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1997 - 20 years later

innuendo141

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So, for some of us on MJJC we are at the 20th anniversary of the last time we saw MJ live in concert during the HIStory Tour in 1997. Next Wednesday it will be the 20th anniversary of the show at the RDS Showgrounds in Dublin, which I am so glad to be able to say that I attended, and a show that I know many of you have downloaded and watched.

So, for those of us that have hit that milestone- what are your reflections on the experience. There are a few of us here who were very lucky to have seen MJ live at least once and I cant still say that that night was the best night of my life so far. Only 10 years of age and the various details of that night that stuck with me is mad (outside of the concert). My dad brought me and we were talking about it earlier, things about the journey to and from Dublin, who we met, what we did before and after the show. It was great to be able to talk about it as if it was just another concert.

Having seen the bootleg video a million times, my memory has been influenced by the recording, but I actually have so many visual memories that will never leave my mind. Seeing the lean, MJ coming out with the suitcase, the opening notes of Blood on the Dance Floor and seeing that blue jacket shine with the lights, MJ hanging from the cherry picker, and I remember being glad that even though he didnt sing Bad, that I got to see a bit of it during the Remember the Time interlude. Blood on the Dace Floor has been my favourite song since I first saw it on Mtv, and I'm glad to have seen him perform it.

Sometimes I couldnt care less that the show was mostly lip sync. It was still my faourite concert I've been to because it's the one that I can never go a few days without thinking about. Those are the concerts that matter.

I just wanted to start a thread so we can share our experiences and how we feel 20 years on from the end of MJ's last world tour
 
aaww, thanks for sharing your memories, that was really sweet :)
 
Heartbreaking! While I never saw him in concert I saw him at the James Brown funeral TWICE in one afternoon! My parents also saw him as a child in concert in 1973 on a date before they were married! You know most Americans probably don't have any idea that he toured after "The Bad World Tour", right? Which is SO sad...
 
I saw HIStory twice, Sheffield and Wembley, London. At first he only announced London dates, so I booked that, then he did Northern Ones annoyingly so I went to both.

We missed our coach back from London and had to find somewhere to stay!

You know my thoughts on the HIstory tour probably so won't go into that, but it was great seeing songs I hadn't seen him do before plus the OTW medley.

Having been lucky enough to see Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours live, this one was the least fulfilling, but it was still Michael Jackson and knowing what he'd been through I recall thinking it was great to see him again, especially seeming so relaxed.
 
MattyJam said:
Maybe part of it was my youth - it's certainly harder to be impressed the older you get. But I don't believe it's just that. I really think the big stadium shows MJ put on from 1987-1997 had a touch of magic to them.

I have some very vivid memories of that day. My parents and my siblings took a coach trip to London to see the show and I remember the excitement inside the stadium when MJ's space rocket came onto the stage. He really knew how to work a crowd, how to squeeze every last drop out of a moment, and you will never understand the power of his stage presence and the exhilaration of the crowd from just watching concert footage on a Youtube video. It is one of those things that really had to be seen in person to fully experience.

I remember the atmosphere as the evening drew to a close and they put the massive floodlights on during Heal The World. I remember watching in awe at the brilliantly powerful staging and theatrics of the History performance in the encore. I remember getting back onto the coach after the show and some random American woman said to the entire coach "well, that was really something special, wasn't it?". Nobody replied to her (us Brits aren't partial to open displays of enthusiasm), but I knew exactly what she meant and I think everyone else did too.
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20 years ago today for you Matty. Happy anniversary. Love reading this- these are the things that make going to a concert much more than just entering the building, support act, main act, done. It's a whole day and I get everything you've written above. I always ask my dad if he actually enjoyed it, and he says he did! I remember him telling me MJ was stuck in the spaceship so we had to go home haha! But the things you shared above go so far outside of the bootleg or video of the show. Thats what has dawned on me recently, I've been to a few amazing gigs this summer and it's all about the entire day, and its the small things that make the bigger things even better.

Tony R said:
I saw HIStory twice, Sheffield and Wembley, London. At first he only announced London dates, so I booked that, then he did Northern Ones annoyingly so I went to both.

We missed our coach back from London and had to find somewhere to stay!

You know my thoughts on the HIstory tour probably so won't go into that, but it was great seeing songs I hadn't seen him do before plus the OTW medley.

