Séance conducted by John Beattie, Bristol, England, 1872

A séance ( /ˈseɪ.ɑːns/) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma" ("a movie session"). In English, however, the word came to be used specifically for a meeting of people who are gathered to receive messages from spirits or to listen to a spirit medium discourse with or relay messages from spirits; many people, including skeptics and non-believers, treat it as a form of entertainment. In modern English usage, participants need not be seated while engaged in a séance.

One of the earliest books on the subject of communication amongst deceased persons was Communitation With the Other Side by George, First Baron Lyttelton, published in England in 1760.^[1] Among the notable spirits quoted in this volume are Peter the Great, Pericles, a "North-American Savage," William Penn, and Christina, Queen of Sweden. The popularity of séances grew dramatically with the founding of the religion of Spiritualism in the mid-nineteenth century. Perhaps the best-known series of séances conducted at that time were those of Mary Todd Lincoln who, grieving the loss of her son, organized Spiritualist séances in the White House, which were attended by her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, and other prominent members of society.^[2] The 1887 Seybert Commission report marred the credibility of Spiritualism at the height of its popularity by publishing exposures of fraud and showmanship among secular séance leaders.^[3] Modern séances continue to be a part of the religious services of Spiritualist, Spiritist, and Espiritismo churches today, where a greater emphasis is placed on spiritual values versus showmanship.^[4][5]

Varieties of séance[link]

The term séance is used in several ways, and can refer any of four different activities, each with its own social norms and conventions, its own favoured tools, and its own range of expected outcomes.

Religious séances[link]

In the religion of Spiritualism, it is generally a part of services to communicate with the dead. The term "séance" is not often used to describe this, except by outsiders; a preferred term is "receiving messages." In these sessions, which generally take place in well-lit Spiritualist churches or outdoors at Spiritualist camps (such as Lily Dale in upstate New York or Camp Cassadaga in Florida), an ordained minister or gifted contact medium will relate messages from the dead to the living.^[4] Generally Spiritualist "message services" or "demonstrations of the continuity of life" are open to the public. Sometimes the medium stands to receive messages and only the sitter is seated;^[6] in some churches, the message service is preceded by a "healing service" involving some form of faith healing.^[7]

In addition to communicating with the spirits of people who have a personal relationship to congregants, some Spiritual Churches also deal with spirits who may have a specific relationship to the medium or a historic relationship to the body of the church. An example of the latter is the spirit of Black Hawk, a Native American warrior of the Fox tribe who lived during the 19th century. Black Hawk was a spirit who was often contacted by the Spiritualist medium Leafy Anderson and he remains the central focus of special services in the African American Spiritual Churches that she founded.^[5]

In the Latin American religion of Espiritismo, which somewhat resembles Spiritualism, séance sessions in which congregants communicate with spirits are called misas (literally "masses"). The spirits contacted in Espiritismo are often those of ancestors or Catholic saints.

Stage mediumship séances[link]

Mediums who contact spirits of the dead or other spirits while on a stage, with audience members seated before them, are not literally holding a "séance", because they themselves are not seated; however, the term "séance" has been applied to their activities. One of the foremost early practitioners of this type of contact with the dead was Paschal Beverly Randolph, who worked with the spirits of the relatives of audience members, but was also famed for his ability to contact and deliver messages from ancient seers and philosophers, such as Plato.^[8]

Leader-assisted séances[link]

Leader-assisted séances are generally conducted by small groups of people, with participants seated around a table in a dark or semi-dark room. The leader is typically asserted to be a medium and he or she may go into a trance that theoretically allows the spirits to communicate through his or her body, conveying messages to the other participants. Other modes of communication may also be attempted, including psychography or automatic writing, numbered raps, levitation of the table or of spirit trumpets, apports, or even smell.

This is the type of séance that is most often the subject of shock and scandal when it turns out that the leader is practicing some form of stage magic illusion or using mentalism tricks to defraud clients.

