Latest on MJJC

When Bon Jovi met Michael Jackson: ‘He couldn’t have been nicer’

mo_rizwan

Proud Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
2,976
Points
48
BonJoviMJ-LRG.jpg

​

25th June 2014
When Bon Jovi met Michael Jackson: ‘He couldn’t have been nicer’

Today marks the five-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death and media outlets around the world are recalling the legacy the pop star left behind.

The Hollywood Reporter has published an excerpt from author Zach O’Malley’s new book Michael Jackson, Inc.: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Billion-Dollar Empire which contains a story chronicling Bon Jovi’s first encounter with the King of Pop.

In 1987 the Jersey band was at the highest point of their career and happen to be in Tokyo at the same time Jackson was performing a sold-out three-night stint at the 135,000-capacity Korakuem Stadium. Just their luck, they were also shacking up at the same hotel. BJ’s manager Frank Dileo arranged a meet-up between the two musical forces and it was just as weird as you could imagine:

The hotel was shaped like a hand, with the palm containing an elevator bank. The fingers radiated outward, each its own wing with multiple rooms; on the top floor, one wing was blocked off for Jackson and his inner circle.

Dileo led Bon Jovi and his bandmates down a long corridor to the singer’s suite, pausing to slick back his hair and extinguish his cigar before opening the door.

“The room had been ripped to shreds and redecorated,” says Bon Jovi.
“They put up mirrors against the wall so [Jackson] could practice his dancing, and a wooden dance floor in there. And they took over a wing of this hotel. Needless to say, spending money was not really an issue.”
Jackson then entered the room in his signature all black garb from his Bad Tour and the rockers tried to impress him with stories of fame:

The Jersey rockers, fresh from a string of tour dates in Australia — and new to the trappings of superstardom — immediately began regaling Jackson with tales from their trip. They were so big Down Under, they told him, that they had to buy wigs and fake mustaches to avoid paparazzi; the only way out of their hotel was in the laundry van. Jackson smiled and nodded, never giving away the fact that he’d been doing the same since his Jackson 5 days.

“So we made small talk and he couldn’t have been nicer,” Bon Jovi says.
Bon Jovi invited Jackson to hang out in their hotel room but Jackson never showed. Instead, he sent them some entertainment to take his place for the evening: Bubbles the chimpanzee.

“We proceeded to get very drunk, have a bunch of water fights, knock on doors, typical classic rock star things to do in the eighties,” Bon Jovi recalls. “And [we] blamed it all on Bubbles.”

“We were having a blast two floors below with Bubbles, and he was up there practicing his dancing,” says Bon Jovi. “While we were being goofballs and enjoying our success, he was practicing even after the shows because he was just so ultra-über-focused on being Michael Jackson. The blessing was the curse.”

Source: Philly Local News
 
mo_rizwan;4024113 said:
BonJoviMJ-LRG.jpg

​

25th June 2014
When Bon Jovi met Michael Jackson: ‘He couldn’t have been nicer’

Today marks the five-year anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death and media outlets around the world are recalling the legacy the pop star left behind.

The Hollywood Reporter has published an excerpt from author Zach O’Malley’s new book Michael Jackson, Inc.: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of a Billion-Dollar Empire which contains a story chronicling Bon Jovi’s first encounter with the King of Pop.

In 1987 the Jersey band was at the highest point of their career and happen to be in Tokyo at the same time Jackson was performing a sold-out three-night stint at the 135,000-capacity Korakuem Stadium. Just their luck, they were also shacking up at the same hotel. BJ’s manager Frank Dileo arranged a meet-up between the two musical forces and it was just as weird as you could imagine:

The hotel was shaped like a hand, with the palm containing an elevator bank. The fingers radiated outward, each its own wing with multiple rooms; on the top floor, one wing was blocked off for Jackson and his inner circle.

Dileo led Bon Jovi and his bandmates down a long corridor to the singer’s suite, pausing to slick back his hair and extinguish his cigar before opening the door.

