BAD world tour concerts WERE filmed and need to be found and released!

nextbigthing56

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What the heck is going on! It is 2017 and the greatest artist to ever grace a stage does not have ONE concert in high quality on Blu Ray or DVD!

It has been confirmed as far as as 2011 by a guy who actually filmed the shows that at least TWO Bad Tour concerts from 1988 were shot with film cameras. This is the article he wrote describing his experiences on filming the shows:
http://icolorist.com/grading-michael-jackson/

The world has waited LONG ENOUGH to see these concerts in true HD. It is an absolute travesty that they have not yet been released, and I fear that as the years go by the chances of actually seeing these shows decrease further and further.

We, Michaels fans, need to do something about this. These recordings NEED to be found and soon if we're to ever see them!

What can us fans do to let the estate know just how incredibly important it is to find and release these recordings to the public?
 
I don't really think we can do much... - Not more than we have already done, petitions, mails to the Estate etc. etc.

I think it will come eventually.
 
I agree. Any Bad Tour concert is HD on Blu-Ray is my dream release. I hope Estate is listening.

There are many threads about this already.
 
This discussion went on and on when BAD25 was released in 2012 and it was very clear at the time that although lots of MJ content was filmed professionally over the years nobody bothered to look log it or store it properly. As a consequence much of MJ's recorded material was lost completely, could not easily be acquired by the estate or was in poor condition due to inadequate storage conditions. We know there SHOULD have been better quality BAD concerts out there, but we don't know if they still existed in 2012. Video recorded from the jumbotron feed is unlikely to provide an great source for a professional bluray release that will satisfy fans. Not only would the Estate need to find a good quality video source but they would also need a decent audio source to match it.

It's a shame but I honestly believe that if a fantastic bluray quality video with the accompanying multitrack audio was available the MJ Estate would have released it instead of the show that was released in BAD25.

That's not to say that there could never be a better release in the future, but I think the chances are slim. It's possible that the MJ Estate tracked a good copy down AFTER the BAD25 release. It's even possible that a random person has a film reel stashed away in their attic or garage (or even better tucked away at the back of a professional storage facility) but we'll be lucky if it's ever found. IF it's found it may be decades from now. Stranger things have happened.
 
There's no reason the Estate wouldn't be interested in releasing a Blu-ray of what is amongst MJ's most popular tours. As MJTruth said above me, it's not just an issue of it being shot on film in the first place, but also actually finding where this footage has all been stored for the past 30 years.

Adding to what MJTruth has said, Wembley is one of the few shows where multi-tracks were recorded I believe, so if we do find film negatives for a concert, it's very likely the concert's audio won't be to the standard we got with the Wembley DVD. I imagine it would probably be a mono mix, maybe stereo at best. Funnily enough, if Michael had lipsynced during these concerts, this wouldn't be an issue. However we're not at a loss just yet.

De-mixing technology has existed for a while now and is getting better and better. I've seen it used on some classic movies for their reissue on the Blu-ray (Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho had a mono mix originally, but the sound was 'de-mixed' and then remixed into surround sound for the Blu-ray release). More relevant and recently, a Beatles live album had been restored from it's original tape sources; audio engineers had went in and experimented with de-mixing technology to help seperate The Beatles and their various instruments from the screaming roars of the crowd (see here) and help increase the clarity of the performance. Now while they had access to something similar to a multi-track recording, the underlying idea is essentially similar. They could take a mono mix of a Michael Jackson concert, de-mix the audio and then re-mix it into a solid stereo, if not surround sound mix... assuming the audio itself is decent in the first place.

I know it's been 5 years (!!!) since Bad 25, but I also think it's also a case of the Estate not wanting to focus too much on one era, especially so soon after it had an extensive reissue. Branca himself said there were no new songs coming out anytime soon, many fans have concluded this is so they can help prolong releases well into the future and I imagine they have this on their mind too when it comes to issuing new footage of Michael. They focused on Bad in 2012, Xscape in 2014, Off the Wall in 2016 (very, very briefly Dangerous in November) and well, rumour has it they're focusing on Thriller for this year.

I think the Estate are aware we want a Blu-ray release of Michael's material. I don't think us trying to petition them will actually change anything.
 