Informal social séances[link]

Among those with an interest in the occult, a tradition has grown up of conducting séances outside of any religious context and without a leader. Sometimes only two or three people are involved, and, if they are young, they may be using the séance as a way to test their understanding of the boundaries between reality and the paranormal. It is in such small séances that the planchette and ouija board are most often utilized.^{[citation needed]}

Séance tools and techniques[link]

Mediumship, trance, and channeling[link]

Mediumship is the term used to describe an act where the practitioner attempts to receive messages from spirits of the dead and other spirits that the practitioner believes exist. Some self-ordained mediums are fully conscious and awake while functioning as contacts; others may slip into a partial or full trance or an altered state of consciousness. These self called 'trance-mediums' often state that, when they emerge from the trance state, they have no recollection of the messages they conveyed; it is customary for such practitioners to work with an assistant who writes down or otherwise records their words.^[9]

Spirit boards, talking boards, and Ouija boards[link]

Spirit boards, also known as talking boards, or Ouija boards (after a well-known brand name) are flat tablets, typically made of wood, Masonite, chipboard, or plastic. On the board are a number of symbols, pictures, letters, numbers and/or words. The board is accompanied by a planchette (French for "little table"), which can take the form of a pointer on three legs or magnifying glass on legs; home made boards may employ a shot glass as a planchette. A most basic Ouija board would contain simply the alphabet of whatever country the board is being used in, although it is not uncommon for whole words to be added.^[10]

The board is used as follows: One to all of the participants in the séance place one or two fingers on the planchette which is in the middle of the board. The appointed medium asks questions of the spirit(s) with whom they are attempting to communicate

Trumpets, slates, tables, and cabinets[link]

During the latter half of the 19th century, a number of Spiritualist mediums began to advocate the use of specialized tools for conducting séances, particularly in leader-assisted sessions conducted in darkened rooms. "Spirit trumpets" were horn-shaped speaking tubes that were said to magnify the whispered voices of spirits to audible range. "Spirit slates" consisted of two chalkboards bound together that, when opened, were said to reveal messages written by spirits. "Séance tables" were special light-weight tables which were said to rotate, float, or levitate when spirits were present. "Spirit cabinets" were portable closets into which mediums were placed, often bound with ropes, in order to prevent them from manipulating the various aforementioned tools.

The exposure of supposed mediums whose use of séance tools derived from the techniques of stage magic has been disturbing to many believers in spirit communication. In particular, the 1870s exposures of the Davenport Brothers as illusionists and the 1887 report of the Seybert Commission^[3] brought an end to the first historic phase of Spiritualism. Stage magicians like John Nevil Maskelyne and Harry Houdini made a side-line of exposing fraudulent mediums during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1976, M. Lamar Keene described deceptive techniques that he himself had used in séances; however, in the same book, Keene also stated that he still had a firm belief in God, life after death, ESP, and other psychic phenomena.^[11]

The exposures of fraud by tool-using mediums have had two divergent results: Skeptics have used historic exposures as a frame through which to view all spirit mediumship as inherently fraudulent,^[12] while believers have tended to eliminate the use of tools but continued to practice mediumship in full confidence of its spiritual value to them.^[4][5]

Critical objections[link]

Scientific skeptics and atheists generally consider both religious and secular séances to be scams, or at least a form of pious fraud, citing a lack of empirical evidence.^[12]

In his television special, Seance, magician Derren Brown held a seance and afterwards described some of the tricks used by (him and) 19th century mediums to create the illusion of paranormal events.

Some Christians believe that spirits can be contacted (as presented in the First Book of Samuel, for example),^[13] but that the Bible specifically forbids contact with spirits, and they cite Biblical verses to support their belief.^[14]

Critics of channeling—including both skeptics and those who do believe in spirits—state that since the most commonly reported physical manifestations of channeling are an unusual vocal pattern or abnormal overt behaviors of the medium, channeling is therefore quite easily faked by anyone with theatrical talent.^[11]

Critics of spirit board communication techniques—again including both skeptics and those who do believe in spirits—state that the premise that a spirit will move the planchette and spell out messages using the symbols on the boards is undermined by the fact that several people have their hands on the planchette, which allows one of the people to spell out anything they want without the others knowing. They claim that this is a common trick used on occasions such as sleepover parties to scare the people present.

Another criticism of spirit board communication involves what is called the ideomotor effect which has been suggested as an automatism, or subconscious mechanism, by which a Ouija-user's mind unknowingly guides his hand upon the planchette, hence he will honestly believe he is not moving it, when, in fact, he is.^[15] This theory rests on the embedded premise that human beings actually have a "subconscious mind," a belief not held by all people.^[16]

Notable séance mediums, attendees, and debunkers[link]

Mediums[link]

Popular 19th century trance medium lecturers include Cora Scott Hatch, Achsa W. Sprague, Emma Hardinge Britten (1823–1899), and Paschal Beverly Randolph(1825–1875).

