Michael Jackson's first major TV interview with Molly Meldrum | 60 Minutes Australia

super stars by definition are rather unusual people so when you get to the most super of super stars you have to expect the kind of weird and wild rumors that surround Michael Jackson we don't touch on the pop world all that often but Michael Jackson is much more than an entertainer he's a symbol of the times he hasn't given a full scale TV exclusive this decade so when in the whimsical manner of superstars he chose Australia's Ian Molly Meldrum to do the first interview and us two presented we thought why not it meant putting up with an army of minders and going through more complicated negotiations than an arms treaty the result is a break from our normal format but we think you'll find it quite a colorful piece and with that we turn you over to our guest reporter Molly Meldrum all right backstage with Michael Jackson be as close to his private world as you could ever hope to get people are always asking about the man behind the myth but in this electric moment is there really any difference [Music] if you want to find out more about the real Michael Jackson you start here at his magical launching pad and let yourself be part of the illusion [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] a high voltage performance wired up to another world the man they call pops Peter Pan is in full flight [Music] if there was ever a pure entertainment machine your watching [Music] watching him on stage and the power of his performance I remember the shy kid I interviewed in New York for countdown in 1977 do you regret having to keep up with his schoolwork no I enjoy it I'd loved to read and learn and all that stuff yeah yeah now over in Australia we've seen you on many of the big shows like like the big Music Awards and things like that and your little sisters been on on a ferry yeah she's a funky little sisters even back then he'd already come such a long way the son of a crane driver from industrial America tripping the light fantastic when his friends were struggling in school plays the boy who was born to sing knew nothing but the stage at the time I talked to him he was getting ready to rock with you [Music] [Applause] [Music] ten years and tens of millions of records after the song remains the same but the singer has become far more elusive [Music] [Music] waiting in a Tokyo hotel room I still can't quite believe that of all the world's press Michael's agreed to talk to me again his first major TV interview this decade but you don't get this deep inside the fortress without conditions strict limits on time even the number of questions I took Michael back to our interview all those years ago you had a lot of aspirations at that time a lot of dreams would it be fair to say that a lot of those dreams over the last 10 years because it was a 1977 that interview have come true for you most of my dreams seem to come true and I'm so thankful that they do I don't know over what period of time but I have lots of dreams and he usually come true and I'm so glad [Music] 60,000 fans on a warm September night watch Michael set musical life tonight it's Tokyo an inkling of things to come when his magical mystery world tour it's Australia in November [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] even if his music is not your style few can resist the Lord of the dance [Music] I danced a lot anyway I've always loved to dance when I was just for a little I used to watch Sammy Davis Fred Astaire and James Brown and just dancing about the house so I don't remember not dancing [Music] like all superstars michael has to deal with the plague of allegations about his private life headlines which paint him as a weird recluse rumors about is supposedly mammoth plastic surgery about is supposed fascination for bizarre relics like the Elephant Man how much of it is true ask the question and you meet Michaels manager cigar-smoking Frank Tulio he joined the interview as Michael's friend and chief mind now about those headlines does it affect you does it hurt you to see some idiotic stories that are written yeah we answered that question if you don't mind it hurts me if it hurts me I know it hurts Michael he's a little more blase about it than I am may he just sort of shrugs enough but I find it very terrible that some of the stuff that is written particularly about plastic surgery and it's promote the majority of it I'm not the majority all of it is garbage and rubbish and you know if that's the best thing that that's the only thing they can figure out to do with their life then you know they're pretty sick people avoiding the spotlight off stage for this Most Wanted star requires some extraordinary escape routes and in talking to us Michael at least confirms one of those myths that he dons disguises to slip unseen into the real world I like to sneak into theaters without being noticed sometime sometimes it's really nothing you can do about it it's the price you have to pay well I've heard sometimes you turn a nice unexpected places to your friends dressed in but they don't even recognize you I have incredible disguises like I can fool my own mother and I enjoy doing it because I get to see life the way it really is sometime which is fun but when Michael does step out as himself it's an event while in Tokyo we were lucky enough to catch a rare glimpse of Michael's home video showing a Jackson shopping spree together with a few select friends Michael has a huge department store to himself it's the same as it's not the same as when you looked inside the four walls of Fame and looking out at the crush of fans looking in there's nothing quite