The Pop Corporation

You’d think 1984 would be a vintage year for Michael Jackson. His album ‘Thriller’ has basically conquered the world and, for many, redefined what it meant to be a popstar and the subsequent tour only cemented his place in the annals of pop, fully breaking free from the shadow of his pop past.

However, post-Thriller, The Jacksons announced their Victory Tour. Once again, Michael would find himself flanked by his brothers. A victory lap of sorts, for a group who had truly been through the mill. Michael, now a megastar, but also on stage, Jermaine who had big solo success on his own. Surely, for one last roll of the dice, they’d show everyone what a great family they were, and maybe throw in some solo number to cement their greatness?

We wouldn’t be writing about it if it was plain sailing.

The shows weren’t without their successes, raking in huge audiences and being the first time the public saw Michael’s sequined jacket, single glove and moonwalk in the flesh. Choreographed by Paula Adbul and promoted by Don King, it was all bells and whistles, no question. However, it would be the last tour that the brothers would undertake together.

And it would also be the reason Robert Kraft ended up owning NFL franchise, the New England Patriots. More on that later.

Jermaine’s ‘Dynamite’ LP was released prior, Michael had ‘Thriller’ changing the pop landscape, and the Jacksons released ‘Victory’ on the back of their appearance at the Motown 25 show, and tensions were already present with Jermaine and Michael not appearing in promo videos for the singles from the latest Jacksons offering. In the case of the ‘Torture’ single, Michael was replaced by a wax dummy of himself from Madame Tussauds, seen in a brief panning shot.

The Victory singles stiffed, and the tour began, and Marlon Jackson states that Michael refused to perform any of the songs from the LP, or even rehearse them. This saw Marlon wondering if he should commence with the tour at all, only being persuaded by his mother. Michael, it seems, was only convinced by the tour when it was pointed out that his less well off brothers could do with the income.

Chuck Sullivan stepped forward to offer the Patriots’ Foxboro Stadium as a venue for the Boston shows. Chuck was the son of Billy Sullivan who owned the Patriots, themselves, owners of the franchise after a boardroom coup in ’74. Soon, it transpired that talks with the original promoter for the tour had faltered, and Chuck smelling blood, put a deal together to finance the whole tour. The deal he cut ensured the Jackson family would be paid as if each night had sold out, even if they hadn’t. Generous, and incredibly risky.

With millions being put up in advance, something needed to act as collateral. The Patriots stadium would do it.

To help with costs, a corporate sponsor was sought and the Jackson family had pretty much signed a deal with the achingly cool Quaker Oats brand before Don King swept in with a Pepsi deal. While the offer was smaller, the Jacksons were glad to have a mean ol’ dog like Don King in their corner, should trouble arise.

Part of the deal was the guarantee that Michael would do two Pepsi television commercials, and during the filming of one, Michael was set on fire by a pyro, which is thought to have kickstarted his addiction to prescribed drugs. Trouble was almost all but dyed in the wool, and a ticketing disagreement (tickets were eye-wateringly expensive and allocation lotteries provided more headaches) furthered tensions.

Regardless, Don King set his promotional muscle into overdrive, saying: “Anybody who sees this show will be a better person for years to come. Michael Jackson has transcended all earthly bounds. Every race, colour and creed is waiting for this tour.”

Michael designed a stage worthy of such big talk, however, so large was his vision that it took up a huge section of the stadiums they played in, using up seating space which could have been used to sell more tickets. After hospitality, staffing and transport costs, money started to vanish down the drain and initial projections were drastically reduced.

To make matters worse, Michael was staying in different hotels from his brothers and travelling between shows in a private jet while everyone else was on commercial flights. Michael also refused to go on stage for one show until a publicist was fired, and the ticket pricing had seen such outcry that Michael found out that James Brown had refused an invitation to a show over it.

The Jackson brothers had agreed a deal with Paramount Pictures for millions of dollars, but again, they found Michael had hired his own crew to film a show. The release of the footage was blocked. Tensions spiralled when Michael began to appear at shows with a variety of famous children, in one instance, with Sean Lennon in a chartered flight over New York, his brothers glaring at him for the duration.

Soon enough, it was separate floors of hotels for each of the brothers, travelling solo, and even refusing to talk to each other between performances. Jackie would miss shows with a leg injury and Michael would be put under medical supervision for stress.

Performance started to affect ticket sales and the whole deal had to be renegotiated to reflect stuttering sales. Sullivan soon found himself short of cash and the stress resulted in a minor heart attack. There were losses of $5-6 million, and King and Jackson made their money, with Sullivan left hanging through poor deals. Despite all this, a European leg was being discussed and mercifully, it was Michael who put the scuppers on it, refusing to take part. At the Dodgers Stadium in LA, one last surprise – Michael announced that it would be the last time the brothers would perform together. Obviously, the brothers had not been informed of this.

Don King lashed out: “There’s no way Michael should be as big as he is and treat his family the way he does!” and continued with comments so hurtful to Michael Jackson that he had to be talked down from suing him.

The aftermath saw Michael donating his fees to charity, but the Sullivans were broke. It’s estimated that losses ranged from $13 million to $22 million, and as a result, they quietly put the New England Patriots up for sale. They did so, just in time for the Patriots to reach their first ever Super Bowl.

Then Chuck’s wife filed for divorce whilst he was living in one of the boxes at Foxboro Stadium.

A couple of botched sales later, and in stepped Robert Kraft who, peevishly, has a poster of the Jacksons’ Victory Tour in his office, to serve as a reminder of how he bought the New England Patriots.

While there were no doubt some electric performances (who could there not be with that much talent on stage?), the Jacksons’ Victory Tour goes down in history, and not for all the right reasons.