Among the notable people who conducted small leader-assisted séances during the 19th century were the Fox sisters, whose activities included table-rapping, and the Davenport Brothers, who were famous for the spirit cabinet work. Both the Foxes and the Davenports were eventually exposed as frauds.

In the 20th century, notable trance mediums also include Edgar Cayce and Arthur Ford.

Attendees[link]

Notable people who have attended séances and professed a belief in Spiritualism include the social reformer Robert Owen; the journalist and pacifist William T. Stead;^[17] Mackenzie King, the Prime Minister of Canada for 22 years, who sought spiritual contact and political guidance from his deceased mother, his pet dogs, and the late US President Franklin D. Roosevelt;^[18] the journalist and author Lloyd Kenyon Jones; and the physician and author Arthur Conan Doyle.^[19]

Scientists who have conducted a search for real séances and believed that contact with the dead is a reality include the chemist William Crookes,^[20] the evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace,^[21] the inventor of radio Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of telephone Alexander Graham Bell, and the inventor of television technology John Logie Baird, who claimed to have contacted the spirit of the inventor Thomas Edison.^[22]

Debunkers[link]

Among the best known exposers of fraudulent mediumship acts have been the researchers Frank Podmore of the Society for Psychical Research, Harry Price of the National Laboratory of Psychical Research, the professional stage magicians John Nevil Maskelyne (who exposed the Davenport Brothers) and Harry Houdini, who clearly stated that he did not oppose the religion of Spiritualism itself, but only the trickery by phony mediums that was being practiced in the name of the religion.^[23]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Lehman, Amy (2009). Victorian women and the theatre of trance: mediums, spiritualists and mesmerists in performance. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-3479-1. 

External links[link]

Look up séance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A Séance Procedure (courtesy of the Other World Society)
  • Other World Society
• Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp
• Circle of the Silver Cord: transcripts of séances.
• Physical Mediumship today: The home of the "Yellow Cloud Circle of Eternal Illumination". Information, Seance recordings and testimonials.
• National Spiritualist Association of Churches
• eLibrary of ancient books on the subject of spiritualism, séances, development of mediumship in the Western and Oriental Traditions

Richard Wiseman
Richard Wiseman speaking at TAM London, October 2009
Born	1966 (age 45–46) London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Psychologist, professor
Website
http://richardwiseman.wordpress.com/

Richard Wiseman (born 1966) is Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. Wiseman started his professional life as a magician, before graduating in Psychology from University College London and obtaining a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh.^[1]

Biography[link]

Wiseman is known for his critical examination and frequent debunking of unusual phenomena, including reports of paranormal phenomena. He is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI).^[2] His research has been published in numerous academic journals, reported at various conferences,^[3] and featured on television.^[4] In 2004, he took part in a preliminary test of Natasha Demkina, a young Russian woman who claims to have a special vision that allows her to see inside of people's bodies and diagnose illnesses. The test, whose validity has been disputed,^[5][6] was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary, The Girl with X-Ray Eyes.^[7]

In addition Wiseman has studied the principles of good and bad luck, publishing the results in the self-help book The Luck Factor. He showed that both good and bad luck result from measurable habits; for example, lucky people, by expecting good luck, might expend more effort in their endeavours, resulting in more success, reinforcing their belief in good luck. Lucky people are outgoing and observant and therefore have many more chance encounters than unlucky people, each of which could bring a lucky opportunity. Moreover lucky people are more likely to look on the bright side of 'bad' encounters. In a mental exercise describing being shot during a bank robbery, lucky people considered themselves lucky not to have been killed while unlucky people considered themselves unlucky to have been shot.^[8]

In 2001 Wiseman led LaughLab, an international experiment to find the world's funniest joke.^[9] The winning joke described a caller to emergency services who shoots his friend who has collapsed in order to comply with the instruction "First, let's make sure he's dead".^[9] The experiment also explored regional and cultural variations in humour.

