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"Dynamite" / "Bananas" Magazine Interview

"Dynamite" magazine (October 9, 1980) (archived) (Mirror Image 004)

"To be quite honest," Michael told The Dynamite Kids Page, I just love to perform!" That's good, because he certainly does plenty of it!

...Where did he get his start? According to Michael, "The first time I ever performed in public was in my kindergarten class. My teacher asked me to sing 'Climb Every Mountain'."

...Michael's solo album, "Off the Wall", is a monster hit, selling over four million copies! "I'm really quite pleased at the success of Off the Wall", Michael said modestly. He should be pleased, since this album made Michael the only solo artist to ever have tour Top-Ten hits on one album!

Offstage, Michael is quiet and shy, but onstage he explodes with energy! We asked him how he feels during a performance. "It's really kind of hard for me to explain the feeling I get when I see that the audience is enjoying my family." Michael told us, "But it's quite a thrill to see people of all races and economic backgrounds in the audience singing, dancing, and just really appreciating me!"

Sometimes, we learned, Michael's fans can appreciate him just a little too much. He told us about a close call he and his brother had once. "When we visited England one year, thousands of girls besieged our limousines at the airport. At one point, it got kind of scary. We lost shoes, socks, scarves, shirts, and almost our *hair*, before our security people were able to secure a hideaway station at the airport!"

What is Michael planning for the future? Plenty! "I plan to make more solo albums in the future," he told us. And that's not all! "I also plan to star in movies in the near future", he continued. "My father has tons of scripts that people send in every day for me to consider.

"But, of course," he said smiling, "my first love is music."

That's good, Michael, because listening to all the great music you make is what we love!

“Bananas” magazine (December 1980) (Images 001-003), includes outtakes of “Dynamite” magazine interview

One person we know we'll all be hearing plenty from this winter is Michael Jackson. Michael once said, "To be given a gift, a talent, and not to cultivate it and make it grow--that's the biggest sin in the world."

Nobody can accuse Michael Jackson of not cultivating his talents! Since childhood, Michael has been entertaining us with his singing. As the scarecrow in movie version of "The Wiz", he dazzled us with his dancing. His solo album, "Off the Wall", shows us his stunning songwriting abilities. And he has added to his many abilities by producing an album for his sister La Toya!

"The first time I ever performed in public was in my kindergarten class", MIchael told "Bananas". "My teacher asked me to sing "Climb Every Mountain". He did, in fact, by the time Michael was 11 years old, he had climbed every music chart as the lead singer in The Jackson Five!

We asked Michael who his inspirations were as a child. He told us, "I really admired Charlie Chaplin and Sammy Davis, Jr. I remember, as a child, watching old Charlie Chaplin movies. And I guess, with Sammy Davis, Jr., I loved all the dancing and singing and acting he was involved in. Also, I admired Bill Bojangles' Robinson for his great tap dancing numbers."

Michael is quite a dancer himself, even though he's never had a formal lesson in his life. Still, it is as a singer and songwriter that we know Michael best. And last summer, Michael soared new heights in his career as the only solo artist ever to have four top-ten hits on one album--"Off the Wall".

That album, with its hard-rocking disco numbers and its sensitive ballads, showed two sides to Michael's music personality. There also two sides to Michael's real-life personality!

Most of the time, he is extremely quiet and reserved. His friends all describe him as very shy. But in performance, he changes completely. He wows his audience into such a frenzy that they often rush to the stage. When he's on stage, he seems to be outgoing, active, and enjoying every minute of it. What is it, we asked him, that causes such a complete change in him?

"To be quite honest", Michael told "Bananas", "I just love to perform! It's really kind of hard for mt to explain the feeling I get when I see that the audience is enjoying our act. But it's quite a thrill to see people of all races and economic backgrounds in the audience singing, dancing, and just really appreciating me."

"Bananas" remembered another time when Michael described performing live as a burst of power--"to get all the people out there together with me and by me. That's power", he said then, "That's magic!"

Sometimes the magic can backfire. When we asked Michael about some of the things that have happened to him on the road, he laughed and said, "Wow! There have been so many strange and funny situations that I don't know where to begin!"

"One year", he told us, "when we visited England, thousands of girls besieged our limousines at the airport! At one point, it got kind of scary. We lost shoes, socks, scarves, shirts, and almost our HAIR before our security people were able to secure a hideaway at the airport!

"Another time", he continued, "when my brothers and I were performing in Philadelphia, we visited the local Children's Hospital. Word spread around so fast that we were at the hospital, that by the time we left, there were thousands of fans outside the entrance! The only way we were able to get out quickly and safely was to jump into the back of an ambulance and speed off!"

"Bananas" asked Michael if he could tell us something about his plans for the future. "I plan to do more solo albums in the future", he told us. "And I do plan to star in more movies. My father has tons of scripts that people send in every day for me to consider!

"But, of course", he emphasized, "my first love is music. I'll be producing more in the studio with my family and other artists."

Our time with Michael was almost over. But we had to ask him one more thing: how does he deal with people who see him as "little" Michael?

"I believe", Michael explained, "that as I grow older, most people have just stopped seeing me as little Michael. I've been in the business for over 15 years now, and the public has watched me grow!"

Michael, you once said, "I'm interested in making a path instead of following a trail." You can rest assured that any paths you make will be followed by a long trail of fans--especially your fans from "Bananas"!