Adding to what MJTruth has said, Wembley is one of the few shows where multi-tracks were recorded I believe, so if we do find film negatives for a concert, it's very likely the concert's audio won't be to the standard we got with the Wembley DVD. I imagine it would probably be a mono mix, maybe stereo at best. Funnily enough, if Michael had lipsynced during these concerts, this wouldn't be an issue. However we're not at a loss just yet.
I would take any audio if the picture quality was like this:

What can us fans do to let the estate know just how incredibly important it is to find and release these recordings to the public?
This is MJ Online Team's official twitter and you can see their email address there too:

https://twitter.com/MJonlineteam/with_replies
 
there are many many concerts I want to see.. 1 concert per leg of each tour would be freaking awesome.. Butttt, I don't think we would be satisfied even after.. I mean we've seen 1987 concert and 1988 released now, and we're like.. more more more!! (me too) lol.. I'd like to see 1989 in full.. I have always had a thing about seeing Michael perform in different looks than I'm used to.. for example seeing MJ do dangerous related concert stuff in 1996 Royal Brunei was a big one for me.. Seeing MJ with his 1989 look doing Bad is super cool to me.. 1995 HBO special would have been another..

IDK what it is, just seeing him between or cross eras intrigues me so much
 
There are without a doubt concerts that were shot with film and it is rumored that the estate actually identified these films not long after the release of Bad 25.

We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to know whether or not these films are now in the hands of the estate, and if not then we need do our best to reach out to the estate and make them aware of how important it is for them to locate this material.

Like MJ said, "There's nothing that can't be done if we raise our voice as one." We need to be LOUD if we're to have our desires heard. We need to all band together and request that this material is found otherwise, like i said, i fear that as time goes on the chances of this footage being found (if it isn't already) decreases.

Is there anybody in this or any other online MJ community who is in anyway in direct contact with the estate? We need to know one way or another whether or not the estate have found this material.
 
This is MJ Online Team's official twitter and you can see their email address there too:

https://twitter.com/MJonlineteam/with_replies

Thank you very much. For what it's worth i have sent the following e-mail to the online team:

Hello,

I am writing to you on behalf of all Michael Jackson fans from across the world.

It is widely considered that Michael Jackson is the greatest artist and performer of all time. On stage, he absolutely has no equal and is in a class all by himself.

It is now 2017 and as of yet we have no high quality release of any of his ground breaking tours. Now please hear me out, this e-mail is not a knock on the estate. We fans merely want and need to understand the facts regarding the possibility of any future high quality releases of his tours, but particularly the Bad tour which is widely considered to be his peak as a live performer.

It has been confirmed by various people who worked on the Bad tour that various concerts were indeed shot (in full) on a mixture of 35mm and 16mm film. This is confirmed by people such as colourist Warren Eagles (who worked with director Patrick Kelley), William Pecchi (the video director from the first two legs of the tour) and Richard Lecocq who works for Legacy Recordings, France.

Prior to the release of the Bad 25 package in 2012, the estate stated that not all footage from the tour had been found and thus were only able to release a low quality VHS copy of one of the Wembley shows. Since then it has been rumored that much more material from that era has been identified.

Us fans sincerely need to know whether or not these films have indeed been identified. We think it is incredibly unfortunate that this material has never been seen by the public and believe it is very important for Michael Jacksons legacy that this material is found and released.

'The greatest performer of all time' so much deserves for the general public to see him at his performing peak in the highest quality possible. It would be a travesty if this footage never saw the light of day.

Regards,

Michael Jackson's fans from across the world.
 
There are without a doubt concerts that were shot with film and it is rumored that the estate actually identified these films not long after the release of Bad 25.

We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to know whether or not these films are now in the hands of the estate, and if not then we need do our best to reach out to the estate and make them aware of how important it is for them to locate this material.

Like MJ said, "There's nothing that can't be done if we raise our voice as one." We need to be LOUD if we're to have our desires heard. We need to all band together and request that this material is found otherwise, like i said, i fear that as time goes on the chances of this footage being found (if it isn't already) decreases.

Is there anybody in this or any other online MJ community who is in anyway in direct contact with the estate? We need to know one way or another whether or not the estate have found this material.