Wiseman's research has been featured on over 150 television programmes, including Horizon, Equinox and World In Action.^[4] He is regularly heard on BBC Radio 4, including appearances on Start the Week, Midweek and the Today programme. Wiseman also makes numerous appearances on the British television show The Real Hustle, explaining the psychology behind many of the scams and confidence tricks.^[4] Feature articles about his work have regularly appeared in The Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian, and a recent poll revealed that he was the psychologist most frequently quoted in the British media.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Wiseman wrote the first section of a collaborative story at Libboo, in an attempt to produce a full-length novel in two months. The final result of this experiment, was a novel called, Paradox: The curious life, and mysterious death, of Mr Joseph Wheeler.^{[citation needed]}

Awards[link]

Richard Wiseman (left) during TAM9 in 2011, with with Phil Plait and Joe Nickell

• CSICOP Public Education in Science Award, 2000^[10]
• British Science Association Joseph Lister Award, 2002^[10]
• NESTA DreamTime Fellowship for his innovative work in science communication, 2004^[11]

Books[link]

Richard Wiseman talks about 59 Seconds on Bookbits radio.

• Wiseman, R. & Morris, R. L. (1995). Guidelines for Testing Psychic Claimants. Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire Press (US edition: Amherst, USA: Prometheus Press).
• Milton, J. & Wiseman, R. (1997). Guidelines for Extrasensory Perception Research. Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire Press.
• Wiseman, R. (1997). Deception and self-deception: Investigating Psychics. Amherst, USA: Prometheus Press
• Lamont, P. & Wiseman, R. (1999). Magic in Theory: an introduction to the theoretical and psychological elements of conjuring. Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire Press (US edition: Hermetic Press).
• Wiseman, R. (2002). Laughlab: The Scientific Search For The World's Funniest Joke. London, UK: Random House
• Wiseman, R. (2003). The Luck Factor. London, UK: Random House
• Wiseman, R. (2004). Did you spot the gorilla? How to recognise hidden opportunities in your life. London, UK: Random House
• Wiseman, R. & Watt, C. (2005). Parapsychology. London, UK: Ashgate International Library of Psychology. Series Editor, Prof. David Canter
• Wiseman, R. (2007). Quirkology. London, UK: Pan Macmillan
• Wiseman, R. (2009). 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot. London, UK: Pan Macmillan
• Wiseman, R. (2011). Paranormality: Why we see what isn't there. London, UK: Pan Macmillan

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website of Richard Wiseman
• Wiseman's page, Conville and Walsh literary agents
• The Telegraph online article
• Laughlab, the world's funniest joke experiment
• Richard Wiseman on the IMDb
• Interview With Dr. Richard Wiseman on Skeptiko podcast
• Website of Richard Wiseman's book Quirkology
• Pulse Project Podcast: Interview with Richard Wiseman (16 May 2009, Oxford)
• Speaking Profile Richard Wiseman's profile and lecture topics on the Random House Speakers Bureau

Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Born	(1955-07-19) July 19, 1955 (age 56) Kobe, Japan
Occupation	Film director and screenwriter
Years active	1973 – present

Kiyoshi Kurosawa (黒沢 清, Kurosawa Kiyoshi^?, born July 19, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker. He is best known for his many contributions to the Japanese horror genre.

Biography[link]

Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955, Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not related to director Akira Kurosawa.^[1] After studying at Rikkyo University in Tokyo under the guide of prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi, where he began making 8mm films, Kurosawa began directing commercially in the 1980s, working on pink films and low-budget V-Cinema (direct-to-video) productions such as formula yakuza pictures. In the early 1990s, he won a scholarship to the Sundance Institute and was able to study filmmaking in the United States, although he had been directing for nearly ten years professionally.

Kurosawa first achieved international acclaim with his serial killer film Kyua (Cure) (1997). Also that year, Kurosawa experimented by filming two thrillers back-to-back, Serpent's Path and Eyes of the Spider, both of which shared the same premise (a father taking revenge for his child's murder) and lead actor (Show Aikawa) but spun entirely different stories.

Kurosawa followed up Cure with a semi-sequel in 1999 with Charisma, which established his penchant for apocalyptic imagery and themes of identity and isolation. In 2001 Kurosawa directed Pulse, a film about ghosts invading the world of the living by way of the Internet. More recently Kurosawa has released Akarui Mirai (Bright Future) (2003), starring Tadanobu Asano, the first film of his shot with a 24p High-definition video camera. Kurosawa followed this with another digital feature, Doppelganger, later the same year.

A skilled writer, he has written novelizations of some of his films as well as a history of horror cinema with Makoto Shinozaki.^[2] He recently made a cameo in Kôji Shiraishi's horror film Occult as himself.