Having been lucky enough to see Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours live, this one was the least fulfilling, but it was still Michael Jackson and knowing what he'd been through I recall thinking it was great to see him again, especially seeming so relaxed.
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To see him once I feel as lucky as hell, but 4 times, that's just brilliant. The one thing I'd love to be able to say is "Well I preferred it when I saw him in....." but to be honest, once is a lot more than most people so I cant complain!

I suppose, you really did get a few songs on the HIStory tour that you wouldnt have gotten before, I'm counting 9? (including Dangerous). Didnt realise he did an OTW medley in the UK!

I remember the UK ad campaign was ferocious, and I used get so excited every time I saw something.
 
Year I was born. That's mad haha. Unfortunate that I was born to late to have the opportunity.
 
SmoothGangsta said:
Year I was born. That's mad haha. Unfortunate that I was born to late to have the opportunity.
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Yep can identify with that mate. MJ only came to my country once and I was but a baby so even if I did go, I wouldn't remember it. I guess in the future we can go see the hologram :lol: but it won't be the same thing. Jealous of some people here (in a good way that is, especially you Toby!!).

Looking forward to reading more experiences :)
 
June 15th 1997 in Gelsenkirchen, Parkstadion - 50.000 visitors (according to Wikipedia).
 
The 20th anniversary of my attendance at Sheffield was last Sunday. I knew it was coming. But it still seems odd that it was 20 years. It feels like so long ago but almost like a dream. I was 13.

I'm from Glasgow so my parents kindly road tripped me down to see him. I really didn't think in 1997 that it was going to be the last time Michael toured the UK. I remember coming off the motorway and seeing a banner by the roadside "SHEFFIELD WELCOMES THE KING OF POP". Then by the sides of the road I saw all the fans in their t-shirts heading to the venue. It was a beautiful sunny day and I immediately issued the decree, 'we MUST start queuing'. And so we did. I remember leaving my parents in the queue as I snuck up to the gates and peered through the gap at the soundcheck. MJ was on the big screen as the band played along. All day long fans approached me asking where I got my t-shirt from - it has been an unofficial one my mum had bought me on a trip to Paris. When the merchandise tent opened I got out all my pocket money I had saved for this moment since Christmas and bought everything I could get my hands on: several t-shirts, a programme, a key ring, a commemorative coin etc etc etc. When the gates opened I started running but my mother told me to slow down. I didn't want to but with all the crowds around I figured it was probably good advice. We eventually made it to the front and got a good spot to stand on the pitch. And this next bit I will never forget. I've been to a LOT of gigs in my life, and I've seen some of the biggest pop stars in the world in the flesh. Never have I ever heard an audience scream so loud, a reaction so BIG, as when Michael kicked down the door of his spaceship and stood defiantly, decked out in his space age armour. It was unreal. And when he stepped out of the spaceship and started to dance, it was the most surreal moment. I'll never forget it. The man I had studied all my life in his music videos and TV appearances was now in front of me in the flesh. Further moments that stand out, when Michael finished a song (maybe Beat It) he stood arms outstretched and looked out at the crowd...a smile slowly crept across his face. It seemed like he was looking at me. I guess we all felt that. It was a nice moment. And when he got on the cherry picker for Earth Song it seemed like the underside of those magical soles were in arms reach.

The next morning I woke up in our hotel room to breakfast news talking about Michael's first UK gig in years and showing footage. I lay in bed and read the programme. That day we went into town and at HMV I bought even more cool MJ items.

When Michael passed away in 2009 I was backpacking across Australia. Milllions of miles from friends and family. My parents called to ask if I was okay...a friend at the time remarked that it was almost as if a family member had passed away. The first thing I did was thank them for making my one and only time in his company a reality.

When I visited Forest Lawn in 2014 I spent a moment alone beneath 'his window'. It was eerie to think this was the closest I had been to him since that day in 1997. HIStory, indeed.
 
Too long to quote, but fantastic post Chris. You had a couple of years on me, so you could get away with a standing ticket! I was up in the seats in the RDS.

You just reminded me of the merch stands which I hadnt remembered in forever. Did you get the program? I think thats the only thing I got, and maybe a badge. I got a little blue scarf outside the stadium, but in the years the white MJ text has come off but I know what it is!
 
