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"Liberty" Radio Interview / "The Daily Mirror" Tabloid Newspaper Interview
Date of “Liberty” radio interview confirmed on BBC News (“Sunday night”, April 11, 1999 was the night that Elizabeth Taylor accepted her BAFTA award) / Date of “Daily Mirror” interview confirmed in French “Black & White” magazine (archived) (“12 avril”)
“Liberty” Radio Interview:
Pop legend Michael Jackson has given a surprise interview to London radio station.
The reclusive star spoke to Liberty, a 70s and 80s music station owned by Harrods proprietor Mohammed Al Fayed.
It follows his impromptu appearance on Saturday in the directors box at Fulham football club - also owned by Mr Al Fayed.
Jackson told DJ Sean Bolger that British weather was fine, football was great, and revealed he was recording reunion tracks with his brothers who used to be in the Jackson Five.
"I'm in the middle of an album right now," he told the presenter.
"Hopefully in the future I am concentrating on a lot of films, movies, and right now I am working on the album with my brothers.
"I'm doing a reunion with my brothers - an album. I'm doing three cuts for them and three cuts with 3T," he said, referring to his nephews' group.
Football was a thriller
Speaking about his trip to the football match at Fulham's Craven Cottage Today he said: "I've never been to one before.
"I thought it was really exciting. I thought it was great."
Asked how it compared with American football, he said: "I think this is tougher, because in our football we are all padded, we have all this protection and it looks tougher, but I think that yours is really, really tough!"
Sean Bolger said: "You have sunshine as well. We had terrible, terrible weather this weekend."
Jackson replied: "No, the sun came out a couple of times."
Although he did not attend the ceremony, he congratulated close friend Elizabeth Taylor for her Bafta Fellowship Award presented on Sunday night.
"I am very thrilled. She deserves it. She's the Queen."
In a message to his British fans he said: "I love you! Thank you for your support and your loyalty and everything you have done for me.
"Without you there would be no me and I thank you very much."
Liberty Radio producer Jonathan Sanchez said: "His visit was a complete surprise.
"He just walked in the door with Mohammed Al Fayed.
"It was lovely. He was really pleasant."
“Daily Mirror” Tabloid Newspaper Interview:
“The Daily Mirror” interview, audio transcript
(Piers Morgan of the Daily Mirror narrates over this edited interview of Michael and first is asking about his new album.)
Michael Jackson: Yes I’m right in the middle of the album. I’m half way through and it’s a cavalcade of just wonderful songs and I’m putting everything I have into it. I’m putting my heart into it because I’m not sure if I’m going to really really do it again. This might be my last one as far as an album. I may do – the next is doing soundtrack albums. Soundtracks and films but not just straight out pop albums.
Mirror: Next, Michael was asked what he hopes his new album will achieve.
Jackson: I want to touch the world. I want to touch the heart, the emotions of the entire world and every demographic--from a child to older people, from the farmer in Ireland to the lady who scrubs toilets in Harlem, I mean I want to reach every demographic I can, through the love and joy and the simplicity of music.
Mirror: We then asked Michael about his amazing surprise appearance in Fulham on Saturday.
Jackson: You know, I know nothing about sports and Mr. Mohamed Al Fayed taught me so much and I enjoyed myself so much at Fulham I'm a fan. I’m addicted already so you'll be seeing me more often at the games. I thought it was amazing! I was astounded by it. I mean, it's just--I had to ask a couple of questions because I didn’t know the rules at first but once I caught on I thought it was really, really, really fun. It reminded me of everybody screaming, yelling (Yaaaa!) It was just--I kind of got the jitters. It was wonderful, it was just great. It was this weird thing when I heard them scream, I wanted to stand up and start dancing. I’m used to hearing people scream when I perform. (laughs)
Mirror: Michael was a big fan and a close friend of Princess Diana. Michael was asked how he felt when she died.