Style and influences[link]

Kurosawa's directing style has been compared to that of Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky, though he has never expressly listed those directors as influences.^[3] Nevertheless he admitted in a interview that Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujiro Ozu features analyzed and discussed under the guidance of Shigehiko Hasumi contributed to shape his personal vision of the medium.^[4]

Many of his films are concerned in some form with the way society shapes the individual, with individuals obsessed with some eccentric project, or how social mechanisms disintegrate when faced with the wholly irrational. Cure is widely cited as the best example of all of these concepts in one film, but they show up in others as well: Bright Future combines the first and second in its plot about a ruminative young man trying to acclimate a jellyfish to live in fresh water with unexpected results.^{[citation needed]}

According to Tim Palmer, Kurosawa's films occupy a peculiar position between the materials of mass genre, on the one hand, and esoteric or intellectual abstraction, on the other. They also clearly engage with issues of environmental critique, given Kurosawa's preference for shooting in decaying open spaces, abandoned (and often condemned) buildings, and in places rife with toxins, pestilence and entropy.^[5]

Selected filmography[link]

• 1983 Kandagawa Pervert Wars
• 1995 Shoot Yourself 1 The Heist (Katte ni Shiyagare!) colloquially translates as "Do whatever the fuck you want!"^[6]
• 1995 Shoot Yourself 2 The Escape
• 1996 Shoot Yourself 3
• 1996 Door 3 (ドア３ or occasionally　ＤＯＯＲ ＩＩＩ Doa surī)
• 1997 Cure (キュア Kyua)
• 1998 Serpent's Path (蛇の道 Hebi no michi)
• 1998 Eyes of the Spider (蜘蛛の瞳 Kumo no hitomi)
• 1998 License to Live (ニンゲン合格 Ningen gōkaku)
• 1999 Barren Illusions (大いなる幻影 Ōinaru genei)
• 2000 Charisma (カリスマ Karisuma)
• 2001 Kairo (回路), aka Pulse
• 2001 Seance (降霊 Kōrei)
• 2003 Bright Future (アカルイミライ Akarui mirai)
• 2003 Doppelganger (ドッペルゲンガー Dopperugengā)
• 2005 Loft (ロフト Rofuto)
• 2006 Retribution (叫 Sakebi)
• 2008 Tokyo Sonata (トウキョウソナタ Tōkyō Sonata)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kiyoshi Kurosawa at the Internet Movie Database
• Kiyoshi Kurosawa at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)
• Machiyama, Tomo. "PULPman Profiles 06: Kiyoshi Kurosawa". PULP: The Manga Magazine. Archived from the original on 2004-10-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20041022100423/www.pulp-mag.com/archives/5.10/pulpman.shtml. Retrieved 2009-11-30. 
• Sedia Giuseppe Interview with Kiyoshi Kurosawa at Asia Express, (Italian), October 2006.

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2010)

Eddy Mitchell
Background information
Birth name	Claude Moine
Born	(1942-07-03) July 3, 1942 (age 69) Paris, France
Genres	Rock'n'roll, R&B, Country, Ballads, French songs
Occupations	Singer-songwriter Actor
Labels	Barclay, Polydor

Claude Moine better known by his stage name Eddy Mitchell (born 3 July 1942, Paris) is a French singer and actor. He began his career in the late 1950s, with the group Les Chaussettes Noires (The Black Socks), taking his name from the American expatriate tough-guy actor Eddie Constantine (later the star of Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville). The band performed at the Parisian nightclub Le Golf Drouot before signing to Barclay Records and finding almost instant success; in 1961 it sold two million records.

Heavily influenced by American rock & roll, Mitchell (who went solo in 1963) has often recorded outside France, at first in London, but later in Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee. Guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, Jimmy Page and drummer Bobby Graham were among the British session musicians who regularly supported him in London. For his American recordings he employed session men such as Roger Hawkins, David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Kenneth Buttrey, Reggie Young, David Briggs^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Charlie McCoy and others.^[1]

He is the voice of Flappy in the French version of the 2005 film of The Magic Roundabout.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

with Les 5 Rocks

• 1960 : Les 5 Rocks (remained unreleased until 1996)

with Les Chaussettes noires

• 1961 : 100 % rock
• 1961 : Rock'n'Twist
• 1962 : Le 2 000 000e disque des Chaussettes noires (1st official studio album)
• 1962 : Comment réussir en amour (soundtrack of film with same title)
• 1963 : Chaussettes Noires Party (2nd and last studio album)

