Robin Gibb on Michael's death. Old article but very telling

[iluv2drem]

I'm surprised this wasn't posted earlier but Robin clears what many have argued about. Michael was less worried about accomplishing the 50 dates as he was what would happen during or after with the critics.

"We’ve not only lost a great friend in Michael but also lost a wonderful sensitive human being. The Bee Gees heard music with the same ears. Michael had a great voice and millions of people yet to be born will sing his songs. This tragedy should teach us a lesson to value and praise those gifts while we still have them in the world. If even a small portion of the praise that is bestowed on Michael Jackson now in death was given to him last year in life, he might well still be with us. That is the sad truth. One consolation is that he will triumph by his legacy." - Robin Gibb
.

"He was a great friend, a very sensitive, gentle, gifted man. My brothers and I first met him in about 1972 when he was in the Jackson 5. We were in the same studio, the Hit Factory, in Los Angeles. Every time he was in Miami he would stay over, particularly with Barry. He often showed up out of the blue: he used to leave Bubbles with someone and come on his own. We hung out, had jam sessions.


"I last saw him a few weeks ago in LA at a party. He looked well but he wasn’t well — he was worn down. He was very, very wary about going back into the limelight, and I sympathised with that. It wasn’t the London dates so much that bothered him, it was the way the critics might evaluate him after those dates. I told him he should say, “So what!” instead of “What if?”
The fact was that he wasn’t afforded the respect that he deserved — here was a guy who was acquitted in his trial last year but in, America particularly, he was very troubled. He was very frightened of doing live stage shows after the trial because he was worried about the attacks that might occur. I think it really got to him. The problem is he was very fragile — the nature of artists is that they are sensitive and soft. But that doesn’t detract from their intelligence and their talent.

His death wasn’t a huge surprise — I just wish people wouldn’t have hounded him so much. He was a very lonely man and misunderstood. He had to do it on his own. He underwent a lot in the last two years and I don’t think many people could have stood up to as much as he did."

"We had a shared camaraderie. He will be sorely missed because this didn’t have to happen. He was young, like my brother, who died in 2003 — of course, Michael came to Maurice’s funeral. It’s so sad that we can’t praise people while they’re here in the world. When they’re gone it’s too late. The people who were down on him last year are praying to the altar of Michael Jackson today."

Something else hit me after comparing Bucharest with This is It. They would have gone after him for not moving like he did in his 30's even though he was better at 50 than most in their 20's at singing and dancing. They would have made up new crap. Remember him trying in 2001 to come back and those articles about voodoo curses, being a drunken pill popper, and hordes of petty lawsuits? I think all that is what scared Michael, so did Robin. I think he's trustworthy too.Has anyone else noticed whenever Michael tried to come back after 93, scandal was always just around the corner? Made up or not they went after him practically for breathing different

 

[benscarr]

A great article !

I think the critics will have scared Michael, but I think he would have blown them away and made the greatest comeback of all time. I think despite the fact Michael is just rehearsing and giving less than 100%, I think dancing and vocals on This Is It are much better than the Bucharest, Dangerous Tour DVD which is a very bad representation of the Dangerous Tour. Michael's movement on stage at 50 was in my opinion much more fluid than on the Dangerous and HIStory Tours.

I do believe that if Michael had been given the respect and praise he deserved over the last two years of his live, he would still be with us today. I'm sure the worry about what lies would be in the media the following day, or having someone sue him over something petty is what caused his alleged insomnia, that put him in the position of hiring a Dr Murray who was more interested in Michael's money than his health.

 

[StephluvsMJ]

Michael couldn't win either way. If he had done TII and failed, if he cancelled some shows, they would have gone after him and attacked him like there was no tomorrow. If he succeeded, if he became number one all over the world once again, it would have put a bigger target on his back resulting in people being more determined to bring him down. I can't imagine how it all made him feel.

 

[ginvid]

^^That is vey true. it must be terrible to live your back up against a wall and not being able to move. It must be suffocating.

 

[Graf]

Michael couldn't win either way. If he had done TII and failed, if he cancelled some shows, they would have gone after him and attacked him like there was no tomorrow. If he succeeded, if he became number one all over the world once again, it would have put a bigger target on his back resulting in people being more determined to bring him down. I can't imagine how it all made him feel.

Well, IMO even if he had canceled some shows I don't think people would have considered it a failure..I mean 50 shows is a lot I think it would have been understandable..

 

[StephluvsMJ]

^ I suppose you missed the riot that broke out here on MJJC when Michael postponed the first few dates.

 

[MJultimatemusiclegen]

^ I suppose you missed the riot that broke out here on MJJC when Michael postponed the first few dates.

It wasn't that bad was it really just fans missing the point, complaining and reading too much into things.

 

[Love.him]

I think I've read this article before but could you put the link so we can see where it's from?

