MICHAEL JACKSON REMEMBERED BY JOAQUÍN LUQUI: “WHAT A GREAT ARTIST!”
On June 25, 2009, he passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50 years old. Today we commemorate the 12th anniversary of his death
Michael Jackson had publicly announced his return to the stage with This is it. It would be in London, at the O2 Arena ... but that day never came. On June 25, 2009, he passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50 years old. Today we commemorate the 12th anniversary of his death, making a brief review of five ephemeris in his life and his history. And who better than Joaquín Luqui to get closer to those memorable moments.
The historical Thriller: "When you have that quality ..."
On November 30, 1982, Michael Jackson released the album that would definitely cement his status as the world's greatest pop star. Thriller became the best-selling album in history and is therefore listed in the Guinness Book. Joaquín Luqui in the 40 TV program ‘Decade 40’, in 2001, remembered the event thus:
To this day, Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, with worldwide sales of around 66 million copies.
On the Berlin Wall: "What a great artist he is still!"
And from a historic album to a memorable event: Michael Jackson's performance at the Berlin Wall on June 19, 1988. That concert on the western side of the German capital was part of a three-day festival, in which Pink Floyd also participated, among others.
It later emerged that the Stasi, the East German communist secret police, viewed Michael Jackson as a security threat. According to the secret files revealed years later, there was fear that this action could unleash protests and cause young people to jump over the wall that separated East and West Berlin since 1961. Only a year and a half after, on 9 November 1989, the German population brought down the Wall.
Sony: "The best contract ever"
Sonado was also the contract that Michael Jackson signed with Sony, considered the most lucrative of those that a pop artist had ever signed. In March 1991, all the media in the world covered the news. El País, for example, published this headline: "Sony retains Michael Jackson with a contract of 100,000 million (pesetas)".
The contract with the Japanese multinational, which was intended to prevent the singer from going to another label, also included films, short films, television or six new albums.
In Eurodisney: "To rest from everything"
Michael Jackson was fascinated by Disneyland Paris and enjoyed the park and its attractions several times. But there was one in particular, between December 18 and 21, 1995, in which his stay was for "optional prescription":
It was on December 6, 1995, when Jackson had to be hospitalized after fainting while rehearsing at the Beacon Theater, where he was scheduled to perform for two nights (December 8 and 9). The concerts, which were to be recorded for a television special, were canceled. And indeed, the participation of Marcel Marceau was foreseen. We remember that Jackson was friends with the French mime for almost 20 years and the Thriller interpreter himself acknowledged that he used some of Marceau's techniques in his famous dance steps.
Brit Awards 1996: "The biggest incident was caused by Jarvis Cocker"
Michael Jackson attended the Brit Awards ceremony on February 19, 1996, to receive an award that accredited him as an Artist of a Generation. It was the last British industry award he would receive. Bob Geldof handed it to him. Before, surrounded by children, he performed a spectacular performance of Earth Song. He was dressed in white, as if he were some kind of Messiah, and he pretended to be desperate for the situation on the planet. And it was then that the incident occurred that Luqui relates:
Jarvis was protesting the "deity image" of Michael's "Christ the Savior." Michael later responded, calling Jarvis's attitude "cowardly and disgusting."
When he finished singing, Jac kson gave this speech: "Do you know that an area of tropical forest the size of six football fields is burned every minute and destroyed? Do you know that three million children die every minute? And do you know too that every hour 300 children die of hunger? But I believe in us as people. I know we can make a difference. I love you all. I believe in you. I love you. "