Jackson: I had a concert that day that the news broke and the doctor woke me from sleep and he told me the news as soon as I woke up and I literally collapsed--I fainted. And they had to give me the smelling salts and everything and I cancelled my concert because--and I just weeped and weeped for weeks about her and Dodi because I thought it was a match from Heaven. I thought they were beautiful together so why shouldn’t they be together? It was lovely, it was just lovely and her heart – what she did going around the world, you know, being the philanthropist she was like Mother Teresa and I just thought she was a wonderful wonderful person. She proved that she really, really cared, it wasn’t just talk she really, really did care about people and children. The way I do, the way I do. Quite often she'd call me on the phone and we'd talk in private because the press were hard on her the way they are hard on me – the same way, so she needed a soulmate to talk to and she felt hunted, the way I felt hunted, you know? And she needed someone to talk to and she called me quite often about it. It’s the saddest I felt, I’ve never felt that kind of mourning since Kennedy was killed. It really broke my heart and I cried so much.
Mirror: We asked Michael what he and Diana used to speak about.
Jackson: To generalize, it was about how we shared the same feelings about problems, the next door neighbor, they don’t know what it’s like and I’ve had it since I was a little bitty kid. She was just suddenly thrust into it so her emotions were a little different than mine but I’ve had it all my life. I said “just rise above it, rise above it”. I’ve gone on stage in the worst pain. I’ve gone on stage with toothaches and I rise above it mentally. I told her just to rise above it and be strong, and be determined and, nobody can hurt you. Only you can hurt yourself and be defiant, be defiant.
Mirror: Michael was then asked about the impact of being a father has had on his career and whether he had any ambitions for his children.
Jackson: I think about the children a lot and what I want them to do but they have to pick their own career but I would love to direct them in the arts. You know just directing and films.
Mirror: Michael told us that his children particularly like his sister Janet Jackson's records. We asked him which songs in particular that they liked and he spontaneously burst into song.
Jackson: The Knowledge, Rhythm Nation any of the (starts beatboxing) all the songs with great grooves you know?
Mirror: We asked Michael what his reaction was to the crisis in Yugoslavia.
Jackson: I have to turn the TV off, I cry every day but that’s not enough to turn your head and pretend that it doesn’t exist, I want to fly down there if I could. I would love to fly there and see and help and do and create. I’m giving proceeds to those refugees for the families.
Mirror: Are you really?
Jackson: Yeah, I wrote a song “What More Can I Give” that I want to put all the stars together and if I could do it here in Britain it would be great. Maybe I should do it in Britain.
Mirror: I think you should.
Jackson: It’s called “What More Can I Give” I wrote it and I want to give the proceeds to the families of Yugoslavia. Maybe I should do it here instead of America and get all your celebrities in England and if the Americans want to fly down too. One thing I didn’t like about the “We are the World” song that I wrote--I didn’t like the idea “USA for Africa”. It was like it was discriminating the rest of the world. I asked for the Bee Gees, I asked for other groups and they said “Well, they weren’t born here” I said “I don’t care! I just want the world to show that they care”. I think it's--I mean, I am not into politics and I don’t talk about religion and politics but I think it’s totally ignorant--it’s wrong to hurt people, to hurt innocent children over some political issue? I think its genocide. It’s wrong. "Ethnic cleansing"? It’s ignorant. "Ethnic cleansing"? That's ignorant. That's stupid.
Mirror: We then asked Michael about his love for the UK and whether he had any plans to move here.
Jackson: I would love to live in London 'cause I love it so much. It’s just the press is so hard on me here and I try to do so good. I go to the hospitals and give presents to the children. As soon as I leave the next day they go, “Wacko Jacko left the hospital and he ignored all the children” and it hurts my heart because I purposely flew Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse all the way from Euro Disney and I brought them with me to surprise the children and I brought bags of presents and everything. I spent time with the kids and they made fun of me.
Mirror: Next Michael spoke emotionally about his feelings for the work he does with children.