 

[144000]

mark my words, people. for all those who say i can never be happy with any article that is written. here is the first perfect article i have ever seen on this site, about Michael. perfect article. to the point. right. righteous as a matter of fact. this is what happened to Michael. this is exactly what happened. there are more people who have respect for sony and their messengers than they did for Michael, himself. nothing got to me more than people who attended a concert and then complained about his performance. or people who have standards so high, that they criticize his later works, AFTER they BOUGHT them. what artist wants to keep dealing with all that shit? especially when it's crystal clear that Michael's prowess never drained.

 

[144000]

^ I suppose you missed the riot that broke out here on MJJC when Michael postponed the first few dates.

i didn't miss that riot. it appalled me. also..there were even mods on here, back then, that joined the fray of calling Michael a financial flake. those mods are no longer here. they were demoted, then put away from the site. it was a horrible atmosphere, and it felt like you actually weren't allowed to defend Michael on a site dedicated to him. but Gaz took care of that, and weeded out the weeds, eventually. but it was a scary situation. i can't imagine what it would have been like to be inside of Michael's mind, at that time.

 

[Staffordshire Bullterrier]

Very good article, i hadn't read it yet. And very true, he was very worried. Couldn't sleep well, help came too late (the jacksons interferring it) and a 'doctor' who messed up BADLY!!!!! Way too many 'yes men' in his life...damn, so sad. And so unnessecary, so much in that man's life was unnessecary, to put it mildly.

 

[144000]

i don't agree with the 'yes men' thing. i hear that a lot. i think MJ was better than that. the jury is also out on why the Jacksons 'interfered' with whatever..

i normally wonder about third party accounts of Michael, but everything Robin said, was right out of Michael's own lyrics, and interviews that Michael did.

 

[xrisx]

i didn't miss that riot. it appalled me. also..there were even mods on here, back then, that joined the fray of calling Michael a financial flake. those mods are no longer here. they were demoted, then put away from the site. it was a horrible atmosphere, and it felt like you actually weren't allowed to defend Michael on a site dedicated to him. but Gaz took care of that, and weeded out the weeds, eventually. but it was a scary situation. i can't imagine what it would have been like to be inside of Michael's mind, at that time.

I was one of the people whose concert date was moved. I remember the outrage and some of the outrageous claims made at the time which I didn't agree with. I was more dissapointed and sad than outraged really because at the time it seemed like something they could have prevented and I wanted to see him so incredible bad.
Now of course it seems so petty and insignificant (which it was) but of course no one would have thought something like this was to happen at the time. Doesn't excuse some of the harsh comments made about Michael though. That was uncalled for I agree.

I fully agree with this article though. It's so sad that Michael had to live fearing what people (or critics really) were going to say. It wasn't right.
Reading stories like this just makes me wish I could have gotten an oppurtunity to say something to him. I know other fans tried to assure him as well but I guess that wasn't enough. He knew we loved him. It was the haters he feared.

 

[Rockin.]

Yes, but this comment -

His death wasn’t a huge surprise

- I don't agree. I think it's safe to say at the time it was announced there was much shock around the world.


They must have been close quite close, MJ & the Gibbs. Michael was Godfather to Barry Gibb's son (also named Michael).

 

[8701girl]

Has anyone else noticed whenever Michael tried to come back after 93, scandal was always just around the corner? Made up or not they went after him practically for breathing different

That part is so true!

 

[8701girl]

^ I suppose you missed the riot that broke out here on MJJC when Michael postponed the first few dates.

Yes i remember that. It was quite childish IMO to be getting angry bout that, michael had to do what was right for him and properly felt it was right to push back the dates a lil.

 

[iluv2drem]

I'm afraid I don't have the link but it was posted from another forum. This article made me see something my Mom always taught me, when you hear opposing viewpoints, somewhere in the middle must be the truth. There's been the camp saying Michael was overworked, didn't want to do the 50 dates at all, that the concert organizers ignored his health bu then there's the camp that says he was enthusiastic, rehearsed like no tomorrow, thin but passed the health tests. This article shows both may have been true. Michael may have been on top of his game during rehearsals but wary when not at rehearsal and his fears were in front of his mind hen and he slowed down at home.

That would explain why there are such opposite sides even from those who knew him. He himself had opposing view points. On one level he must have been happy to have over come so much to be able to finally perform not just for his fans again but really for the first time for his kids, but still drained from 16 years of humiliation, lack of sleep and being put through the ringer.

 

[144000]

I'm afraid I don't have the link but it was posted from another forum. This article made me see something my Mom always taught me, when you hear opposing viewpoints, somewhere in the middle must be the truth. There's been the camp saying Michael was overworked, didn't want to do the 50 dates at all, that the concert organizers ignored his health bu then there's the camp that says he was enthusiastic, rehearsed like no tomorrow, thin but passed the health tests. This article shows both may have been true. Michael may have been on top of his game during rehearsals but wary when not at rehearsal and his fears were in front of his mind hen and he slowed down at home.

