Question: MJ bad tour Belgium (Werchter) 23/08/1988

JichaelMackson

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Was there any problem with Michael Jackson during this concert? Apparently MJ was interviewed after the concert but the entourage asked to delete the tapes because MJ bursted into tears several times.
It was also said that the concert was not very good with Michael having problems dancing and singing at the same time, it is said that there was a lot of miming during this concert.

My source for this is Bart Peeters who was the interviewer (also a very famous Belgian singer/presentator with no history of being an MJ hater) but since the tape is destroyed there is no real proof. The source is trustworthy though.
Has anyone heard audio from the concert? What is your opinion on this matter?
 
After a quick listen to what we have of the concert, nothing seems especially out of the ordinary. Everything is live that was usually live at that point in the tour. Perhaps his dancing was a bit off, it would be interesting to see. Or maybe something went wrong with the production at the end of the show, or maybe he was even just overcome with emotion. I'm just guessing though :)

 
After a quick listen to what we have of the concert, nothing seems especially out of the ordinary. Everything is live that was usually live at that point in the tour. Perhaps his dancing was a bit off, it would be interesting to see. Or maybe something went wrong with the production at the end of the show, or maybe he was even just overcome with emotion. I'm just guessing though :)

Werchter both sounds and looks like the rest of the bad shows. Awesome.
 
Thanks for the link.

The story surfaced after MJ's passing. I'm a bit puzzled myself as this guy is not the kind of person to bash other artists and I heard him say positive things about MJ before so it is weird. But for this concert he said it wasn't worth the money he paid.
Maybe there is a mix up with the Dangerous concert in Belgium s that also took place in Werchter? It could have just been misprinted in the article I read...
Is there audio source for the 1992 Werchter concert?
 
It would make more sense if he is referring to an interview done with Michael after the HWT show in Ostend (Belgium) because, well, that one got postponed for tragic reasons (the death of Princess Diana). Michael was definitely still distraught over this, which must have showed in this interview from him bursting into tears. Also, problems with dancing and singing and much playback characterizes this show (amateur footage of the concert shows it to not be that good, plus much playback = HWT). There's even a tribute for her in Heal The World in that show and Valladolid (a picture of her is shown on the jumbotrons). So yeah, I think he's talking about this HWT show in Ostend, not the BWT one in Werchter
 
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It would make more sense if he is referring to an interview done with Michael after the HWT show in Ostend (Belgium) because, well, that one got postponed for tragic reasons (the death of Princess Diana). Michael was definitely still distraught over this, which must have showed in this interview from him bursting into tears. Also, problems with dancing and singing and much playback characterizes this show (amateur footage of the concert shows it to not be that good, plus much playback = HWT). There's even a tribute for her in Heal The World in that show and Valladolid (a picture of her is shown on the jumbotrons). So yeah, I think he's talking about this HWT show in Ostend, not the BWT one in Werchter

Problem is the Ostend show wasn't in Werchter as it was in Ostend. I was there btw :-D I can still remember the disappointment of the cancellation as we were on our way the entire day and only heard about the cancellation when we got there.
 
Welk concert was zijn geld niet waard?
“In 1988 heb ik Michael Jackson gezien op Werchter,omdat ik met hem een interview moest doen voor de VRT. Heel vreemd. Het leek hem bijzonder moeilijk om live te zingen en te dansen tegelijk. Dus er kwamen wel eens dingen van een andere geluidsbrondan de stembanden van Jackson. Dat interview was trouwens ook niet veel waard. Hij barstte constant in huilen uit.” Bart Peeters, https://www.marikenwessels.com/uploads/documents/00019.pdf (NSFW, first page contains nudity from other article)

Roughly translated:

Which concert wasn`t worth it`s money?
In 1988 I saw Michael Jackson at Werchter because I had to do an interview for the VRT (National Television). Very strange. It seemed extraordinary difficult for Michael to keep singing live and dance at the same time. So his vocals came from other sources than his vocal cords at times (suggesting playback). The interview wasn`t worth anything. He (MJ) constantly bursted out in tears.

There is no mention in this interview about destroyed tapes or MJ`s team forcing Bart Peeters to destroy interviews.

It seems highly unlikely this recollection (if even true) was in regards to the BAD Tour.

He mentioned more about this in:
Toen Bart nog reporter was, mocht hij backstage een interview afnemen met Michael Jackson tijdens zijn Bad-tour op de wei van Werchter. Maar het interview verliep heel moeizaam. Michael was er emotioneel en zelfs een beetje gek. De manager zag dat het fout liep en eiste dat het interview nooit zou uitgezonden worden. De tape werd vernietigd en hij heeft geen fysieke bewijzen meer. Maar zijn verhaal is waar. Uit: https://www.een.be/de-3-wijzen/de-hoogtepunten-uit-de-negende-aflevering

This thing ends with 'there is no evidence but this story is true'... ehh..

I never had anything against Bart Peeters, but this sounds very made up. Fits in the same made up stories we heard 20 years ago but were never confirmed with true evidence. Coincidingly, this was mentioned when Bart Peeters went on tour himself. Just easy publicity if you ask me..
 
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