Michael!
Michael, we love you!
-Look at that. -Michael!
Go, go, go!
So much has been said about the life and career of Michael Jackson.
That it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth.
Recent revelations are only the latest instalments
of a saga that began decades ago.
From his drilling as a child star with the Jackson Five
to his rise as the King of Pop, and public scrut,
we'll be examining the real story and fame phenomena
of an African-American icon
who was destined to be the most talk about
and examined figure in the world.
Born in Gary, Indiana in 1958,
Michael Joseph Jackson was seventh of nine brothers and sisters.
His father Joseph Jackson,
who had a reputation as a strick disciplinarian,
organised the family band,
made up of his children Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon.
In 1963, at the tender age of 5,
Michael joined the group.
Joseph scheduled a strict regime
for Michael and his brothers.
Relentless hours of practice left very little time
for normal childhood activities.
In 1966, the brothers won a talent contest
at the renowned Apollo Theatre in New York's Harlem district.
And within a year, had supported Gladys Knight and The Pips.
Gladys recommended the group to Motown Records
and The Jackson Five were born.
Although Diana Ross was widely credited for their discovery,
Michael Jackson first entered a recording studio in 1967,
just three months after his 9th birthday.
By the age of 10, he became lead vocalist.
A year later, he and his older brothers
released their first single I Want You Back.
It became more than just a hit, it was an oral steamroller.
It shot to number one in America, selling 2 million copies.
Michael was just 11 years old.
Jackson mania had arrived.
Over a 10th month period, the quintet from Gary Indiana,
created pop history with an incredible four consecutive number one hits:
I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save and I'll Be There.
With the release of the horror movie Willard in 1971,
Michael Jackson's career took on a whole new dimension.
The title song Ben became a worldwide smash,
giving Michael his first taste of solo success.
By 1975, after 13 albums and countless Top 10 hits,
Motown and The Jackson were to part company.
With a fresh start at Epic Records
and renamed simply The Jacksons,
the journey was far from over.
The hits just kept on coming.
In 1977, Michael Jackson starred in a feature film, The Wiz,
a remake of the Wizard of Oz, featuring an all African-American cast.
Michael played a scarecrow,
and his leading lady, Diana Ross, played Dorothy.
Michael was introduced to Quincy Jones on the set,
which led to Jones producing Jackson's first electrifying solo album,
Off The Wall.
The Album went platinum, selling over 7 million copies,
and catapulted Michael Jackson's solo career into orbit around the globe.
Quincy Jones worked with Michael to produce his second solo album,
the 1982 masterpiece Thriller.
It became a hit of colossal proportions,
reaching number one in the United States and the United Kingdom simultaneously.
It remained in the Top 10 on the Billboard Chart
for an entire year.
With an astonishing 65 million copies sold worldwide,
the album cemented Michael Jackson's career
as an American icon and universal superstar.
An incredible seven of the nine songs on the album
went on to be Top 10 singles.
Today, Thriller retains it's title as the biggest selling album of all time.
He been in the business 24 years now
and he was 14 when we first got together.
He's, he's squarely is the man of '80s definitely.
Maybe, the '90s too.
During the 1980's, Michael Jackson's fame
had surpassed many of the world's leading political
and religious figures.
By the age of only 25,
the New York Times summed him up as a musical phenomenon,
stating that in the world of pop music,
there is Michael Jackson and then there is everybody else.
Four songs on the album Thriller were penned by Michael,
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', The Girl is Mine, with Paul McCartney,
Beat It and Billie Jean.
Unlike many artists, Michael did not write down his songs.
Instead, he dictated the words into a tape machine
and when recording would sing it from memory, rather than read the words.
Michael Jackson was to revolutionise music videos.
The unique video for Thriller was unprecedented for its time
with a duration of over 14 minutes, a huge cast and massive budget.
Director John Landis of Blues Brothers and An American Werewolf in London fame
teamed up with visual effects artist Rick Baker,
who created prosthetics that rivalled those of the cinema.
This combined with choreography as dazzling as Broadway
resulted in a music video which became so popular
that a documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller,
became the world's largest selling home video.