That would explain why there are such opposite sides even from those who knew him. He himself had opposing view points. On one level he must have been happy to have over come so much to be able to finally perform not just for his fans again but really for the first time for his kids, but still drained from 16 years of humiliation, lack of sleep and being put through the ringer.

there were no opposing viewpoints coming from Michael. all the quotes on video where he was seen speaking, agree with each other. the private home movies quote about his hatred of touring agrees with the reluctant way he spoke on that o2 press conference stage. no statement about doing it for his kids. just an insistence that it's his last go. and then he trailed off and didn't go into detail as to why. made me wonder why he didn't finish the sentence. every other thing said about him, was third party. but this Robin Gibb quote is straight outta an MJ lyric.

 

[tofdel1]

source/link please?

 

[marebear]

Reading this makes me so sad. I wish people had left him alone. The constant criticism and ridicule over the years was too much. Now people say all these loving things now yet he really needed to hear that when he was here to appreciate it.

 

[StacyJ]

Reading this makes me so sad. I wish people had left him alone. The constant criticism and ridicule over the years was too much. Now people say all these loving things now yet he really needed to hear that when he was here to appreciate it.

so true

 

[iluv2drem]

I know Michael didn't like touring but one thing that they were all hoping would make this easier on him was to have it in one place so at least traveling wouldn't be a burden but again I think this article shows he was torn between wanting to perform again and afraid of it blowing up in his face again. I remember that outrage very well when all Michael did was postpone a few shows, some even declared they were going to join the haters and they weren't surprised Michael "disappointed us again." It was sickening.

Michael wanted to be loved as a person, not just because he was a performer. Many of his songs plead for his fans to love him flaws and all and many (well, I'll say some to be fair because most here did remember to love him as a person) threw that out the window when they felt he didn't give enough. Strange it was like "We'll stand beside you for being a victim of a frame job but don't you dare cancel a concert on us or else!" That's what also hurt besides the lies and betrayal he went through.

 

[144000]

I know Michael didn't like touring but one thing that they were all hoping would make this easier on him was to have it in one place so at least traveling wouldn't be a burden but again I think this article shows he was torn between wanting to perform again and afraid of it blowing up in his face again. I remember that outrage very well when all Michael did was postpone a few shows, some even declared they were going to join the haters and they weren't surprised Michael "disappointed us again." It was sickening.

Michael wanted to be loved as a person, not just because he was a performer. Many of his songs plead for his fans to love him flaws and all and many (well, I'll say some to be fair because most here did remember to love him as a person) threw that out the window when they felt he didn't give enough. Strange it was like "We'll stand beside you for being a victim of a frame job but don't you dare cancel a concert on us or else!" That's what also hurt besides the lies and betrayal he went through.

i don't think he was torn about touring. nobody wants to hear that, because they wanted him on the road. but he was clear about being fed up with it. but how do you tell that to millions of people? he was afraid for his life. there were many truths he couldn't tell millions of people. how do you be totally honest with people who scrutinize the way you breathe? i'm sure he was afraid. hey...we know he was. he said so. i'm sure he was afraid that there were people who would interpret the ending of touring as him not loving his fans anymore(let's face it, there are people who would look at it that way, as illegitimate as that is), which, i'm sure, is why he reminded the audience how much he loves them. and we know his love is true.

MJ made it perfectly clear he was finished with touring. but he had to compete against a powerful media that painted an image of an artist who was 'bankrupt', and 'lazy'....because he 'didn't want to work'. and there's so much more that's obvious..but i don't feel like getting into it...

let me put it this way..
it's hard enough for an a husband to get his point to his wife..

or a wife to get her point to her husband.

even then, the couple loses communicative ability, because they often can't get their point across to each other. and that's just one person dealing with one other person.

Michael was one person that had to deal with many.


and by the way...nobody was hoping to make it easier on him, with touring. they were being deceitful to him, even then, as they have been, all his life.

they were acting like it would be ten shows. but they made it clear, in sneaky passing..that it was the start of an expansion...they knew it would be successful. but they said 'if it's successful'..they would expand it to fifty. in one place. then...expand it to three years...around the world. their chicanery was clear from the start. they knew he hated touring. so, they put it in 'clever' language.

 

[ExoticPrincess]

Robin Gibb is so right, Michael ultimately could'nt win when it came to his critics. There was a kind of weight on MJ's shoulders that I don't think any of us could possibly understand.

 

[Petals]

Robin Gibb is so right, Michael ultimately could'nt win when it came to his critics. There was a kind of weight on MJ's shoulders that I don't think any of us could possibly understand.

That is so true!!! But I actually feel it when I read stuff like that! Jesus Christ!! I feel it, it's heavy!!
It's too much for one single person!! Too much!! And yet he seemed to be a very calm person!!

That article is so true and very very painful!! If I could only have helped somehow...

If even a small portion of the praise that is bestowed on Michael Jackson now in death was given to him last year in life, he might well still be with us. That is the sad truth.

:weeping: