NEWS
EVENTS
Spike Lee honours MJ’s Bad in anniversary documentary
Other | Thursday 20th September 2012 | Osh
25 years after the prince of pop released his multi-million selling album, long-time fan Spike Lee is focusing on the music, not the celebrity.
Michael Jackson’s Bad was released in 1987, and since then it has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. True, this makes it less successful than its predecessor Thriller, but no matter. Spike Lee was approached by the Michael Jackson Estate with the intention of creating a commemorative documentary. The result is Bad 25, a celebration of an undoubtedly wonderful piece of musical history. On whether it might have been better to focus on the previous album – the most commercially successful one ever – Lee stated: “I think Bad is right up there with the great albums of all time and also it's a much more interesting story. Don't forget, there were four or five years between the releases of the two albums, and some thought Michael's star might wane.”
Of course, no such thing happened. Bad became the first of only two albums in chart history to spawn five number one singles, which included ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ and ‘Dirty Diana’, along with the title track. However, it was not only the most successful hits that made it the great album it is: Rolling Stone’s Davitt Sigerson noted that filler tracks like ‘Speed Demon’ made the record “richer, sexier, better than Thriller's forgettables”. Thriller might have had the attention, but Bad is an all-rounder.
Lee clearly agrees. He has accepted that a lot of media and public attention has been on the man, not the music, saying "Yes, he was eccentric, but this isn't the point of the film. This is the time to look at the man's genius.” His documentary focuses on the songs themselves and the stories behind their conception. This is made possible by Lee being granted exclusive access to archives detailing the much-beloved pop star, including previously unseen footage of Jackson’s rehearsals, which is sure to make exciting and emotional viewing. A vinyl version of the 1987 release is also available.
A contemporary of Jackson’s, Spike Lee directed both videos for his 1996 hit ‘They Don’t Care About Us’, calling him “an inspiration to my generation”.
By Dave Rees
