Was MJ able to go out in public without getting harassed before 1983?

[JichaelMackson]

When I see him in this period (1970-1983) he was somewhat shy but mostly very enthusiastic and relaxed. He had no problem getting called on stage by artists, he gave interviews, he looked confident and full of positive energy.
But could he go shopping or catching a film or anything else without disguise?

 

[8701girl]

When I see him in this period (1970-1983) he was somewhat shy but mostly very enthusiastic and relaxed. He had no problem getting called on stage by artists, he gave interviews, he looked confident and full of positive energy.
But could he go shopping or catching a film or anything else without disguise?

h i think he did use disguises in 1979

 

[dethorro]

I've actually also been wondering this for some time. I've never seen Michael wear a disguise before 1984.


May 1984

1986

Either 1986 or 1987

June 1988

My guess is that he probably got recognised a lot during the Off The Wall era and before that but there wasn't as much hysteria as after Thriller.
But then...there is this photo from 1977:

This was taken in Memphis in March (I believe) 1977.

 

[NatureCriminal7896]

i've actually also been wondering this for some time. I've never seen michael wear a disguise before 1984.


May 1984

1986

either 1986 or 1987

june 1988

my guess is that he probably got recognised a lot during the off the wall era and before that but there wasn't as much hysteria as after thriller.
But then...there is this photo from 1977:

this was taken in memphis in march (i believe) 1977.

lmbo!

 

[Nite Line]

MJ was already famous before Thriller. But my guess is after he did the Moonwalk during Motown 25, he became a mega superstar, who couldn't go out anywhere without getting mobbed by everyone. He literally was the most famous living person in the world from early 1983-2009.

I suppose Moonwalk elevated to his fame to another level, which you can say did more harm to him than good.

 

[mj_frenzy]

Michael Jackson used to disguise himself years before 1983.

He started to disguise himself even since he was a member of the world wide famous The Jackson 5 band, mainly due to practical reasons, but also because at the same time he had fun with it.

During The Jackson 5’s touring, in many cases the only way for him to exit the hotel without getting noticed by annoying reporters and paparazzi, was to disguise himself (such as, by donning a wig).

He continued to do the same thing also later, when he was getting older while exiting hotels when touring as a member now of The Jacksons band, and being an adult at that time this gave him the opportunity to add more types of disguise on him (false mustaches, false beard, etc).

From the ‘Off The Wall’ era onwards, and especially after the release of his ‘Thriller’ album, he simply increased the occasions where he was disguising himself (not just while exiting hotels, but also, for example, while visiting shops for buying things without getting noticed).

 

[Electro]

During The Jackson 5’s touring, in many cases the only way for him to exit the hotel without getting noticed by annoying reporters and paparazzi, was to disguise himself (such as, by donning a wig).

Were is that info supposed to be from?
Hard to imagine that, at that young age (1970-1976), he was leaving hotels on his own. Or that Joe even allowed that during tours.

 

[Seldervi]

"Motown to Off The Wall" describes this pretty well, saying how they went from being able to go out & grab a burger to not being able to leave, being flooded by fans. This mostly applied in the USA, where fans would constantly end shows early due to rushing onto the stage before the show ended, or trying to grab them after the show, in some cases losing valuable equipment or getting hurt in the process.

 

[Michaels Lover]

Were is that info supposed to be from?
Hard to imagine that, at that young age (1970-1976), he was leaving hotels on his own. Or that Joe even allowed that during tours.

Yeah, he describes in Moonwalk how they were stuck in the hotels during tours