Michael Jackson -- A life in pictures
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Michael Jackson at the Superbowl in 1993
Child star, pop music legend, writer of some the best-selling songs of the last 40 years and complete enigma - Michael Jackson was truly one of a kind. With the news of his sudden death in Los Angeles on 25 June from suspected heart failure we take a look back at some of the highs and lows of his incredible life.
Growing up
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Michael Jackson singing in 1969
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on 25 August 1958. The son of Joseph and Katherine Jackson he was the seventh of their nine children. At the age of five he impressed his older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon when performing at a Christmas recital and was asked to join their band The Jackson Brothers as a backing singer. They soon became known as The Jackson 5 and Michael had taken over lead vocal duties. By 1968 they\'d been signed to the influential Motown record label.
The Jackson 5
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The Jackson 5 receiving their gold discs
In 1969 The Jackson 5 set a record in the US when their first four singles topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Throughout the 1970s they released a steady stream of hit singles and albums, becoming famous worldwide in the process. However, it was Michael who was the focus. Rolling Stone magazine described him as "a prodigy with overwhelming musical gifts" and by 1972 he started recording and releasing solo material. But while things professionally couldn\'t be better, behind the scenes it was a different. Years later in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey Michael admitted that even at the height of his Jackson 5 fame he was mentally and physically abused by his father Joseph and would frequently cry through loneliness.
The Wiz
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The cast of The Wiz
By 1978 Michael was regularly now working as a solo performer. He\'d also struck a close friendship with fellow Motown star Diana Ross, who like him had made her name in a band before outgrowing the group. The pair starred together in The Wiz, an updated version of the Wizard Of Oz which was nominated for four Oscars. The musical also marked the first time Michael worked with super producer Quincy Jones.
Off The Wall
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Michael Jackson\'s classic album Off The Wall
In 1979 Michael released Off The Wall. Although it never topped the US charts (it reached No.4) it became a classic and sold 27million copies and in 2008 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. However, despite the praise Jackson wasn\'t happy. In 1980 he picked up the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for Don\'t Stop ‘til You Get Enough but told press, "It was totally unfair that it didn\'t get Record of the Year and it can never happen again". During rehearsals for the Off The Wall live performances Michael broke his nose practising a complex dance routine. The accident gave him breathing problems he would complain of throughout his career. Doctors gave him rhinoplasty (more commonly known as a nose-job) surgery to correct the problem but the operation wasn\'t a success. Jackson was referred to plastic surgeon Dr Steven Hoefflin who performed a second rhinoplasty and all his subsequent operations.
Thriller
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Michael Jackson at the release of the classic album Thriller
Despite the success of Off The Wall Michael vowed to better it\'s sales and is said to have told his manager at the time that he "wanted to be the biggest star in showbusiness, and the wealthiest". With the release of Thriller in 1982 he did just that. Michael, now 24-years-old, was at his creative peak, blending pop, disco and rock. He later said that he wanted to make "an album where every song was a killer. Why can\'t everyone be a hit song?" Thriller became the best selling album ever. To date it\'s sold 109million copies, the second best selling album ever, AC/DC\'s Back In Black, has sold 45million.
Bad
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Michael Jackson performing live on the Bad Tour
Not only the best-selling artist in the world, Michael soon became the biggest live draw too, packing in stadiums around the world. In 1987 he released Bad, which although not matching his previous album\'s figures still topped charts all over the world, going on to sell 30million copies.
Wacko Jacko
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Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones
By now however, there had been a shift in the press\' perception of Jackson. Tabloids gossiped that he purchased the Elephant Man\'s skeleton, slept in an oxygen chamber to stay young and was best friends with a monkey. He made light of the rumours on the Quincy Jones produced song Leave Me Alone but it didn\'t stop the talk. On top of the gossip about his life, his appearance was starting to change drastically. As well as significant weight loss experts speculated he went through several nose-jobs as well cheek bone, forehead, lip thinning and chin procedures. Thanks to the skin conditions vitiligo and lupus his skin was also considerably lighter and he was now extremely sensitive to sunlight.
Dangerous
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Michael Jackson performing at the 1993 Superbowl
Another album, Dangerous, and world tour followed and despite the gossip about his private life and changing appearance he remained the world\'s top star. He continued to break records too. In January 1993 he performed during the halftime of the Superbowl, his four song set was seen by more 135million Americans alone and became the first Superbowl where viewing figures increased during the halftime break. Michael Jackson seemed to be untouchable.
