The 1983 Unauthorized Interview - What do we know about it?

dethorro

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I have a lot of questions regarding this interview and I can't seem to find much about it online.

This is all I know about it:

-It was probably shot in late September - early October 1983.
-It was shot at the Encino home.
-It was released in 1991.

Now, my questions are:

-Who exactly was interviewing Michael?
-Was it supposed to air on TV?
-If so, when was it supposed to air? In 1983?
-Why was it released 8 years later?
-Why did his team try to ban it?
-Was it shot after the Thriller short film?
 

I vaguely remember reading that it was supposed to be just for Michaels private use, but the video guy betrayed him and somehow got to semi-officially release it as a VHS Home Video in 1991. Can't remember the name of the guy anymore. Obviously not a very experienced interview filmer, because who would film that next to a noisy water fountain. :D

If Michaels team wanted to ban it then probably for the simple reason that it was low quality material and never intended for release.

LaToya talks about the Say Say Say video shoot, which was done in October 1983. The Thriller shortfilm was shot in October 1983 as well I think, released November 1983.
 
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Biggest takeaway from this film, "Working on this song called Buffalo Bill. I think it's going to be a hit, well, I know it's going to be a hit". 37 years later, we still haven't heard it.
 
Biggest takeaway from this film, "Working on this song called Buffalo Bill. I think it's going to be a hit, well, I know it's going to be a hit". 37 years later, we still haven't heard it.
Ironically he talked about Liberian girl as well in 83. I wonder what buffalo bill & lucy is in love with linus surfaces...& why does no one here talk about Michael Mckeller? He asked the guy how do you know about it as if it was a hell of a jam
 
Ironically he talked about Liberian girl as well in 83. I wonder what buffalo bill & lucy is in love with linus surfaces...& why does no one here talk about Michael Mckeller? He asked the guy how do you know about it as if it was a hell of a jam

I think he held back material for Victory and by the time BAD came close to finalizing, the stuff like Buffalo Bill got pushed aside and into the vault.
 
I think he held back material for Victory and by the time BAD came close to finalizing, the stuff like Buffalo Bill got pushed aside and into the vault.

It is interesting to see Victory album without the title song Victory.
Buffalo Bill was probably being dropped because of the 80's feeling, which also applies to She's Trouble & Nite Line.
 
Ironically he talked about Liberian girl as well in 83. I wonder what buffalo bill & lucy is in love with linus surfaces...& why does no one here talk about Michael Mckeller? He asked the guy how do you know about it as if it was a hell of a jam

Michael's Michael McKellar reaction is one of my favourite things about that deposition. I've always wanted to know what happened to it. Has no info come out about it in all the podcasts and leaks?
 
Triumph

It is interesting to see Victory album without the title song Victory.
But there's no song called Triumph on the Triumph album. It's not unusual to have a album titled something that there isn't a song about it. There's also songs where the singer does not mention the title in them or just sings it once during the song.
 
Re: Triumph

But there's no song called Triumph on the Triumph album. It's not unusual to have a album titled something that there isn't a song about it. There's also songs where the singer does not mention the title in them or just sings it once during the song.

Like superfly sister
 
Re: Triumph

But there's no song called Triumph on the Triumph album. It's not unusual to have a album titled something that there isn't a song about it. There's also songs where the singer does not mention the title in them or just sings it once during the song.

You are right. I was raising this question just because Victory supposes to be a duet with Freddie Mercury, which could have made Victory album a great commercial success at the time.
 
Michael's Michael McKellar reaction is one of my favourite things about that deposition. I've always wanted to know what happened to it. Has no info come out about it in all the podcasts and leaks?

Who is Michael McKellar? Is it a fictional person?
 
Re: Triumph

You are right. I was raising this question just because Victory supposes to be a duet with Freddie Mercury, which could have made Victory album a great commercial success at the time.
It was a success, it's the biggest selling album by The Jacksons. The group was never going to get the same sales as Mike solo. The Jacksons were primarily considered a R&B group in the US, so was not going to get the same amount of promotion, just mainly to the R&B radio stations & audience. The Triumph album didn't get the same amount of crossover attention as Off The Wall. It probably didn't help that Triumph was released after the "disco sucks" riot at the baseball game and many pop radio stations started to play fewer songs that could be considered "disco" including R&B acts. I don't think it was an accident that The Girl Is Mine was the first single from Thriller. It was the soft rock or adult contemporary sound that was really popular at the time like Christopher Cross & Air Supply. Paul McCartney was still a popular radio act at the time too. I think it would have had a harder time on pop radio if it had of been a duet with Teddy Pendergrass. Notice it was the Mick Jagger duet that was the only single from Victory to reach the pop Top 10 in the US. Torture did make the Top 10 on the dance music chart.

I think Queen was one of those acts that was more popular outside of the US. They had some success here but it had began to wane by the time of the Victory album. The Rolling Stones were much more popular in the US and for a longer time, but Mick Jagger's solo records didn't really do much.
 
Who is Michael McKellar? Is it a fictional person?
I have no clue at all...it sounds like a story he might have read in the paper or something...I have never seen or heard 1 person mention that song! That deposition listed so many songs. I know at the least....34-40% are listenable spngs that might be halfway there. If they're anything like im so blue or free or hell even fall again...I'd love to listen. I dont really trust leaked instrumentals. Not that I dont trust them. I just dont care to hear because he probably never even heard them
 
What an amazing document! I'd never seen it before. This is MJ i a very intersting phase of his life: after Thriller, but before the King of Pop persona, and obviously before all the controversies. He's still living in Encino, with his family. He's VERY childlike, but in a way that feels a lot more sincere and natural than in his later years. Compare his frequent bursts into songs or Broadway poses in this video with his more awkward "childlike" behavior in the Martin Bashir video, like when he runs towards his "wishing tree" or plays an arcade video game. He also obviously seems very happy and at ease in his own skin.
 