Songs from Thriller, along with Michael Jackson's narrative,
The ET Story Book, earned him a phenomenal eight Grammy Awards in a single night,
another pop music industry record.
It was during the televised 25th Anniversary of Motown in 1982
that Michael Jackson, wearing his signature white sequinned glove,
unveiled the now famous moonwalk for the first time.
It sent the crowd wild and received phenomenal worldwide media coverage.
The popular music channel MTV,
who in the past had been reluctant to give air time to African-American artists,
were now broadcasting Michael's videos on heavy rotation.
By 1983, Michael Jackson was the most celebrated
and influential pop star on the planet.
He is one of the few artists to have been inducted
into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
His awards include eight Guinness World Records,
including one for Thriller as the world's best selling album,
13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career
and the sale of over 750 million albums worldwide.
Michael was consequently honoured with a star on Hollywood Boulevard.
Michael received further accolade when he was presented
with a Greatest Artist of the Decade Award by President Bush of the Whitehouse.
Michael was looking for three males and a female
and so four of us went in together and the four of us had worked together
in studio situations before.
We had auditioned for him and we were video taped and he liked us.
And he was completely tuned into what he was doing
as well as being tuned in to what you're doing behind him,
and that's nice for a singer because he can appreciate
what we do because it's what he does.
And he has an ear for that.
And, and if you do something that he likes,
then he comments on it and you don't always get that
with really big people, you know.
He could be just tuned into what he's doing and then split.
But he's not, you know, he knows exactly what's going on,
and he appreciates what's making his shows exactly
what he saw in the very beginning.
He doesn't want us to feel intimidated by him, you know,
as musicians or dancers or singers.
It's once we hit the stage or once we all hit the stage, the stage is ours.
And we, he wants us to make it our own.
There are times when we all get to go ahead and feel it,
whatever we're feeling inside, we need to portray it,
whatever it is, individually.
The one thing that's so neat about him.
He's got such an originality and does things that nobody does
and it's his own style.
On January the 27th 1984,
Michael and his four brothers were performing Billie Jean
for a Pepsi Cola commercial when a bizarre firework accident
during filming resulted in Michael
suffering second degree burns to the head.
Plastic surgery was required to restore his appearance.
By 1988, Michael was taking a hiatus between albums
and living at his legendary vast estate,
a 2,600-acre ranch in Santa Barbra, California.
He called it Neverland after the magical kingdom
featured in JM Barrie's novel Peter Pan.
The ranch was maintained by 54 fulltime staff.
Neverland contained a private amusement park,
plus a small zoo stocked with exotic animals.
Michael's favourite pet was the famous Bubbles, his chimpanzee,
who travelled everywhere with him and appeared in several of his videos.
Michael was never short of visitors to his fairytale theme park.
Children, especially sick children, would be invited to spend the day there.
Hi, mate.
How do you spell your name?
-B... -B.
This is for you.
Thank you.
I sign a picture for you.
In 1987, the album Bad was released
and along with it, came a significantly different looking Michael Jackson.
The 1988 Bad tour was attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
Prior to taking the stage,
Michael presented the Prince and Princess with a 300,000 pounds cheque
from the proceeds of his Wembley concerts for The Prince's Trust,
a charity supporting disadvantaged children.
Michael presented Princess Diana
with two custom made Bad world tour jackets,
one each for her young sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.
Michael, pose.
-Michael, this way. -Michael.
-Michael, this way.
-Michael. -Hold up, hold up.
-Michael, this way. -Michael, yeah.
-Yes. -Michael, last.
Over here.
Michael, we don't see you on the left.
Over here.
Over here please, Mr Jackson and Mr Marceau.
-To your left. -Over here please.
-Come on. -Michael.
I have suffered and dealt with the same kind of medical problem
now afflicting my friend Michael Jackson.
Because of that and because of our friendship,
when Michael's doctor called to ask if I could help, I was glad to intervene.
I travelled to Mexico City where I saw for myself
that Michael was in desperate need of specialised medical attention.