as precious as one true friend in Michaels case that friend is Quincy Jones they met on the film set of the Wiz I met Michael at Sammy Davis's house when he was about 12 and he just you know you just fall in love with Michael at any age and The Wiz was when we really connected then he was a scarecrow and he pulled out bits of paper quotes with comfort of Confucius etc all these great philosophers and one time he says blah blah blah blah blah signed Socrates and he kept saying so crazy so crazy Socrates and nobody would correct him and after a while I grew up took him over to the side I said Michael is forgive me if you know but it's Socrates you know and at that moment our eyes met and something happened that it's never changed since then Quincy Jones has produced Michael's three major solo records including pops biggest selling album of all time thrillin will you aware of the sales like did you check up on sales each week and and realize that it was doing this I pretty much did the album and just sit back and watch because I it was another one of my dreams I knew I was gonna do what it did [Music] selling over 40 million copies through um not only change the way music was made but also video clips but perhaps one of Michael's greatest influences has been on dance he took breakdancing out of New York's ghettos and made it a passions for his generation [Music] did that amuse you that people were or did it flatter you that people were trying to do your dance steps and I always loved watching that especially the children who and they were all the gear and everything and then imitate me I think it's fun it's stunning good taste is fun he's been called everything from the Frank Sinatra to the Fred Astaire of the ID the spotlight has made him music's first billionaire all that at 29 he's like a laser beam all the time he always does his homework I've never ever seen him nervous about anything I called him just before he went on this show this is his first solo tour ever I said you nervous he said now I can't wait to get on stage tonight [Music] [Applause] [Music] the cliche seemed to fall away when you watch Michael perform when he says he's inspired by things spiritual you believe him and when it says that for that a word love if you believe that - yeah I love children and animals and Quincy and Frank crazy and that's what's so wonderful about traveling I get to see all the cultures and people and the children it's wonderful it's my greatest inspiration I would say it was that sense of humanity that inspired Michael to sit down with Lionel Richie in the summer of 85 and write this [Music] I was lucky enough to be at the recording of we are the world and even amongst the greatest collection of superstars ever gathered all eyes were on Michael the pitch-perfect performer who soon to be seeing out a dream [Music] I said I wanted to be something like an anthem where I would affect the whole world you know where everybody could see it and have such melodic simplicity to it would be for a five-year-old child could sing it and like it that type of thing and as I remember waking up from my sleep the next morning before putting it down really most of the song was there and I went in the studio and kind of did a demo and presented it and first Quincy asked me to do it with Lionel you know and I remember calling Quincy told him I had the tape and and then lying I'll put some lyric to it and I hate saying who did what but you know just when you thought it was safe to call Michael Pop's good boy he comes up with this [Music] the squeaky-clean superstar who takes his rock-and-roll without the sex and drugs has called his latest album fair [Music] in a world where he could have passed in on his fame overnight Michel spent six years making bad sound exceptionally good I asked him why that's a hard question first of all you write nine of the songs on his own yeah it's just a series of collecting songs and writing songs in my mind over a period of years or whatever and it's hard to say how one creates music because it's hard for me to take credit I feel it's more spiritual and heavenly then I can't take credit for it [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] ladies [Music] the Peter Pan figure bathed in blue light Michael Jackson is truly one of modern music's enigmas some say he's a kid who never really grew up but perhaps his friend Steven Spielberg had it right when he said it's a nice place Michael comes from I wish we could all spend some time in his world [Music] if if you're given one wish now what would you like oh I wish yeah if I was was gonna set a fairy godmother but I won't say that if I could give you a wish but is there anything you wish for there's so many I have but one of them one of the main ones would be a simple is making the home run happy and world peace and that is part of the reason why I do what I do [Music] [Applause] hello I'm Tara Brown thanks for watching to keep up with the latest from 60 minutes Australia make sure you subscribe to our Channel you can also download the 9 now app for full episodes and other exclusive 60 minutes content

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 2,391,389

Keywords: Michael jackson, King of Pop, thriller, bad, pop, interview, entertainment, Molly Meldrum, 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, rare interview, MJ, first interview, Joe Jackson, Jackson 5, Liz Hayes, Charles Wooley, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Tom Steinfort, Ellen Fanning, Peter Overton, Karl Stefanovic, Ray Martin, Sarah Abo

Id: nM06G8VfqjY

Length: 18min 48sec (1128 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 25 2018