and "The Peter Pan of Pop."

The concerts in the United Kingdom, particularly at the original Wembley Stadium in London were the most anticipated and eagerly awaited by fans of the whole tour.[19] Partly due to this was that ideas of concerts by The Jacksons in the United Kingdom in 1984 were ultimately cancelled. Anthony Davis, a member of the tour's security staff, said that fans in London "have waited so long for the show" in which "the anticipation level creates mass hysteria."[19] Tickets for the initial 5 July dates went on sale in January, with ticket demand exceeding 1.5 million, enough to sell-out the 72,000 capacity venue 20 times. The first concert on July 14, 1988 was attended by numerous celebrities including Shirley Bassey, Jack Nicholson and Frank Bruno.[20] Two days later on July 16, Princess Diana and Prince Charles was in attendance. Jackson met them both prior to the concert in which he donated $450,000 to the Prince's Trust and the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Jackson also presented a special tour jacket and display of Jackson's solo albums Bad, Thriller and Off the Wall to the royal children.[21][22] The concerts at Wembley earned Jackson a third entry into the Guinness World Records from the tour alone on September 8, 1988. The seven sold out shows were attended by a total of 504,000.[21] Management of the stadium presented Jackson with the award which was previously held by Genesis, with 4. Until the demolition of the stadium in 2003, this record remained unbroken.

During the United Kingdom tour, Jackson performed in Leeds on August 29, 1988 on his 30th birthday. The fans sang "Happy Birthday to You" before "Another Part of Me".[23] An incident occurred during the concert where a pilot was "being hunted" by police after flying a plane above the crowd of 90,000 below 200 feet. No one was injured, although 96 were arrested mostly from drunkenness and some for damage and drug offences.[23] After the concert, Jackson donated $130,000 to Give For Life, a British charity that was aiming to raise $1.9 million towards an immunisation programme for 40,000 children.[3] The last concert on the United Kingdom and European tour altogether was one that Jackson was eagerly anticipating.[3] "I have always considered Liverpool the home of contemporary pop music", he told reporters. "By virtue of its being the birth place of the incomparable Beatles."[3] The concert, which took place at the Aintree Racecourse, resulted in hundreds of fans being treated by the St. John Ambulance service for passing out, fainting, headaches, hysteria and being crushed amongst the crowd of 125,000, the largest concert of the tour.[24] The amount of ground used covered the first three jumps in the Grand National.[24]

During August 1988, after performing 5 of the 7 concerts in London, Jackson and his crew stayed at the £50,000 per week Incosol Health Spa in Marbella, Spain to help them be in top shape for the rest of the tour. Jackson's health regime included mountain treks, gym sessions and underwater massages.[24]

After a total 41 concerts in Europe, the tour went to the United States for its second run in 1988, performing in 7 more cities. The tour was initially planned to end on Boxing Day, 1988 in Tokyo but Jackson suffered from swollen vocal chords after the first of 6 scheduled concerts in Los Angeles, California in November. The remaining 5 were then rescheduled for January 1989. A further 9 concerts at the Tokyo Dome (replacing the old Korakuen Stadium where Jackson performed in 1987) were performed, totalling the Japanese tour attendance to 570,000 across 23 concerts, including two on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The final 5 concerts at the Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles were performed to conclude the tour. For the last concert on January 27, 1989 Jackson donated more than £700,000 of the concert's takings to Childhelp, an organisation fighting child cruelty[25] and dedicated the "Motown Medley" performance to Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records.

Set list

The set list for the tour's first leg was similar to that of the 1984 Victory Tour, the last tour by The Jacksons. This was due to the lack of preparation time Jackson had for the tour.

The "Bad Groove" interlude involved the band playing an extended instrumental of "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" by Prince from his 1987 album Sign o' the Times. The second leg piece grew longer and an instrumental of "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" from Jackson's 1979 album Off the Wall was added. The band members also perform their own solo with keyboards first, followed by bass guitar then drums. During the second leg spots in the interlude session varied, such as the additional solo from guitarist Jennifer Batten.

For some concerts during the second leg, there were some order switches and songs removed such as "Dirty Diana" or "The Way You Make Me Feel".