Because of my own experience with addiction to prescription medicines,
I was able to make a number of calls in search of the best
and most appropriate treatment for Michael
and he is now undergoing such treatment in Europe.
I will only repeat that I am a friend of Michael Jackson's
and I love him like a son and I support him with all my heart.
During the 1980's, at the peak of his career,
Michael Jackson was the most famous man on the planet,
the sex symbol known for wearing fetish outfits
and grabbing his crotch on stage.
By the end of the 1980's, Michael was crowned Artist of the Decade.
Post millennium, he became the object of ridicule and scrutiny.
Hounded by the press and by the courts,
the victim of as many as 50 new lawsuits a year.
The bizarre tabloid rumours became rampant as Michael's fame grew.
It was alleged that he had paid a vast sum for the bones of John Merrick,
the elephant man,
and that to maintain his high pitched voice,
he was taking hormone treatments.
Increasingly outlandish headlines claimed
that to keep his youthful appearance,
he slept in a hyperbaric chamber.
When it was reported that Michael bleached his skin
to make him appear whiter,
some felt that he was denying his ancestral past.
-Michael! -Michael later revealed
that he suffered from the skin disorder vitiligo,
which affects the skin's pigmentation
resulting in the appearance of large white blotches.
With the release of the album Dangerous in 1991,
and even with its estimated global sales of 30 million copies,
rumours became rife that Sony were dissatisfied with record sales
and Michael was not living up to the record company's high expectations.
Dangerous featured the song Heal the World,
which in 1995 would become the title of Michael's Charity.
By 1995, Michael had finished his latest album History,
which controversially contained new material
mixed with old and also featured a duet with his sister Janet.
History is supposed to be a greatest hits.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that it will be so...
So I don't know if it will be on the album or not,
that's why I don't talk about it that much.
But I like the song.
-Okay. -It was fun.
Singles from History received great acclaim.
The album was never really welcomed with the enthusiasm
of Michael's previous records
and Michael was criticised for being unable to come up
with anything new.
It's Michael.
Hey.
Just back up. You gotta get all you want.
-Hi, Michael. -Michael.
1993 brought the first bombshell.
Rumours about Michael and his unusual relationship with children
began to surface.
The world held its breath as the King of Pop
denied accusations of child abuse at his Neverland ranch in Santa Barbra.
Michael went public with his denial
of inappropriate relationships with any child
and settled out of court with a family for a reputed 20 millions dollars.
This was the start of a chain of events
that would ultimately damage Michael's career in a profound way.
Now, if this really went on, do you think a father would accept money,
that that would make it okay,
that that would make everything all right.
I mean, it's, it's, it doesn't make any sense.
I know that if that were my son, I'm sorry,
I don't care if you gave me a billion dollars.
I wanna see you either behind bars or dead for the rest of your life
for doing that to my son or my daughter.
It, it's crazy, the guy was after money, that's what he wanted.
It was during this time that a highly scrutinised marriage
took place to Lisa Marie Presley,
whose father was one of the few men who could rival Michael's worldwide fame.
Despite media speculation about the credibility
of the relationship,
Lisa Marie and Michael publically denounced rumours
and declared their love was genuine.
The marriage was short lived and ended on amicable terms in 1996.
Within a year of the separation,
Michael's association
with his dermatologist's assistant Deborah Rowe
led to an announcement that she was pregnant
with his first child.
Soon after this, the couple were married in Australia.
Deborah gave birth to a son, Prince Michael Jackson Jr.,
followed by a daughter, Paris Michael Catherine.
Despite having two children together, the relationship was not to last.
By autumn 1999, the couple announced their intention to divorce
with full custody of the children going to Michael.
In 2002, Michael announced the birth of another son, Prince Michael II.
To this day, the mother's name remains a mystery.
In 2002, Michael Jackson released the album Invincible.
It was a financial disaster, selling only 2 million copies in the US.
And after an association that spanned over 20 years,
Sony failed to renew its contract with Michael.
The King of Pop was losing popularity.
We were already off the wall and we're coming off our seats
to stand up for justice in the music industry.
This is very important because throughout the years,
black artists have been taken advantage of, completely.