Send them an email:
https://twitter.com/MJonlineteam/with_replies

You can see their email address there. They have always emailed me back. I don't think they can say much but you can always try. That seems to be the only way to directly contact them. :)

I agree that a Blu-Ray should be released. It would be a crime to let the film reels rot in some warehouse and not preserve them. They have historical value too. They used new footage for Another Part of Me in Bad 25 documentary so it looks like they have found some of them.
 
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My dream is to have an MJ tour boxset released on Blu Ray someday.

Disc One
BAD Tour Live At Yokohama 1987:
Bonus feature - BAD live 1987 featuring Stevie wonder

Disc Two
BAD Tour live At MSG 1988
Bonus feature - The Way You Make Me Feel and Man In The Mirror live at the 1988 Grammy Awards and BAD Tour rehearsals

Disc Three
Dangerous Tour live At Tokyo 1992 (The show with BAD and The Way You Make Me Feel)
Bonus Feature - Dangerous live at Buenos Aires 1993 and Dangerous Tour rehearsals

Disc Four
HIStour Tour live at Bucharest 1996
Bonus Feature - Blood On The Dance Floor live at Copenhagen 1997 and HIStory Tour rehearsals


I could take or leave the HIStory Tour, but I included it for the fans who do enjoy that tour.
 
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I'd still prefer the music videos given the HD treatment over this.
 
just get some good quality released, what format.. whatever.. DVD is fine, just give a digital version available.. that's where we are going anyways, plus it is not held back by any physical lack of capabilities.. DVD or Bluray
 
I just want a decent copy of the Triumph Tour. A VHS version is fine. I would die happy.

me too :(

My dream Blu ray box set

Disc one
Destiny tour second leg

Disc two
Triumph tour

Disc three
Bad tour Kansas (first US show) or NYC

I'm not including Victory, Dangerous or History tour since we've already seen them in good quality.
 
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Victory was also captured on film, the full show. An MJ concert in HD or Ultra HD is a dream for years!!
 
As noted in a previous post I sent an e-mail to the MJ online team. The reply I got was..

'Thank you very much for sharing your opinion. I have sent this on to the appropriate Estate representatives.'

I really hope the estate know just how important this film footage is. If done correctly this could be a MASSIVE success.

'This is it' reminded the world of Michaels amazing talents as a performer and this would no doubt do the same. He was at his absolute peak as a performer during this era and the release of this footage could no doubt 'rejuvenate' Michaels legacy.

It deserves more then other any footage or music to see the light of day.
 
the quality would be like the 1988 wembley concert we have.. and for those who keep going back and forth about what physical disc format they should release it on.. in the grand scheme of things neither will do the trick.. who do you know now collecting DVDs or blu ray? Digital releases with whatever the current highest res possible will be the long term way to go.

Give it 10 years, see where our DVD's are at.. How much use to we get out of our old VHS tapes? (yes I know some people still have).. How bout your betamax than? lol
 
the quality would be like the 1988 wembley concert we have.. and for those who keep going back and forth about what physical disc format they should release it on.. in the grand scheme of things neither will do the trick.. who do you know now collecting DVDs or blu ray? Digital releases with whatever the current highest res possible will be the long term way to go.

Give it 10 years, see where our DVD's are at.. How much use to we get out of our old VHS tapes? (yes I know some people still have).. How bout your betamax than? lol


MJ's Tours should be released on Laserdisc
 
the quality would be like the 1988 wembley concert we have.. and for those who keep going back and forth about what physical disc format they should release it on.. in the grand scheme of things neither will do the trick.. who do you know now collecting DVDs or blu ray? Digital releases with whatever the current highest res possible will be the long term way to go.

Give it 10 years, see where our DVD's are at.. How much use to we get out of our old VHS tapes? (yes I know some people still have).. How bout your betamax than? lol
Many people buy Blu-Rays and DVDs. I have never bought a digital copy of a movie. I like to own things. Also Blu-Ray has better quality than streaming services.
 