Tour Dates

Date City Country Venue Attendance
First Leg
Japan I
September 12, 1987 Tokyo Japan Korakuen Stadium 45,000
September 13, 1987
September 14, 1987
September 19, 1987 Osaka Hankyu Nishinomiya Stadium 48,000
September 20, 1987
September 21, 1987
September 25, 1987 Yokohama Yokohama Stadium 38,000
September 26, 1987
September 27, 1987
October 3, 1987
October 4, 1987
October 10, 1987 Osaka Osaka Stadium 32,000
October 11, 1987
October 12, 1987
Australia
November 13, 1987 Melbourne Australia Olympic Park Stadium 45,000
November 20, 1987 Sydney Parramatta Stadium
November 21, 1987
November 25, 1987 Brisbane Entertainment Centre 13,500
November 28, 1987
Second Leg
North America I
February 23, 1988 Kansas City United States Kemper Arena 16,960
February 24, 1988
March 3, 1988 New York City Madison Square Garden 19,000
March 4, 1988
March 5, 1988
March 12, 1988 St. Louis St. Louis Arena 18,000
March 13, 1988
March 18, 1988 Indianapolis Market Square Arena 17,000
March 19, 1988
March 20, 1988 Louisville Freedom Hall 19,000
March 23, 1988 Denver McNichols Sports Arena 20,125
March 24, 1988
March 30, 1988 Hartford Hartford Civic Center 15,060
March 31, 1988
April 1, 1988
April 8, 1988 Houston The Summit 17,000
April 9, 1988
April 10, 1988
April 13, 1988 Atlanta The Omni 17,000
April 14, 1988
April 15, 1988
April 19, 1988 Chicago Rosemont Horizon 20,000
April 20, 1988
April 21, 1988
April 25, 1988 Dallas Reunion Arena 19,000
April 26, 1988
April 27, 1988
May 4, 1988 Minneapolis Met Center 16,890
May 5, 1988
May 6, 1988
Europe
May 23, 1988 Rome Italy Flaminio Stadium 35,000
May 24, 1988
May 29, 1988 Turin Stadio Comunale di Torino 53,600
June 2, 1988 Vienna Austria Prater Stadium 55,000
June 5, 1988 Rotterdam Netherlands Feijenoord Stadium 48,400
June 6, 1988
June 7, 1988
June 11, 1988 Gothenburg Sweden Eriksburg Shipyard 53,000
June 12, 1988
June 16, 1988 Basel Switzerland St. Jakob Stadium 50,000
June 19, 1988 Berlin Germany Platz der Republik (Reichstag Building/Berlin Wall) 50,000
June 27, 1988 Paris France Parc des Princes Stadium 64,000
June 28, 1988
July 1, 1988 Hamburg Germany Volkspark Stadium 50,000
July 3, 1988 Cologne Mungersdorfer Stadium 70,000
July 8, 1988 Munich Olympic Stadium 72,000
July 10, 1988 Hockenheim Hockenheimring 80,000
July 14, 1988 London England Wembley Stadium 72,000
July 15, 1988
July 16, 1988
July 22, 1988
July 23, 1988
July 26, 1988 Cardiff Wales Cardiff Arms Park 55,000
July 30, 1988 Cork Ireland Páirc Uí Chaoimh 60,000
July 31, 1988
August 5, 1988 Marbella Spain Municipal Stadium 28,000
August 7, 1988 Madrid Vicente Calderón Stadium 60,000
August 9, 1988 Barcelona Nou Camp Stadium 90,000
August 11, 1988 Nice France Stade Charles Ehrmann 50 000
August 14, 1988 Montpellier Stade Richter ?
August 19, 1988 Lausanne Switzerland La Pontaise 45,000
August 21, 1988 Würzburg Germany Talavera Wiesen 43,000
August 23, 1988 Werchter Belgium Festival Grounds 55,000
August 26, 1988 London England Wembley Stadium 72,000
August 27, 1988
August 29, 1988 Leeds Roundhay Park 90,000
September 2, 1988 Hannover Germany Niedersachsen Stadium 40,000
September 4, 1988 Gelsenkirchen Park Stadium 52,000
September 6, 1988 Linz Austria Linzer Stadium 40,000
September 10, 1988 Milton Keynes England The Bowl 60,000
September 11, 1988 Liverpool Aintree Racecourse 125,000
North America II
September 26, 1988 Pittsburgh United States Civic Arena 16,230
September 27, 1988
September 28, 1988
October 3, 1988 East Rutherford Meadowlands Arena 20,350
October 4, 1988
October 6, 1988
October 10, 1988 Cleveland Richfield Coliseum 19,000
October 11, 1988
October 13, 1988 Washington DC Capital Centre 17,470
October 17, 1988
October 18, 1988
October 19, 1988
October 24, 1988 Detroit The Palace of Auburn Hills 16,670
October 25, 1988
October 26, 1988
November 7, 1988 Irvine Irvine Meadows Amphitheater 15,000
November 8, 1988
November 9, 1988
November 13, 1988 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 18,000
Japan II
December 9, 1988 Tokyo Japan Tokyo Dome 45,000
December 10, 1988
December 11, 1988
December 17, 1988
December 18, 1988
December 19, 1988
December 24, 1988
December 25, 1988
December 26, 1988
North America III
January 16, 1989 Los Angeles United States Memorial Sports Arena 18,000
January 17, 1989
January 18, 1989
January 26, 1989
January 27, 1989