Jackson: I’m very touched by it. If it wasn’t for children (begins to cry) If it wasn’t for children, I would throw in the towel. I would kill myself, I wouldn’t care to live. They give me my inspiration, they give me--they inspire me. Everything I do, every song I write, every--the dance, everything that I do. And they try to use it against me and it’s just been so unfair and I’m very upset about it, you know.
Mirror: We were interested to know if the critical pressure on him had eased up at all lately. Have his critics backed off at all?
Jackson: Well they need to (chuckles) hey need to because I’m just a person who wants to be honest and do good and make people happy and enjoy the greatest sense of escapism through the talent that God has given me, you know? That’s where my heart is. That’s all I want to do, that’s all. I just want to say “Look, leave me alone and let me do what I want to do” which is share and give and put a smile on people’s face and make their heart feel happy.
Mirror: We then asked how Michael would feel about people who would suggest he would ever harm a child.
Jackson: I would slit my wrists before I would. Could never. Ever.
Mirror: Another of Michael’s great fans is Elizabeth Taylor. We asked him to tell us a little about his friendship with her.
Jackson: I haven’t seen Elizabeth but I saw her right before I left because she is Prince’s godmother and so I get to see her quite often and I take Elizabeth to the movies every Wednesday, I mean every Thursday in America. Yes. You know I have Warner Bros. Studios put aside privately for us but she doesn’t want to go because I’m a recluse and I don’t like to go out, so she forces me. She’s the only person that can force me into the public. So we walk right in and by the time the movie is over we have a crowd of people applauding us.
“The Daily Mirror” article (taken from “Michael Jackson… The Interviews! An Anthology” [mirror])
On April 13, 1999, Michael Jackson granted Britain's "The Daily Mirror" his first newspaper interview in 20 years. In Harrods, with his friend Mohammed Al Fayed at his side, Michael speaks about the allegations that threatened his career, his love for children, his career, his friendship with the late Princess Diana, and of his own family.
Speaking of the allegations of child abuse that have surrounded him since 1993, Michael, with tears streaming down his face spoke of the "evil people who think I could do this thing to children"; "I'd slit my wrists rather than hurt a child. I could never do that. No-one will ever know how much these wicked rumours have hurt me. If it wasn't for the children...I'd throw in the towel and I'd kill myself. I wouldn't care to live without children and without the inspiration they give me. They inspire me in all I do, every song I write, every dance I perform. People try and use that against me and it's just so unfair. I get very upset by it, it breaks my heart."
Michael went on to speak of his own children, two-year-old Prince and one-year-old Paris, "I love my children so much. They have changed me and my outlook on life. I just wish people would leave me alone to get on with my life. I'm just a person who wants to be honest and do good, make people happy and give them the greatest sense of escapism through the talent God has given me. That's where my heart is, that's all I want to do. Just let me share and give, put a smile on people's faces and make their hearts feel happy. To see my kids leaping round the room going mad to my sister Janet's music is just fantastic. It fills my heart with so much joy. As soon as Janet's songs with a good beat like 'The Knowledge' or 'Rhythm Nation' come on they both go crazy. You'd think a machine is moving them around. I start singing and there's screaming all over the house. I start dancing and Prince is all in the way trying to dance with me."
Michael went on to explain that he doesn't play his own music for his children, "I'm saving that for a surprise when they are a bit older," he smiles.
Will he like his children to go into the entertainment industry? Michael said he would love that but that he is also aware of the consequences, "It's going to be hard for them. When Lisa-Marie wants to sing, people always compare her to her father, which is so tough. Of course, I'd love them to do something in the arts so I could teach them to sing and dance. But they'd have to want to do that without pressure from me."
Michael explained that currently the children were staying with a long-time friend, "They are staying with a friend of mine who I went to school with. We go back a long way. My children are with hers having fun which is great. I call them all the time and we have great conversations. Hearing them say 'Dad! Dad!' is such a thrill."