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me too :(

My dream Blu ray box set

Disc one
Destiny tour second leg

Disc two
Triumph tour

Disc three
Bad tour Kansas (first US show) or NYC

I'm not including Victory, Dangerous or History tour since we've already seen them in good quality.
I'd just add Victory as Disc 4, because I want a copy I can HOLD of my own, and not just watch it on YouTube.
Something like this might make me break down and buy a Blu Ray player. Lol.
 
galactus - you may know some people that are still buying but there is a reason why every movie rental place has gone out of business. most music stores carrying CD's and movies have shut down and in many stores that carry the section of discs (CD's/DVD/blu rays) have gotten smaller.

We are moving to an era of download.. Netflix/Amazon and various other companies invest millions of dollars on streaming services specifically because that is where culture is going.

Another note, there is a reason through the disc wars blu ray never killed the DVD.. simply because though it's better quality, the price point vs. quality difference is not equivalent to the human eye. people find more use simply because of it's memory space (can save more pure disc) over video quality..

Though it is better, gaming systems are getting more use out of blu ray discs than actual movies/films.. both type of discs have been declining in sales while digital downloading has been rapidly growing..
 
Many people buy Blu-Rays and DVDs. I have never bought a digital copy of a movie. I like to own things. Also Blu-Ray has better quality than streaming services.

I hate digital copies. I never feel like I actually own what I bought
 
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^ I think a lot of us fans like physical copies.. might also be an age group thing?!? lol .. I still smell the pamphlets for CD's and whatever booklet may come in a disc box. just me?
 
Another note, there is a reason through the disc wars blu ray never killed the DVD.. simply because though it's better quality, the price point vs. quality difference is not equivalent to the human eye.

The difference in visual quality between Blu-rays and DVD is night and day for most cases! Even when I'm sitting watching a TV from a couch I'm able to tell if it's standard definition or Blu-ray quite easily. 4K vs 1080p is another story though.

Blu-ray's and DVD's still sell, but it's quite evident that people are happy with streaming their content now-a-days. Netflix on it's own recently reached 100,000,000+ members this year, and music services like Spotify and Apple Music now have a combined total of 70,000,000+ paying subscribers.

People still like physical goods but the sheer convenience that streaming services provide is a huge winner.

the quality would be like the 1988 wembley concert we have.. and for those who keep going back and forth about what physical disc format they should release it on.. in the grand scheme of things neither will do the trick.. who do you know now collecting DVDs or blu ray? Digital releases with whatever the current highest res possible will be the long term way to go.

There's no point in arguing about which format it'll come on. If released soon, It'll definitely come out on both Blu-ray and DVD as they are the industry standards right now, as well as digital services such as iTunes.

The only reason something wouldn't be released on Blu-ray is if the main source isn't HD. As for 4K Blu-ray, the market is still very new and tends to currently be reserved for the huge blockbusters, so don't necessarily expect Michael's material to be on here realistically.
 
As for 4K Blu-ray, the market is still very new and tends to currently be reserved for the huge blockbusters, so don't necessarily expect Michael's material to be on here realistically.

Well, yes and no. It is true that 4K videos is still a niche market and somehow exclusive, but MJ and Sony (as brands) have often been associated when it comes to the promotion of new media format. Recently, they both associated to promote and sell the Xscape album and the then new Xperia phone from Sony. I would not be surprised to see the new 3D thriller project being promoted on the playstation network to support Sony VR headset. 4K is the next big thing and will surely not be available massively until a couple of years. We do know several concerts from the BAD Tour have been shot on film, meaning a 4K release is technically possible. The estate and / or Sony may just be waiting for the right moment to release such material.

But talking about the Bad Tour quality specifically, what is more uncertain is the audio quality available from BAD tour concerts. Wembley was released with VHS quality video, and very good quality audio (despite the fact that their downmix was criticized). But it was sourced from a member of this forum and not from MJ's vaults !!). Which is rather surprising as a source for the estate of an artist like MJ. I remember having read Bad Tour concerts were recorded on 24 tracks.
I do hope the estate have at least 1 bad tour concert available in good quality for both video AND audio. But as of today it is still questionnable wether the estate have this in their possession or not. It is my dream, but I fear they have some good audio recording, some good video recording of concerts that do not necessarily match. A mix is still possible though....

We MJ fans are very unlucky when it comes to offical release and material :-(
 
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