Official DVD release petition

There has been several professionally filmed concerts from Yokohama, Tokyo and Osaka. Despite these three releases and several amateur videos from various concerts across the whole tour, many fans are disappointed that professionally filmed full concert footage of the second leg does not exist.

In August 2005, an on-line petition was created to support an official release of a Bad Tour concert in 1988, with heavy interest in the release of a London concert at Wembley Stadium. The Wembley concert on July 14 was extensively photographed and filmed by Jackson's crew, with various parts shown in a video montage of the Bad Tour, the music video for Another Part of Me, the Carmina Burana introduction of Dangerous Tour Concerts and special documentaries afterwards, but the full concert has never been released. A full concert is only available in poor quality amateur video from the concert on July 15 (high quality audio also exists from this concert); high quality audio also exists from the July 14 concert (the same one professionally filmed) and also from August 26. As of 2009, "Bad" and "Another Part of Me" are the only full songs professionally filmed and released from a Wembley concert.

Although the target was 10,000 signatures, the petition continues to grow even to this day, with a total of more than 16,000. Jackson never commented on the petition, nor has Sony, his record label.

Performers

Credits

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Campbell, Lisa D. (1993). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop. Branden. ISBN 978-0828319577.
  2. ^ "Michael's Last Tour". Ebony. Ebony Magazine. April 1989. pp. 142–153. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d e f Halstead, Craig (2003). Michael Jackson The Solo Years. Authors On-Line Ltd. ISBN 978-0755200917.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bad World Tour 1988 Programme (UK Edition) "Far East Tour Report" Pages 7-9. Cite error: The named reference "tourbook" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - Bad Japan Tour 1987". Geraldine Hosier. News of the World. 1987.
  6. ^ "Bad Tour Live in Yokohama - "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" performance (26.09.1987)".
  7. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - Bad Japan Tour 1987". Unknown publisher, editor and date.
  8. ^ japanattendace
  9. ^ "Jackson to Make First Solo U.S. Tour". Richard Harrington. The Washington Post. January 12, 1988.
  10. ^ "Bad Tour Programme (Australia and New Zealand version)". Wikipedia images.
  11. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - Bad Japan Tour 1987". Martin Townsend. People Today. 1987.
  12. ^ "MJJPictures.com - Bad - Bad World Tour - Image 144".
  13. ^ "MJJPictures.com - Bad - Bad World Tour - Various - Image 186".
  14. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - 1988 Articles - Article 30".
  15. ^ a b ""Michael Jackson Bad Tour Rehearsal - US TV Special" on [[YouTube]]". {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help) Cite error: The named reference "kansasvid" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - The Bad Years 1988 (Official Souvenir Program)".
  17. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - The Bad Years 1988". Ivor Key.
  18. ^ a b "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - European Opening Night Italy".
  19. ^ a b ""Michael Jackson: Around the World" Part 5". Dailymotion.
  20. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - Bad Tour UK Opening Nights Part 1 (Images 7-8)".
  21. ^ a b "MJJPictures.com - Bad Tour - Off Stage". Cite error: The named reference "wembley1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  22. ^ ""MJ Meets Princess Diana" [[ITN]] News Report". YouTube. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  23. ^ a b "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - The Bad Years - Bad Tour UK Opening Nights Part 2". Cite error: The named reference "leeds" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b c "MJJPictures.com - Bad Tour - UK Opening Nights Part 2". Cite error: The named reference "aintree" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ "TheMichaelJacksonArchives - The Bad Years - 1989 - Image 15".
  26. ^ ""Bad" Live in Yokohama, 1987". DailyMotion.
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