Behind Michael Jackson’s carefully controlled public image was a mischievous side that people close to him saw far more often. One favorite target was Frank DiLeo, the music executive Michael affectionately called “Uncle Tookie.” DiLeo became Jackson’s manager during the enormous success that followed Thriller, but managing the world’s biggest pop star apparently also meant … Read more
By his final years, Michael Jackson was living a far quieter life than the one millions of fans remembered. Away from packed stadiums, screaming crowds and television cameras, much of his world revolved around his children and the privacy of home. Yet when everyone else settled down for the night, Michael reportedly had one habit … Read more
Michael Jackson had performed at Madison Square Garden on September 10, 2001, surrounded by some of the biggest names in entertainment. Hours later, New York was transformed by the September 11 attacks. What reportedly happened next became one of the strangest stories attached to Jackson’s life: an attempted escape from the city involving Hollywood legends … Read more
In 2001, Michael Jackson decided he wanted the world to meet the real him. Not the tabloid version, not the stage version, but the man. So he commissioned a fly-on-the-wall documentary crew and let them follow him around, unscripted, for months. Hours of it were shot. Then the project was shelved, the tapes were locked … Read more
Picture the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Iron Man, the Avengers, Black Panther, twenty-odd years of the biggest film franchise on the planet. Now picture all of it owned by Michael Jackson. It very nearly happened. In the 1990s, the King of Pop made a genuine attempt to buy Marvel Comics outright, and his reason had … Read more
Michael Jackson had already achieved something most performers could only dream of before he was old enough to understand what fame meant. As the lead singer of the Jackson 5, he had become a global sensation while still a child. His voice, dancing and extraordinary stage presence made him famous around the world. But by … Read more
In 2001, Michael Jackson walked into one of Britain’s most prestigious debating chambers and did something few people expected from the King of Pop. He did not come to talk about records, concerts or his extraordinary career. He came to talk about children. Jackson appeared at the Oxford Union on March 6, 2001, as part … Read more
For most people, a quiet family living room is hardly something worth remembering. A sofa, a television, children playing on the floor and a grandmother watching over them might seem like the most ordinary scene imaginable. But for Michael Jackson, those moments could feel almost magical. Long before he became known as the King of … Read more
In 1983, the two biggest voices in popular music sat down together in a home studio in Encino, California, and started making an album. Michael Jackson had just released Thriller. Freddie Mercury was fronting Queen at the height of their powers. They liked each other enormously; they had been to each other’s shows, and they … Read more
In 1982, the phone rang at Eddie Van Halen’s house. He was the biggest rock guitarist on the planet at the time, and the voice on the other end said it belonged to Quincy Jones, who was producing an album for Michael Jackson and wanted him to play a guitar solo on it. Van Halen … Read more