Yeah I got the programme! In those days I always bought one. I rarely pick one up now. They seem so overpriced.

I would have bought more at the merchandise tent were it not for my old dad telling me I had spent enough :D

I remember looking for Mystery but there was no sign of it at the Sheffield gig.
 
It was F##king awesome! There he was dangling right over my head when I had "that moment!" I could not believe how close I was to him. There was times he looked not real to me when he was dancing, especially if he did robotics or spins. Seeing him spinning in front of my eyes was one of the most surrealist moments of my life. Billie Jean was strange for me, I kept double-taking from the screen which looked how I'd always known seeing him back to the stage and actually looking at him in front of me. I thought the theatrics were slightly over the top but he put on a great show. I was 18, felt I'd been waiting a lifetime to see him by that point, came so close to seeing him on the Bad Tour -I've never gotten over not seeing him in 88- and again in 92.

Impersonators always over-dance, over-perform when in actual fact MJ was much slower and more graceful on stage, he never really tried to do 20 moves at the same time to impress. He took his time and brought his physical presence. I had a feeling -deep down I knew- he was lip syncing but I didn't give a toss. By HIStory he'd done more in his life than most people and I was amazed he was still able to tour after such a gruelling career up to that point.

I don't know where it sits for me in comparison to other concerts I've been to, Prince and other much smaller shows were incredible and artistically moving and personal to me, But getting to finally see him was its own special moment for me.
 
Great Thread! loving the storys.

I was at the first Bremen concert, May 31th 1997. I was 11 years old.
I saw the show with my best friend and his parents. We were standing pretty much right in the middle of the stadium. since we were children and could not see anything my friends mother suggested that we should climb up the fences that surrounded the speakers that were placed mid stadium. The security would order us down like 3-4 times before they gave up and realized we would climb up again anyway. So I was slighty above 55.000 people. I remember everytime a ballad started there were thousands of lighters waving from side to side. The atmosphere was just great. the people in the back of the stadium looked like they had a party. a lot of people were dancing. probably cause they couldn't see much.
I remember that during Blood on the Dancefloor my friends mother got me down from the fence because there was a group of women that wanted to have someone do MJ moves for them. I missed half of the song because of that.
Also i remember that Heal the World was my favorit performance because of the ad lips he sang. i didnt know he was lipsyncing most of the show cause i was a child and had no clue about something like that. But I knew he didnt sing those ad lips on the Bucarest Bootleg CD I had and listened to a 1000 times. i cant explain why these ad lips stood out for me so much that night. but it is what it is i guess...

Although there was a great distance between me and the stage, I knew the steps and the show looked spectecular.

I wish i was older and had been seeing him 2 or 3 times in concert. i think that i was so blown away just to see him, that i didnt really focus on the performance, since everything happened so fast and was over so soon.
 
Already 20 years.......... Yes, I´m thinking of it quite often - just in these weeks 20 years ago I was in Bremen, May 31 and Berlin, August 1. I also saw HIStory in Prague. I wrote about it earlier in other threads... - I saw every concert was so exciting and wonderful and different from the other - and my experiences of each concert, too. Of course, Michael was absolutely great in every show, no word could describe all aspects adequately. After having the luck to see him perform I could not enjoy any other artists the same way as I did before - Michaels concerts, his presence, his performances were more than outstanding!
 
Also would like to add that I LOVED this era!! This was his real Invincible era! To come back with such an outstanding album; sonically and musically masterful and such a mature piece of work was incredible! From 95 to 97 was immense! First single Scream/Childhood featuring Janet who was also at the peak of her powers! Earth Song the Christmas #1, You Are Not Alone a massive monster of a #1 hit! Stranger In Moscow; artistic growth and one of his finest songs of all time! All the TV performances were some of his best! MTV performance was insane! Interviews! Ghosts and a great surprise in the form of Blood On The Dance Floor the single and album. Every single came in sets of two! The HIStory remix was a bit of a summer hit also. The world tour broke his own record for biggest audience for a solo artist.