Speaking of his wife, and of a few parental pointers that Mohammed Al Fayed has given him, Michael said the following, " I love my wife, and we have a happy marriage. Debbie is a nurse who loves her work, who loves taking care of people. Every day she wants to get up and look after others, to help them and make them better. That's why I love her, and that's what gives her bliss in life, God bless her. "Mohamed is a lovely family man and has been giving me some great tips. He tells me to be loving, to take time with the children, not to leave them with anybody and to be with them as much as I can. To help them grow and let them know you love them by looking them in the eyes, and saying 'I love you.' And play, play, play with them."
Changing the conversation to a more serious issue Michael spoke of the hounding tabloid media in Britain, " The press are hard on me, especially in England which is a shame because I love it here and would like to live here one day. To give you an example, the last time I was here I flew Mickey and Minnie Mouse from Euro Disney to a hospital in London for the sick kids and took them a load of toys and things to cheer them up. The next day's papers said Wacko Jacko Snubs Sick Children. That really hurt me - I tried to help those children but people just wanted to make fun of me. It was cruel and unnecessary."
Speaking of the recent tragic events in Kosovo Michael, with tears returning to his eyes, spoke of the children, "I just want to go to Yugoslavia and hug every one of those children and tell them I love them. The TV footage just breaks my heart. It's just horrifying. I have to turn the set off - it makes me cry every day. It's time we did something. It's not enough to turn your head and pretend it doesn't exist. I've written a song for the refugees called 'What More Can I Give?' and I'm going to give all the profits to the Kosovar Albanians. I want to do what we did with the people in Africa, get all the celebrities together and sing for those poor families. I'd like to do this in Britain and get the biggest British stars to join me. I want those people to know I love them, that we all love them. They are my family, my children. They desperately need our money now to help them. We are all doing too much sitting back, and reading and watching TV saying how awful it is and not actually doing something about it. I'm not into politics and I don't talk about religion. But I think it's totally wrong and ignorant to hurt innocent children over some political or religious issue. It's genocide and ethnic cleansing and it's stupid. It shouldn't be happening."
Michael also took the time to speak of a friendship that few people knew existed, a friendship with Princess Diana. Michael reflected on the night that he was told about her death, "I had a concert on the day the news broke and my doctor woke me up to tell me Diana was dead. I literally collapsed, I fainted. He had to give me smelling salts to revive me and I cancelled my show because I simply could not perform. I just broke down. I wept and wept for weeks afterwards."
Through his friendship with Diana, Michael also came to know Dodi Fayed, "They were a match made in heaven. I thought they were so beautiful together. It was lovely to see them like that. Diana was a wonderful person with such a good heart. She went round the world as a philanthropist just like Mother Theresa. She proved that she really, really cared about people and children especially. The way that I do. She used to confide in me. She'd just call me on the phone and we would talk about everything that was happening in her life. The press were hard on her in the same way they were hard on me and she needed to talk to someone who knew exactly what she was going through. She felt hunted in the way I've felt hunted. Trapped, if you like. You can't talk about that to your neighbour because how would they ever understand? No normal person could possibly understand, could they? I've had that attention since I was a kid, whereas Diana had it suddenly thrust upon her at the age of 19. I've had it all my life so I had the experience to tell her how to handle it. I just said to her, 'Rise above it all'. I'd tell her how I would go on stage sometimes in the worst pain either emotionally, or physically with something like a toothache, and I would put whatever it was out of my mind and perform. I'd say, 'Be strong and be determined and nobody can hurt you. Only you can hurt yourself - so be defiant'. I think she appreciated it and got something from my words. I think I was able to comfort her. I adored Diana. We talked so many times, much more than people realised. When I heard about the paparazzi chasing her, I just thought how lucky I was that it had never happened to me because I've been chased the same way so many times and you always wonder. Diana's death was the saddest I've ever felt - it reminded me of when Kennedy died. It broke my heart so much, I just cried and cried. [Dodi] was wonderful, just wonderful. A really smart, charming guy. It was a terrible tragedy for Mohamed and my heart goes out to him and his family."