“The room had been ripped to shreds and redecorated,” says Bon Jovi.
“They put up mirrors against the wall so [Jackson] could practice his dancing, and a wooden dance floor in there. And they took over a wing of this hotel. Needless to say, spending money was not really an issue.”
Jackson then entered the room in his signature all black garb from his Bad Tour and the rockers tried to impress him with stories of fame:

The Jersey rockers, fresh from a string of tour dates in Australia — and new to the trappings of superstardom — immediately began regaling Jackson with tales from their trip. They were so big Down Under, they told him, that they had to buy wigs and fake mustaches to avoid paparazzi; the only way out of their hotel was in the laundry van. Jackson smiled and nodded, never giving away the fact that he’d been doing the same since his Jackson 5 days.

“So we made small talk and he couldn’t have been nicer,” Bon Jovi says.
Bon Jovi invited Jackson to hang out in their hotel room but Jackson never showed. Instead, he sent them some entertainment to take his place for the evening: Bubbles the chimpanzee.

“We proceeded to get very drunk, have a bunch of water fights, knock on doors, typical classic rock star things to do in the eighties,” Bon Jovi recalls. “And [we] blamed it all on Bubbles.”

“We were having a blast two floors below with Bubbles, and he was up there practicing his dancing,” says Bon Jovi. “While we were being goofballs and enjoying our success, he was practicing even after the shows because he was just so ultra-über-focused on being Michael Jackson. The blessing was the curse.”

Source: Philly Local News
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing :) I've always liked Bon Jovi. They even dedicated one of their stage performances to Michael after June 25, 2009.

And the last bit of the article, especially the last line....so true. We have always known Michael was SO INCREDIBLY hard working. He never took his extraordinary talent, outstanding success or global recognition for granted. Kept giving his best till the end. He has really earned every bit of admiration, appreciation and adulation that has come his way..remaining humble throughout. He was a gift to us.
 
Ankita said:
Thanks for sharing :) I've always liked Bon Jovi. They even dedicated one of their stage performances to Michael after June 25, 2009.
Click to expand...
I was there when he did that.......June 25th 2010 (1 year later), The O2 :)
 
mo_rizwan said:
I was there when he did that.......June 25th 2010 (1 year later), The O2 :)
Click to expand...

^^^ Wow! So many popular artists around the world did that! Michael is so adored and celebrated in India, for the next couple of years, EVERY award show had a spectacular MJ tribute, and so many singers/songwriters/actors/performers/music directors created their own personal tributes! And I remember the legendary Carlos Santana, who even collaborated with Mike on 'Whatever happens' dedicating his concert at O2 in October 2010 to Michael calling him, "Archangel Michael"! :)
 
Shame he said he wouldnt want his kids near mj. fake ass
 
I only remember them (Slash and Santana) speak highly of Michael, both as an artist, as well as a human being...and please let's not bring in any negative thoughts to these positive threads...Michael was, is and shall always be loved, admired and celebrated by all those who could see past the media garbage, the mindless lies and the senseless evil perpetuated to destroy an extraordinary artist and human being.
 
I don't recall John saying that. I remember Slash but if he said that, what a fake hypocrite indeed! Michael sending Bubbles in his place made me :lol: though.
 
Soundmind;4024345 said:
‘He couldn’t have been nicer"

really asshole
Click to expand...

Is english not your first language? I'm not sure you understand that phrase...
 
I don't remember Jon saying the same thing as Slash but he's always been a bit snide when talking about Michael. Nice to see he's changed his tune a bit!
 
Ankita said:
I only remember them (Slash and Santana) speak highly of Michael, both as an artist, as well as a human being...and please let's not bring in any negative thoughts to these positive threads...Michael was, is and shall always be loved, admired and celebrated by all those who could see past the media garbage, the mindless lies and the senseless evil perpetuated to destroy an extraordinary artist and human being.
Click to expand...

I guess I just don't see the positive in people who trashed talked Michael when he was alive praising him now that he's gone. All I see is hypocrisy and I'm sick of it.
 
ScaredOfTheMoon said:
I guess I just don't see the positive in people who trashed talked Michael when he was alive praising him now that he's gone. All I see is hypocrisy and I'm sick of it.
Click to expand...


That why Bill the bodyguard said it the book that the Staple Center should have been filled with MJ fans ppls who really love MJ. My feeling too when Michael was alive so much negative from ppls now oh how we were friends all liar imo.
 