^

signed in just to 'like' this post. would 'love' it I could :)

that video is full of joy, inspiration, freedom and positivity:) I would use it to start my day each morning :) it represents the qualities that I try to focus on. here, he's safe and comfortable in the environment that he created.

*this* is how I remember Michael :) *this* is the Michael that is frozen in time in my mind :)

based on this, the making of 'thriller', 'say say say'/ 'the man', you could tell he was on a high :)
 
Buffalo Bill is Smooth Criminal. when he said it was gonna be a big hit it was. buffalo bill is nothing but one of the early versions of smooth criminal as we all know smooth criminal was suppose to be an western but he change his mind and change it with him being in the 30's as a gangster in a night club.

if you listen to smooth criminal it does sounds alot like it was suppose to be an western like he said.
 
I don't think michael ever lost his childlike image. i think he just got "older" and wanted to try different things. i like thriller era it's one of my favorite eras my mother's too. he seem happier in this era before the Pepsi accident and the victory tour.

his peter pan image never left him but at the end of the day he was still an adult. i think he should of put his peter pan image and is adult image in their own place.

i think he knew how to be an adult and a child when wanted to be. when michael wanted to drink wine he knew that was his adult self. when michael wanted to play with the kids that was his peter pan side.

i think if he put thoses in different time and image he probably would of had less problems.

anyway this one my favorite interviews.
 
The thriller short film was release in December 1983 in the USA. MTV would show it every hour. it's funny when people think of thriller they think of halloween which michael was going for. but if he release the album around October 1982 then made the short film and release it in October of 1983 then it would of made more sense. :laughing:

almost 40 years later it's still one of most songs play in the month of October. :D and still one of the best selling albums of all time. ;)
 
NatureCriminal7896;4305687 said:
Buffalo Bill is Smooth Criminal.

Uhm...no it isn’t a demo of Smooth Criminal. It’s a completely different song.

NatureCriminal7896;4305689 said:
The thriller short film was release in December 1983 in the USA... and still one of the best selling albums of all time. ;)

The best selling album of all time!!!
 
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I guess you heard it before

I haven't unfortunately. However, John Barnes has talked about Buffalo Bill and he has never mentioned any connection to Smooth Criminal. Nor have Mike Smallcombe or Damien Shields.
Al Capone is the early version of Smooth Criminal.
 
smooth criminal is buffalo bill. smooth criminal was suppose to be an western but he changed his mind. it's basically the samething. i haven't heard the demo BUT it's basically smooth criminal in progress.

michael even talk about it in his private home movies special.
 
Not even Chicago 1945 is Smooth Criminal. Buffalo Bill has nothing to do with Smooth Criminal. Al Capone would be the closest.
 
we all have our agreements and disagreements. but i'm going by michael by saying buffalo bill is smooth criminal.
 
I feel like mjfreenzy hacked both your accounts. As far as i know.... Chicago 45, Al Capone, & Smooth Criminal were all related. I have no clue about buffalo bill ALTHOUGH what Nature Criminal is saying makes perfect since for buffalo bill to evolve. Noone here should argue about whether buffalo bill is smooth criminal or not because NOONE HAS HEARD IT. Thats bizarre for you all to go back & forth over something nobody even heard. Only descriptions. I say that to say, we knew of men in black but never heard it, thought it would be a smash, it was another hit & all that, then we got it & was like..."that's it? Thats the song"? VS we got "I'm so blue, free, & etc" nobody ever heard of them. Not even mentioned in any deposition but they sound HELL OF BETTER than man in black. So you never know
 
I'm not arguing with anyone. i'm just saying what i heard. who knows. buffalo bill probably would had sound better then smooth criminal. but we haven't heard the demo. if the demo still exist and not lost. so yeah.

smooth criminal was suppose to be an western anyway.
 
I feel like mjfreenzy hacked both your accounts. As far as i know.... Chicago 45, Al Capone, & Smooth Criminal were all related. I have no clue about buffalo bill ALTHOUGH what Nature Criminal is saying makes perfect since for buffalo bill to evolve. Noone here should argue about whether buffalo bill is smooth criminal or not because NOONE HAS HEARD IT. Thats bizarre for you all to go back & forth over something nobody even heard. Only descriptions. I say that to say, we knew of men in black but never heard it, thought it would be a smash, it was another hit & all that, then we got it & was like..."that's it? Thats the song"? VS we got "I'm so blue, free, & etc" nobody ever heard of them. Not even mentioned in any deposition but they sound HELL OF BETTER than man in black. So you never know

True. I agree with this except for one point. MJ never said Man In Black was a smash or anything but he DID say that Buffalo Bill Was. I trust MJ discernment when it comes to hits.
 
Buffalo Bill is about William Cody. Smooth Criminal is about Al Capone.
 
True. I agree with this except for one point. MJ never said Man In Black was a smash or anything but he DID say that Buffalo Bill Was. I trust MJ discernment when it comes to hits.
I didn't mean mj said it was a smash. I think if im not mistaken Brian lorenz stated that or someone from his camp that heard it at Brad's siminar or something. I remember reading "oh this is the song to make mj comeback & etc.
 
If brad has it i wanna heard it. also i'm done with whatever buffalo bill is smooth criminal or not. in my opinion it is.
 
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