And it's time now that we have to put a stop
to this incredible, incredible injustice,
and like Mr Sharpton was saying,
people from James Brown to Sammy Davis Jr.,
some of the real pioneers that,
the, that inspired me to be the entertainer that I am,
these artists are always on tour
because if they stop touring, they would totally go broken.
And it's been, the record companies really, really do conspire
against their artists, they steal, they cheat.
They do whatever they can, especially the black artists.
Yeah.
Now, let me say this.
Sony Tommy Matola, Tommy Matola's the President of the Record Division,
he's a mean, he's a racist,
and he's very, very, very devilish.
There has been much speculation regarding Michael's treatment of his children.
An incident in 2002, which was circulated around the world,
showed Michael holding his baby over a Berlin hotel balcony
for his chanting fans to see.
It created uproar.
Fix family. Hey, Michael, fix family.
Those close to Michael have always insisted
that he was a responsible parent and highly protective of his children.
Claims of Michael sharing his bed with his pet chimp Bubbles
fuelled hysteria.
More outrageous tales began to surface when Michael's sister La Toya
launched her own musical career
and claims circulated of Michael and La Toya being one and the same person.
Michael's dramatic change in appearance prompted speculation
that he was attempting to look like his friend Diana Ross.
It's been said that Michael Jackson underwent plastic surgery
-to make himself look more like you. -I don't think so.
-Is that true. -No, I don't think he has, no-one's ever...
He's never told me that.
I don't think so.
Well, is it unnerving for you to have a young man
that's undergone plastic surgery to make himself look like you?
Well, I don't think he's trying to look like me, I really don't.
I think he wants to look like what he perceives
as makes him feel happy about himself, you know.
I don't think he's trying to look like me.
I do think he's quite beautiful though, by the way.
You know what media's like, how propaganda,
they take anything and they blow it out.
We're a family, you saw the way we grew up in a two bedroom house.
Family is more important than all the success and anything
and we're always gonna hold on to that.
Their whole thing is to divide and conquer and to separate us.
We're a family, we're family.
We have children. We hurt just like everyone else.
I'm constantly upset by what people say
and there are many things said about me that are unkind,
that I don't find pleasurable.
But people, so many people really don't know him
and they don't give him a chance and they're so ready to criticise.
And I think what happens is when you see genius,
and when you see a talent that is just unstoppable and untouchable,
the first reaction people have is to criticise it
because it scares them, it threatens them and it sort of, it...
In order to augment their own self worth, they feel that they have to belittle him.
Throughout all of this, Michael continued to be adored by his legions of fans.
Thank you. I'm honoured
that the world appreciates my art.
I'm very honoured.
Michael. How great is Michael as a man?
You know him well as a person. How great is he as a man?
Well, he's my closest, one of my closest friends.
And we know more about each other,
probably than any two people and I love him and he loves me.
2003 brought headlines that shook the world and stunned his fans.
Nine separate charges of child molestation were brought against Michael.
And this time, he was to appear in court under the scrutiny of the world press.
A furious flurry of claims and denials and counter allegations followed.
Everyone had opinions about the testimony and the witnesses
as the drama was played out
in the small town of Santa Maria in California.
Please keep an open mind and let me have my day in court.
I deserve a fair trial like every other American citizen.
I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.
I'd like to let the world know that I'm behind my son.
I don't believe any of this stuff that's been written about him
because I raised him and I know him
and that's just a statement people are making.
We support our brother whole-heartedly
and we stand by, by his side
and there is, we're in the process of planning trip
for the whole family to visit him.
The case was dubbed The Trial of the Century
and gained global notoriety, not only because of Jackson's fame
but also because of the antics outside of the courtroom.
When the trial began, hoards of Michael's supporters
held vigil for their hero outside the courthouse.
When Michael arrived at court,
he jumped on top of his SUV and began dancing.
Hello!
After two months, 85 witnesses and 500 pieces of evidence,
the prosecution rested its case against Michael Jackson.
On June the 13th 2005,
Michael was found not guilty and completely cleared of all charges.
His fans wildly celebrated his acquittal.
I would like to thank the fans around the world.