I don't think Bon said that about Michael, but I remember Slash did. Are you guys mixing up the two?

About this: “So we made small talk and he couldn’t have been nicer,” Bon Jovi says.
Bon Jovi invited Jackson to hang out in their hotel room but Jackson never showed. Instead, he sent them some entertainment to take his place for the evening: Bubbles the chimpanzee.

^^I notice that a lot of these stars play these childish games in the hotel, but when Michael does it, it is seen as something so odd and different. I took a kid to see One Direction and they were doing the same goofy things. The only difference is that Michael continued the goofiness not with his brothers but with the kids. It seems this hotel life on the road can become very lonely & monotonous and the stars crave some outlet to have fun.
 
There were rumours that Jon Bon Jovi said something against Michael at the 1996 Brit Awards. However, I know for a fact that Bon Jovi were not in attendance at the ceremony. Jon confirmed that himself at a Radio Interview a few weeks after :)
 
mo_rizwan said:
There were rumours that Jon Bon Jovi said something against Michael at the 1996 Brit Awards. However, I know for a fact that Bon Jovi were not in attendance at the ceremony. Jon confirmed that himself at a Radio Interview a few weeks after :)
Click to expand...

Yeah that is what happens. Some fans make up something and pass it on and no one corrects it, or people mix up who said what. I know I recently mixed up 2 reporters too.

Poor Bubbles did not realize he was blamed for the mess. It is just like Michael to give them something special to enjoy though. He probably knew they would get a kick out of Bubbles. By the way, Jane the animal supporter would not like that they blamed Bubbles!!!!
 
Why everybody seems to talk good about Michael only now?? after he's gone??
Where were all these artists when Michael really needed support from them in his very hard days??
I don't give a sxxt reading all this stuff now!:no:
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
It's an entertaining story.

Did Bon Jovi/Slash say bad things about MJ?
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t believe so. I need to see them say it, if so. It’s easy to see how tabloids take advantage of rumours like these.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
It's an entertaining story.

Did Bon Jovi/Slash say bad things about MJ?
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely, imo.

TLDR: apologies if I'm duplicating but here's the Billboard account of when JBJ met Michael.

“So we made small talk and he couldn’t have been nicer,” Bon Jovi says. “We kept saying, ‘Michael, you’re sitting up here by yourself, man, we’re down two floors below you . . . we’re all here, on nights off we’re hanging out, come on down.’ ”

It wasn’t out of any personal animosity, but rather an unstoppable focus on his work.

“We were having a blast two floors below with Bubbles, and he was up there practicing his dancing,” says Bon Jovi. “While we were being goofballs and enjoying our success, he was practicing even after the shows because he was just so ultra-über-focused on being Michael Jackson. The blessing was the curse.”
www.billboard.com

The Wild Night When Bon Jovi Met Michael Jackson

On the five-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, author Zack O'Malley Greenburg demonstrates the late superstar's work ethic with an anecdote from his new book, in which the Bon Jovi gets a visit from Bubbles the Chimp.
www.billboard.com www.billboard.com
 
Last edited:
Slash consistently speaks highly of Michael. This is from 2020.

"... I did my thing, he really dug it and afterward, he kept asking me if I’d be into doing this or doing that. I’d do some shows here and there and it was fun because he was such a pro, and he was such a f*cking talent from on high."

The very last time the two giants shared a stage together was on both the 2001 'Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special' concerts that took place in New York City. He played 'Black or White' and 'Beat It'. Speaking about Jackson in the interview, Slash said: "That was the main thing: he was so amazingly musically fluid. Such a treat to be around."

After everything he witnessed being around Jackson, Slash did say that he felt sorry for the late singer. He said: "I felt sorry for him in that sense. I did a couple of shows with Michael in Tokyo and saw how this whole massive f*cking thing worked, and he was the center of it. The only time I really felt like he was in any kind of comfort zone was when he was actually onstage."

meaww.com

Slash recalls that Michael Jackson was 'such a treat to be around'

Slash revealed that he had received a call one day from his manager who told him: 'Michael is trying to get in touch with you', to which his reply was a shocked 'Wow'
meaww.com meaww.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top