Although Michael never met Diana's sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, Michael said that Diana had wanted him to meet them, "Diana desperately wanted me to meet her children and we talked about it many times, but I never did get the chance. Mohamed talks very highly of the boys. He says they are wonderful and he had some good times on holiday with them and Diana. It would be nice to meet them sometime."
Once again Michael switched topics, this time discussing plans he and Mohammed have been making regarding creating films in Hollywood. The two men laughed together as they joked about the mischief and mayhem that they could create in Hollywood. With that Michael directed the conversation towards their friendship, "Mohammed has taken a lot of flak in this country, which is so unfair. He is one of the sweetest, kindest men you could ever know. The problem is that people judge people before they even know them. To me he is like a big Santa Claus. He loves giving, he's very wise and creative, talented and kind-hearted. Very giving. He has taught me a lot and I love learning from him."
Speaking of their recent trip to a European Football game Michael spoke of his newly discovered love for the sport, "I knew nothing about soccer and I've never been to any sporting event, so it was a great experience for me. I'm a soccer fan now, definitely. I'm addicted. It was so exciting and passionate - the fans were like the people who come to my concerts. They were screaming and shouting and cheering their players on. I loved it. I wanted to jump up and start dancing because I'm used to performing on stage when I hear all that noise. The fans were great, although they seemed pretty surprised to see me. I have no doubt that Fulham will be promoted, they seemed a really good team with a great spirit. I met all the players and they were so kind to me."
When the interviewer, Piers Morgan, informed Michael about a team that was up for sale, the gears in the head of Michael Jackson - business man, began to turn, "I don't know them, but I'd love to get involved with one of the big teams if it was right to do so. How much are they?" He was told the asking price was 6 hundred million. "Dollars or pounds?" He was told it was pounds, and after a long pause he answered, "That's interesting, very interesting. I'll have a think about that. It sounds intriguing. I'm astounded by how much I enjoyed the soccer, that's for sure."
Changing topics once more Michael discussed the impact of the new Millenium on his music career, "I have an album coming out for the Millennium which I'm half way through. It's going to be the best thing I've ever done. I'm putting my heart and soul into it because I'm not sure if I'm gonna do another one after this...This will be my last album, I think. I may do the odd movie soundtrack, but this will be my last proper album. I want it to be something that touches the heart and emotions of the world. From a child to older people, from the farmers of Ireland to the lady who scrubs toilets in Harlem. I mean I want to reach every demographic I can through the love and joy and simplicity of music. The Millennium is an appropriate time to change direction. I'd like to get more into movies. Mohamed and I are looking to set up a company and do some films together. It's going to be great."
After he finishes his solo album Michael discussed a project that is planned with his brothers, "We are doing an album together, it's legitimate and I'm going to do it. I'll play on three songs and produce the rest. It will be fun."
When asked how he unwinds now-a-days Michael answered that he has stopped secluding himself at home and has began to get out into the public more often, "Well, I've stopped being such a recluse now. My friend Elizabeth Taylor has got me out. Every Thursday we go to the movies together. She is Godmother to my son Prince and we get on so well. I said I could get Warner Brothers to put aside a studio just for us every week to watch films in private, but she forces me out. She's the only person who can get me out in public. We walk in, sit down, watch our film and walk out. And every time we leave the audience all stand up and applaud us. It's funny. The last one we saw was Patch Adams which we loved. It was so touching, it made me cry. It's a true story about a man who takes the time to make children happy. That's what I'd like to be considered as."
“Black & White” magazine (June 1999) (archived)
On April 12, Michael Jackson granted an exclusive interview to the "Daily Mirror", the daily British tabloid with which he recently reconciled. Accompanied by his friend Mohammed Al Fayed, setup in an office of the Harrods department store, Michael spoke for 40 minutes with the journalist Piers Morgan.
“The Sun” (March 5, 2019) (archived)
Piers [Morgan] added that Michael had called him at his office and they had a 40 minute chat.