Can you speak up. Please.
I would like to thank the fans around the world for your love and your support,
from every corner of the Earth, my family who has been very supportive,
my brother Randy who has been incredible.
I want to thank the community of Santa Maria.
I want you to know that I, I love the community of Santa Maria very much.
It's my community. I love the people. I will always love the people.
My children were born in this community. My home is in this community.
I will always love this community from the bottom of my heart,
that's why I moved here.
Thank you very much.
Long after the headlines died,
thousands of celebrity watchers and pop music fans
continued their obsession with this charismatic star.
After restless but reclusive wanderings in Bahrain, Ireland, England and France,
where would Michael go next?
It's my pleasure. It is my honour to be here in South Africa.
I love you, people, very much.
I've had the time of my life here.
I've had so much fun I hate to leave
and I'm definitely looking for a home here to buy,
because I would love to spend the rest of my life here.
And I'm definitely coming in January.
And this is a wonderful, lovely man, and I love Nelson Mandela very much.
And thank you for all your hospitality and all your love. Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Michael Jackson and Uri Geller,
to the pitch of Exeter City Football Club.
Michael, why did you want to come to...
-Pardon? -Why did you want to come...
To visit my wonderful fans...
-That's a good answer. -Yeah.
He's a politician as well.
And to educate me about this whole internal thing.
Granted he knows more about Guy Fawkes than...
-Yeah. -Yeah. Yeah.
Guy Fawkes, the guy that blew up the Houses of Parliament.
He certainly did.
But why is that a celebration?
Well, we celebrate the fact that he didn't succeed.
Well, yeah.
-Yeah. -Okay.
We'll see you.Thank you.
-Pardon? -What are you hoping to see here?
Gee, I don't know. I haven't been in yet.
Michael, do you like football?
Are you looking forward to seeing Exeter's game?
I know nothing about it.
But he's doing it for me.
-You mean soccer? -Yes.
I'm sorry, I don't know anything about it.
Michael.
Throughout his life, Michael Jackson always found time to dedicate himself
to a vast array of charitable organisations.
Are we blind to the fact that our children are raging against the indifference,
crying out against the abandonment, of thundering against the neglect.
Heal the kids is about doing something,
about making a difference and trying to help adults and parents
realise that it is our power to change the world that our children live in.
Michael, it's now my great pleasure to present you with a cheque
for 1 million dollars.
This represents the money that took all the pledges
to raise in Europe this summer,
with our best wishes for Heal the World.
Michael!
Michael.
Michael! Michael! Michael!
Michael Jackson's announcement of 10 concerts here
is certainly a coup for the O2 Arena.
And if those concerts go well,
the expectation is that he'll add many more dates.
But questions still remain about whether the Michael Jackson of today
can still cut it live on such a big stage?
It's a staggering show, that's what Michael Jackson does.
And so therefore, you're talking about absolute
the, the top of our, of energy.
He has to be, you know, almost plugged into glucose,
because that's the only way he's gonna get through it.
I pulled him aside and said, "Mikey, why now?"
Okay. And he said to me, he said, "Because, you know what?"
"My kids are old enough and I'm still young enough to do what I do"
"and want them to see me, you know, in my pride and what I do"
"and whatever because they've never seen me."
He's about to announce all these we think.
Do you think he's gonna be able to cope with this?
Do you think he's past it or he'll still be able
to give a good performance?
If Tina Turner can do it at 70,
Michael Jackson can do it at 50.
Everyone's just gonna be glad to see him back on stage
and more so than anything else.
I mean, is he gonna be as great as he was back then?
Who knows but he's gonna be. He's still Michael Jackson at the end of the day.
I don't think he has to prove anything to pull it off. I mean, he's the legend he is.
I mean, Michael Jackson's gonna turn up and do his shows
and everybody will see that, you know, the next chapter.
He is the single greatest entertainer of all time.
And if he's back and if he's as, anywhere as near
as good as he used to be, it'll be great.
I know he can pull it off. I've got so much faith in him.
I know, me and the fans we've got, you know, so much energy
and I know he can do it, most definitely.