Gonna dig out my HIStory album tomorrow along with Blood On The Dance Floor, get the singles out, watch the concert, and TV performances also, get my tour T-Shirt and program and spend my Sunday reliving it!
 
aazzaabb;4200504 said:
Also would like to add that I LOVED this era!! This was his real Invincible era! To come back with such an outstanding album; sonically and musically masterful and such a mature piece of work was incredible! From 95 to 97 was immense! First single Scream/Childhood featuring Janet who was also at the peak of her powers! Earth Song the Christmas #1, You Are Not Alone a massive monster of a #1 hit! Stranger In Moscow; artistic growth and one of his finest songs of all time! All the TV performances were some of his best! MTV performance was insane! Interviews! Ghosts and a great surprise in the form of Blood On The Dance Floor the single and album. Every single came in sets of two! The HIStory remix was a bit of a summer hit also. The world tour broke his own record for biggest audience for a solo artist.

Gonna dig out my HIStory album tomorrow along with Blood On The Dance Floor, get the singles out, watch the concert, and TV performances also, get my tour T-Shirt and program and spend my Sunday reliving it!
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While I am a "Bad" guy, the HIStory era was definitely far and above the best era, for the reasons you mentioned- It was a blast living through it. From the HIStory promo's and weekends on Mtv, the debut of Scream, all the new videos, including Why. Also releasing Blood on the Dance Floor- the first CD single and album I ever bought (I lost £5 that day!)

I was watching a bit of Dublin the other night, and even the subpar quality doesnt effect me. Like yourself, I'm going to dig out my HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor LPs today and just sit back, in awe.

Does anyone remember the opening acts? I vaguely remember Human Nature being instantly forgettable, which has proven to be true
 
Opening acts I recall was Kim Wilde on Bad, which was a big deal as she was pretty big in 1988.

A nu soul group called D Influence on Dangerous.

Can't recall HIStory but now you mention it Human Nature rings a bell, ironically I think I recall asking 'why, why' at the time.

My memories of seeing MJ live define my life, as I was 15, 19 and 29 at the times. The Leeds ones in my home town were extra special, and Bad on his 30th birthday was a big deal.

There's a thread here somewhere that goes into it in more detail.
 
innuendo141;4200535 said:
While I am a "Bad" guy, the HIStory era was definitely far and above the best era, for the reasons you mentioned- It was a blast living through it. From the HIStory promo's and weekends on Mtv, the debut of Scream, all the new videos, including Why. Also releasing Blood on the Dance Floor- the first CD single and album I ever bought (I lost £5 that day!)

I was watching a bit of Dublin the other night, and even the subpar quality doesnt effect me. Like yourself, I'm going to dig out my HIStory and Blood on the Dance Floor LPs today and just sit back, in awe.

Does anyone remember the opening acts? I vaguely remember Human Nature being instantly forgettable, which has proven to be true
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Let's also not forget about the very cool Video Greatest Hits HIStory Volume I released in 95 feathering the Brace Yourself video and featuring 10 of his best short films. Although it didn't contain anything new HIStory On Film Volume II came in 97 and included the MTV VMA performance. Vol II debuted on Billboards Top Music Videos chart at #1 and held it for 2 weeks. #2 for 12 weeks in the UK behind Official Video Vollume I by the Spice Girls.

Ghosts followed in December 97 with a limited edition Deluxe Collector Box Set for the Christmas market; VHS of the film, Cannes Film Festival Program, Blood on The Dance Floor album and an exclusive 3-track minimax single. The standard VHS of the film actually broke MJ's UK run of #2's coming straight in at #1, ahead of the Spice Girls 'Girl Power! Live in Istanbul.

MJ was very much active during the HIStory era and his presence was all over the music charts, video charts, radio, MTV Michael Jackson Weekends, the news following the European Tour, the pop magazines, even Hello magazine spreads with the birth of his kids. Even the Britt Awards Jarvus Cocker nonsense and the statue flowing down the River Thames made a noise that MJ was still a massive part of popular culture as the media reported on his every move. This was the last era in which he ran, in which he OWNED the music world and schooled everyone in how it's done!

Also SWV's superb Right Here -featuring samples of Human Nature- was getting a decent amount air play although released a few years before I remember this getting lots of play where I'm from, and 3T's Why.
 
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Thanks for sharing your memories guys. They're brilliant for us fans who weren't lucky enough to see Michael live.
I was too young for the HIStory tour, I would have been 18 months old when he came to Sheffield. I had tickets for This Is It but still..