Solo studio albums

• 1963 : Voici Eddy... c'était le soldat Mitchell
• 1963 : Eddy in London
• 1964 : Panorama
• 1964 : Toute la ville en parle... Eddy est formidable
• 1965 : Du rock 'n' roll au rhythm 'n' blues
• 1966 : Perspective 66
• 1966 : Seul
• 1967 : De Londres à Memphis
• 1968 : Sept Colts pour Schmoll
• 1969 : Mitchellville
• 1971 : Rock n'Roll
• 1972 : Zig-zag
• 1972 : Dieu bénisse le rock'n'roll
• 1974 : Ketchup électrique
• 1974 : Rocking in Nashville
• 1975 : Made in USA
• 1976 : Sur la route de Memphis
• 1977 : La Dernière Séance
• 1978 : Après minuit
• 1979 : C'est bien fait
• 1980 : Happy Birthday
• 1982 : Le Cimetière des éléphants
• 1984 : Fan Album
• 1984 : Racines
• 1986 : Eddy Paris Mitchell
• 1987 : Mitchell
• 1989 : Ici Londres
• 1993 : Rio Grande
• 1996 : Mr. Eddy
• 1999 : Les Nouvelles Aventures d'Eddy Mitchell
• 2003 : Frenchy
• 2006 : Jambalaya
• 2009 : Grand écran
• 2010 : Come Back

Live albums

• 1969 : Olympia 69
• 1975 : Rocking in Olympia 1975
• 1978 : Palais des Sports 77
• 1981 : 20 ans : Eddy Mitchell Olympia
• 1984 : Palais des Sports 84
• 1991 : Casino de Paris 90
• 1994 : Retrouvons notre héros Eddy Mitchell à Bercy
• 1995 : Big Band au Casino de Paris
• 1995 : Country-Rock à l'Olympia
• 1995 : Show 94 au Zénith
• 1997 : Mr. Eddy à Bercy 97
• 2001 : Live 2000
• 2004 : Frenchy Tour
• 2007 : Jambalaya Tour
• 2011 : Ma Dernière Séance

Eddy Mitchell (Sessions outside France)

Eddy Mitchell recorded many albums mainly in the United States, in the following locations:

• London (England):
  • 1967 – De Londres à Memphis
  • 1993 – Rio Grande (in London and in Muscle Shoals (Alabama))

• Nashville (Tennessee) :
  • 1974 – Rocking in Nashville
  • 1975 – Made in USA
  • 1976 – Sur la route de Memphis
  • 1977 – La Dernière Séance
  • 1978 – Après minuit
  • 1979 – C'est bien fait (also in Muscle Shoals Alabama)
  • 1980 – Happy Birthday (also in Muscle Shoals Alabama)
  • 1981 – Le cimetière des éléphants (also in Los Angeles and New York)
  • 1984 – Fan Album (également à Paris)
  • 1984 – Racines
  • 1987 – Mitchell

• Memphis and Nashville, (Tennessee)
  • 1996 – Mr. Eddy

• Memphis, Tennessee / Los Angeles, California and New Orleans, Louisiana
  • 1999 – Les nouvelles aventures d'Eddy Mitchell

• Los Angeles (California) :
  • 2003 – Frenchy

• Burbank (California) :
  • 2007 – Jambalaya
  • 2009 – Grand Écran
  • 2010 – Comeback (also in Paris, France)

Filmography[link]