It was definitely worth it.
Front row. I'm so happy.
When you're looking forward to something you don't really suffer.
That we had rain, our tent got flooded.
But just because we knew that we were gonna see Michael,
none of that stuff matters.
We're here for Michael. We'll do anything.
As soon as I could get here, I got here.
And even though I came here, there was still about 16 people in front of me
and I've been here since Tuesday.
We came from the West of Ireland yesterday, on Wednesday morning,
and we've been queuing since.
It was so hard to get the tickets
so I just thought oh just the rest of us come down here for the night
and I just don't care.
Absolutely love him.
There's nothing on this earth that would stop me
getting to this concert.
-He's really good, yeah. -Just really tidy.
He's the best singer in the world.
-I love Michael Jackson. Yes. -He's my future husband as well.
I'm gonna marry him one day.
We're about to see him in a couple of hours.
-Are you gong to be able to cope? -I can't. I'll be on the floor.
-Michael, Michael, Michael! -Michael, Michael, Michael!
Michael!
The singer Michael Jackson is reported to have died from a heart attack.
He collapsed at his home in Los Angeles about three hours ago.
He was not breathing when paramedics arrived.
They performed heart massage.
And then they took him to the UCLA Medical Centre in the city
where he's said to have gone into a deep coma.
His family are at the hospital.
The Los Angeles Times say "he was pronounced dead a short time ago,"
"quoting law enforcement sources."
The man was in pain and there was no question about it.
He needed to have certain medications.
But the problem becomes the overuse of medications
and that's something which people, I think all people,
find very difficult to control.
He simply wasn't able to control it.
It was later learned that he died cardiac arrest.
Just the night before he died,
Jackson was here at the Staples Centre in LA,
rehearsing for his upcoming London shows.
And by all accounts, it was a pretty energetic performance,
running through 10 or 11 songs and dances.
After which Jackson's manager says the singer came up and put his around him
and told him "I am so happy. This is really our time."
At these rather less glamorous studios,
Jackson had a tough schedule of the last few months.
People here who watched him rehearse said he was thin and frail,
but he seemed fit.
He was, you know, up to par.
He was at his best and he was ready to, to come back and just wow us all the way.
This has been the Jackson family home ever since they moved to Los Angeles
from small town Indiana back in the spring of 1971.
It's here that plans were made and successes were celebrated.
Now, of course, it's a place of mourning for his immediate family,
all of whom survive him.
Unless you are a fan of Michael Jackson in a way,
that so many millions of people are and the way that I am,
you can't begin to understand the loss that we're feeling.
I'm just in shock.
There is no more King of Pop and just want to live through his music.
Yeah.
I've just been like shaking and my heart's still pounding
and I can't like comprehend that he's actually gone
and it's a huge loss.
I grew up with him, you know.
That's why he's such a huge part of my life.
It's because, you know, he's always been there.
He meant a lot to me.
I've been a Michael Jackson fan since 1969. Record was so good.
And they will live with me for the rest of my life.
Let's remember the silver glove.
Let's remember those video clips.
Let's remember that this guy, although troubled in his private life,
really did inspire two generations of young performers.
On the 7th of July 2009, a pubic memorial service in honour of Michael Jackson
was held at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles, California.
I definitely feel like it honoured his life and what he stood for
and what he meant to everyone.
To me, he's a Renaissance artist
because he did so many things so brilliantly well.
Not just about a singer and a dancer but a song writer and a producer.
His vision, the videos,
all of those things just made him the unique individual that he was.
I'm still in shock.
I cried throughout the ceremony. That's why I'm wearing my glasses.
But everybody was crying anyway but I'm still in shock.
Even in death, Michael Jackson,
perhaps more than any other icon in the history of popular music,
remains a subject of heated debate.
But one fact will forever remain undisputed,
his extraordinary talent for creating truly original music loved by millions.
Despite setbacks that would have ended careers of lesser men,
Michael Jackson's legions of fans remain as loyal today as they have ever been.
His accomplishments as the King of Pop will forever remain
some of the most impressive in music history.
I love you people very much and I've had the time of my life.