My mum used to love telling me about seeing him in Leeds 88, on his birthday. The atmosphere was so warm and electric, also how brilliant it was that the crowd sung happy birthday to him in between songs. She always used to say his hat skimmed her fingertips at the end of Billie Jean. I always find it weird she never went to the Aintree show as that's half an hour away.

She saw him again at Wembley in 1992. She said how the atmosphere was even more hyped. She said it was like seeing a different person because there was so much more of an aura and mystic around him around Dangerous. She was really close to the front this time, when he toasted out, her and another load of women nearly fainted. I remember her saying it was amazing seeing him so close when he hung off the cherry picker during Beat It.

She always talked about how incredible it was to see him in his prime. My mum always spoke like it was a privilege which I really love
 
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SmoothCriminal1995 said:
Thanks for sharing your memories guys. They're brilliant for us fans who weren't lucky enough to see Michael live.
I was too young for the HIStory tour, I would have been 18 months old when he came to Sheffield. I had tickets for This Is It but still..

My mum used to love telling me about seeing him in Leeds 88, on his birthday. The atmosphere was so warm and electric, also how brilliant it was that the crowd sung happy birthday to him in between songs. She always used to say his hat skimmed her fingertips at the end of Billie Jean. I always find it weird she never went to the Aintree show as that's half an hour away.

She saw him again at Wembley in 1992. She said how the atmosphere was even more hyped. She said it was like seeing a different person because there was so much ore of aura and mystic around him around Dangerous. She was really close to the front this time, when he toasted out her and another load of women nearly fainted. I remember her saying it was amazing seeing him so close when he hung off the cherry picker during Beat It.

She always talked about how incredible it was to see him in his prime. My mum always spoke like it was a privilege which I really love
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The Sheifeld HIStory concert got a great review actually in one of the more "prominent" music magazines; Mojo or one of those ones. It's always one of the shows I'd like to see from the tour. I'm sure it's all pretty much the same thing but the news report footage looks great.

Your mother was beyond lucky to catch MJ during his absolute live peak Bad/Dangerous! Even though I didn't get to go to Bad -I was 8- and Dangerous -I was 11- I knew that these were more than just another singer rolling into town. these felt like historical moments in popular culture and even when the Bad Tour came here the weekend turned into a festival with a carnival like atmosphere and the economy thrived because of the cash injection; people spent loads of money here and business made massive profits over the Michael Jackson weekend.
 
Funnily enough, wearing my Bad Tour T shirt today, replica below

 
Tony R said:
Funnily enough, wearing my Bad Tour T shirt today, replica below

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I like that now. Way better than my pepsi t shirt, which is just the pepsi logo.

May look into getting that t shirt.

When I went to Bush's exhibition, he head loads of HIStory tour t shirts. I just bought a BOTDF one. All large though.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
 
^ Cheers. I recall at the time that on a lot of the merch, it didn't say Bad tour but Tour'88!
 
Tony R said:
^ Cheers. I recall at the time that on a lot of the merch, it didn't say Bad tour but Tour'88!
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I love it! I like "Tour 88" in the Bad font. The red really pops against the white and also the blue. I thought the whole Pepsi deal tied-in so well with the Bad era. Those adverts were beyond perfect! There was a certain way MJ footage was edited in the Bad era; really tight fast little shots of him dancing which left you drooling. Another Part Of Me and Heartbreak Hotbreak Hotel from the Legend Continues are examples of it, also the Pepsi adverts. Lightening in a bottle type footage.

I hope one day we get a HD Bad Tour concert edited with tight shots, wide shots of the entire stage and the arena and different angles to capture the atmosphere. Also crowd shots -not to the extent of Dangerous Bucharest- but the just enough to enhance everything, and a decent sound mix that captures the way it sounded, for instance during Thriller when he swings onto the stage you should be able to hear the explosion and crowd reaction for impact. Not complaining about Bad25 Wembley, it was great for what it was.
 
I was born in 97, and the last time he came here was in 96, so I could never see him. And you don't know how it hurts. Whenever I dream I'm in his concert, I don't know how but I feel that this is not real because it's not so perfect as I see on the videos and this make me very sad that sometimes I don't even want to have this drems, despite I love to see him in my thouths at night.
 
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