• Les Parisiennes, in the segment Ella (Jacques Poitrenaud,1962
• Comment réussir en amour (Michel Boisrond, 1963)
• Nanou, TV series (Georges Régnier, 1970)
• Ça va plaire, TV musical (Jean-Pierre Cassel et Bernard Lion, 1980)
• Gaston Lapouge, TV film (Frank Apprederis, 1981)
• Coup de torchon (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981)
• Attention! Une femme peut en cacher une autre (Georges Lautner, 1983)
• Ronde de nuit (Jean-Claude Missiaen, 1984)
• A mort l'arbitre! (Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1983)
• Frankenstein 90 (Alain Jessua, 1984)
• La Galette du roi (Jean-Michel Ribes, 1986)
• I Love You (Marco Ferreri, 1986)
• Autour de minuit (Round Midnight)(cameo) (Bertrand Tavernier, 1986)
• Un père et passe (Sébastien Grall, 1989)
• Promotion canapé (Didier Kaminka, 1990)
• Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt) (Wim Wenders, 1991)
• La Totale! (Claude Zidi, 1991)
• Ville à vendre (Jean-Pierre Mocky, 1992)
• La Cité de la peur (Alain Berbérian, 1994)
• Le bonheur est dans le pré (Étienne Chatiliez, 1995)
• Cuisine américaine (Jean-Yves Pitoun, 1998)
• Kitchendales (Chantal Lauby, 2000)
• Lovely Rita, sainte patronne des cas désespérés (Stéphane Clavier, 2003)
• Les Clefs de bagnole (Laurent Baffie, 2003)
• Frank Passingham, 2005)
• Un printemps à Paris (Springtime in Paris) (Jacques Bral, 2006)

Bibliography[link]

by Eddy Mitchell[link]

• Galas, galères, autobiography (Éditions Jacques Grancher, 1979)
• Cocktail Story, recipes and anecdotes (R.M.C. Éditions, 1986)
• P'tit Claude, novel (L'Arbre à cames, 1994)

References[link]

External links[link]

• A biography (in English) at Radio France Internationale
• Eddy Mitchell at the Internet Movie Database
• Eddy Mitchell discography at MusicBrainz

Michael Jackson
Jackson at the White House in 1984
Background information
Birth name	Michael Joseph Jackson[1]
Also known as	King of Pop, MJ
Born	(1958-08-29)August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Died	June 25, 2009(2009-06-25) (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, philanthropist
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–2009
Labels	Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions
Associated acts	The Jackson 5 Michael Jackson's Signature
Website	www.michaeljackson.com

Michael Joseph Jackson^[1] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ,^[2] Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.^[3] He was also one of the world's most prominent humanitarians and philanthropists; personally, and through his Heal the World Foundation, he donated more than $300 million in charity, and held the Guinness World Record for having supported the most charities out of any pop star.^[4][5]

Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series titled This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a $250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death.^[6]

Life and career[link]

Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)[link]

Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana, showing floral tributes after his death

Jackson (center) as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1972

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana,^[7] an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.^[8] A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.^[9]

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.^[10][11][12] Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.^[12] Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.^[10] Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions.^[13] In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain child-like throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.^[14]

In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you".^[15][16]

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5.^[8] The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.^[17]

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968.^[8] Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."^[18] The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.^[8] Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".

The Jackson 5 "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists... five working-class black boys with afros and bell bottoms, and they really didn't have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars."^[19]

The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5 disco single "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.^[20]

[edit] Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–81)

In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records^[20] and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career.^[21] They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Michael was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel", and "Can You Feel It".^[17] In 1978, he starred as the scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall.^[22] In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.^[23]

Jones and Jackson produced the Off the Wall album together. Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first solo album to generate four U.S. top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".^[24][25] It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[26] In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[27][28] That year, he also won Billboard Year-End for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, also for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".^[24] Jackson again won at the American Music Awards in 1981 for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.^[29] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.^[30] In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.^[31]

[edit] Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (1982–83)

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children in 1984. In the same year he won another seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards (including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the most awarded in one night for both award shows.^[32][33] These awards were thanks to the Thriller album, released in late 1982, which was 1983's best-selling album worldwide^[34][35] and became the best-selling album of all time in the United States,^[36] as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies so far.^[37] The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".^[38] Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. The album won also another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work.^[39] Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12.^[40] Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple."^[41] In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform.^[32] In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.^[42][43][44]

Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".^[40] The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".^[45]

On March 25th 1983, Michael Jackson reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance which was taped for a Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and a number of other Motown stars. It is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive black sequin jacket and golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years before. The Jacksons' performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[46] Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."^[47]

Pepsi, "We Are the World" and business career (1984–85)[link]

Jackson with a Knott's Berry Farm Snoopy mascot in April 1984

On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry,^[48] from ad agency BBDO and Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, Alan Pottasch at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter.^[23] Jackson never recovered from this injury. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California, which now has a "Michael Jackson Burn Center" in honor of his donation.^[49] Dusenberry later recounted the episode in his memoir, Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising.