Jackson on trial
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Michael denies sexual abuse charges made against him
On 18 August 1993 the Los Angeles Police Dept announced to the world that it was investigating allegations of child abuse made by the family of 13-year-old Jordy Chandler against Michael Jackson. The singer strongly denied all charges and released a video proclaiming his innocence, claiming the family were trying to extort money from him. Police are said to have interviewed 30 of Jackson\'s young friends who had stayed at his Neverland Ranch and each denied any wrong-doing. But Jackson\'s sister La Toya claimed to have evidence of her brother\'s guilt and, for the right price, would share it with the world. However, newspapers that took her up on the offer soon found she had no evidence. By January 1994 over two hundred witnesses had been questioned and though Chandler\'s allegations couldn\'t be proven Michael decided to settle out of court for a total of $22million saying, "I wanted to go on with my life. Too many people had already been hurt. I want to make records. I want to sing. I want to perform again...It\'s my talent. My hard work. My life. My decision."
Married life
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Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Following the allegations Jackson\'s public image was now in tatters and the stress had caused him to have major health problems. Biographer T Randy Taraborrelli claims the singer was addicted to painkillers as Michael himself confirmed
when making a statement about the allegations. "As you may already know, after my tour ended I remained out of the country [US] undergoing treatment for a dependency on pain medication...This medication was initially prescribed to soothe the excruciating pain that I was suffering since having recent reconstructive surgery on my scalp." Michael turned to Lisa Marie Presley for support and the pair married in 1994. The couple divorced two years later
but remained friends. When asked about the relationship later Lisa Marie called it, "a married couple\'s life...that was sexually active".
HIStory
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Michael Jackson and second wife Debbie Rowe
While making his chart comeback in 1995 Jackson married dermatologist nurse Deborah Rowe and fathered two children, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (also known as Prince), and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. The couple divorced in 1999 with Rowe signing over all her custody rights to Jackson. Professionally things seemed to be back on track, his double album HIStory shifted 40million units, he scored a UK Christmas No 1 with Earth Song while his tour was seen by more than 4.5million people worldwide making it his biggest ever.
Father again
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Michael Jackson dangles his son Blanket out of a Berlin hotel\'s balcony
In 2002 Jackson became a father for the third time when his son Price Michael Jackson II (who he called Blanket) was born. The identity of the child\'s mother was never released but Jackson said the child was the result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm cells. The singer caused worldwide controversy in November of that year when he dangled the child from a Berlin hotel\'s balcony when waving for fans. He later apologised for the incident, calling it a "terrible mistake".
Living with Michael Jackson
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TV Journalist Martin Bashir
A year later, Jackson agreed to appear in a Granada TV documentary with journalist Martin Bashir. The programme, Living With Michael Jackson, showed the singer at his Neverland Ranch holding hands and admitting to sharing a bed with Gavin Arvizo (who went on to accuse him of sexual assault) and other boys. Despite Jackson denouncing the documentary and accusing Bashir of manipulating him there was an outcry across the world.
On trial again
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Michael Jackson\'s famous mug shot
Shortly after the documentary aired Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to Arvizo. He denied all charges. Two years later a high profile, five-month trial began in Santa Monica. Celebrity witnesses including Elizabeth Taylor and MacCauley Culkin spoke on Jackson\'s behalf while the court heard from mental health profiler Dr Stan Katz who said that, in his view, Jackson had "become mentally regressed to 10-year-old and therefore did not fit the profile of a paedophile". During the trial his health had visibly deteriorated and there were reports that he was in serious financial difficulty. In May 2005 he was acquitted of all charges.
This Is It
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Michael Jackson announces his 50 date London residency
Jackson never returned to the Neverland ranch after the trial. Instead he spent time out of the spotlight living in the Middle East and Las Vegas while rumours of his impending bankruptcy and failing health spread. However, on 5 March he returned to the public eye to announce his first live shows in 12 years, a 50-date residency at the O2 arena entitled This Is It. Secret rehearsals were under-way at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Tales of elephants, bejewelled dance troupes and huge vocal choirs filtered out and promoters promised a show the likes of which had never been seen. Madonna\'s manager confirmed the singer would be making appearances on the show, the rest of the Jackson 5 and their little sister Janet were rumoured to be performing too. Sadly we\'ll never know what Jackson had in store. Just 17 days before his first show Michael suffered a suspected heart failure in his Bel Air home, paramedics were unable to revive him. Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26pm on 25 June 2009.
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