On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.^[50] Jackson won eight awards during the Grammys that year. Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the 1984 Victory Tour, headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. He donated all the funds (around $8 million) raised from the Victory Tour to charity.^[51] He also co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" in 1985 with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in the U.S. and Africa. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 30 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief. In 1986, "We Are the World" won four Grammys (one for Jackson for Song of the Year). American Music Award directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, but recognized it with two special honors (one for the creation of the song and one for the USA for Africa idea). They are the only AMAs that Jackson won as non-solo artist.^{[52][53][54][55]}

Jackson at the White House South Portico with President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, 1984

In 1984, ATV Music Publishing, which had the copyrights to nearly 4000 songs, including the Northern Songs catalog that contained the majority of the Lennon–McCartney compositions recorded by The Beatles, was put up for sale by Robert Holmes à Court.^[56] Jackson had become interested in owning music catalogs after working with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s: Jackson had learned McCartney made approximately $40 million a year from other people's songs.^[57] In 1981,^[58] McCartney was offered the ATV music catalog for £20 million ($40 million).^[57][59] According to McCartney, he contacted Yoko Ono about making a joint purchase by splitting the cost equally at £10 million each, but Ono thought they could buy it for £5 million each.^[57][59] When they were unable to make the joint purchase, McCartney let the offer fall through, not wanting to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs.^[58][59]

According to a negotiator for Holmes à Court in the 1984 sale, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time."^[60] Also, an attorney for McCartney assured Jackson's attorney, John Branca, that McCartney was not interested in bidding: McCartney reportedly said "It's too pricey".^[57][58] But there were several other companies and investors bidding. In September 1984, Jackson was first informed about the sale by Branca and sent a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984.^[56] Jackson's agents thought they had a deal several times, but encountered new bidders or new areas of debate.^[56] In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from talks after having spent over $1 million on four months of due diligence and on the negotiations.^[56]

In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Co. had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy ATV Music for $50 million.^[56] But in early August, Holmes à Court's team contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson raised his bid to $47.5 million and it was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence of ATV Music.^[56] He also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon.^[56][60] Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized August 10, 1985.^[56]

[edit] Appearance, tabloids, Bad, films, autobiography and Neverland (1986–90)

Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid 1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he might be bleaching his skin.^[61] According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale.^[62] Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy.^[63] By the mid 1990s several surgeons speculated that he had undergone various nasal surgeries, a forehead lift, thinned lips, and cheekbone surgery—although Jackson denied this and insisted that he only had surgery on his nose.^[64] Jackson claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he mentioned having a dimple created in his chin.^[65] Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body".^[65] Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring problem later in life.^[66]

During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his two eldest children. Long before becoming romantically involved with her, Jackson relied heavily on Rowe for emotional support. He also relied heavily on Klein, for medical and business advice.^[67]

Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson had disseminated the fabricated story himself.^[68][69] When Jackson bought a chimpanzee called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality.^[70] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although untrue, Jackson did not deny the story.^[68][69] Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the media began making up their own stories.^[69][71][72] These reports became embedded in the public consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise.^[73] Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli:

Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."^[74]

Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt in the Bad era

Jackson collaborated with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: Paris' installation was the last one to close, in 1998.^[75] The attraction would later return to Disneyland in 2010 after Jackson's death.^[76]

In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of the Thriller video.^[77] With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated.^[78] It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right.

The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, including Thriller.^[79] Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2012, the album sold between 30 and 45 million copies worldwide.^{[80][81][82][83][84][85][86]} Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989.^[32][39] In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the US, the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and in 1988.^{[87][88][89][90]} In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single.^[91]

Front view: Jackson wearing the costume on a June 2, 1988 performance in Vienna, Austria

The Bad World Tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989.^[92] In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a single tour.^[93] Jackson broke a Guinness World Record   when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people. The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii.

In 1988, Jackson released his first and only autobiography, Moonwalk, which took four years to complete and sold 200,000 copies.^[94] Jackson wrote about his childhood, The Jackson 5, and the abuse he had suffered.^[95] He also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had two rhinoplastic surgeries and a dimple created in his chin.^[65] He attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting.^[65] Moonwalk reached the top position on The New York Times best sellers' list.^[96] The musician then released a film called Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films that starred Jackson and Joe Pesci. The film was originally intended to be released to theaters but due to financial issues, the film was released direct-to-video. It saw a theatrical release in Germany, though. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Music Video Cassette chart, staying there for 22 weeks. It was eventually knocked off the top spot by Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues.^[97]