Actually, I wrote Michael a letter of support in 1993- through BRAVO.
When the news of those allegations broke, this magazine figured to do something POSITIVE for Michael. How many news outlets do you personally know of that publicly not only supported Michael in that year= but also RALLIED for the fans to express support??? Not that many, trust me on that.
The cover there you see posted is the "We love Michael" campaign.
Fans who wanted to show Michael support could send their letter to the editors with the promise that the journal would forward the mail to Michael. Boy, did they get mail!
In fact, I bought my very first English dictionary just for that purpose. I still have it.
(I'm actually a part time translator and interpreter today...I never forgot the incredible difficulty I had as a 13 year old to write a letter in English; "to become" was tricky verb for me, I literally remember that as if it was yesterday. Bravo and this campaign was actually a major motivation for me to be a part of the translator teams here on MJJC to cover the trial testimony that has been translated into many languages)
This is the cover depicting some of the mail that had arrived. (there was a bigger article depicting the mountains of mail- I actually saw my letter, grey envelope from recycled paper, I somehow remember that)
And yes, Michael did receive the mountains of letters of support. Of course he could have read only a few of them- but all that matters to me is that he saw, knew and FELT some support. Support that didn't come from the fans alone- but that an actual media outlet wanted to HELP, not destroy. Perhaps you can see his willingness now to perform on a German TV show. I know, I know, it didn't take his pain away etc- but at least some of us can live knowing that some people did show Michael support, not everyone hated his guts.
Ahem, here's a 1974 cover from someone else. Before accusing a publication of undertones of racism, it helps to check that claim out a little. (and believe me, I am all in support of Joe Vogel's last article...)
Bravo usually (I'm sure there are exceptions) featured those whose music was the Nr. 1 at the time- and that could be literally anyone from MJ, to the acts mentioned, to Nirvana etc.
Actually, coming to think of it, black musicians were highly represented in the Bravo that I remember.
And yes, here's that 1984 Prince Cover. Do I have to subject these artists now to an microscope to see if they only landed on that cover because they were 'light enough'??? Seriously, that alone sounds like a nasty projection of someone else's issue.
I would recommend checking out the following acts of the 90ies, google will help.
-Dr. Alban
-Culture Beat
-No Limit
-Janet Jackson (she was HUGE in the early 90ies in Germany...)
All these acts featured lead singers that were black etc.
Are these pictures 'dark' enough? (btw, I think it's problematic to go either way, as I have noticed that especially in the US aforementioned editors loved to pick Thriller time pics as if MJ didn't exist anymore post Bad- either way you can't please MJ fans) Some of these are not just covers- they are the virtual centerfolds!
Every issue came with posters to take out.
And I think Michael started to have plenty of covers with the rise of being a solo artist- and especially in German "Bad" hit the musical nerves of the time.
An international audience is not the same as the US. Michael had a HUGE following in Germany from the late 80ies on. (of course, earlier too- but I very much remember the absolute hype and craziness and his popularity around "Dangerous"- which is another reason why I usually look at US editors and critics like a deer in headlights because of this "he was past his prime after OTW and Thriller" BS.
Europe was going absolutely bananas over MJ for decades (so did Asia if I'm not mistaken) and around the time of Bad, Dangerous and HIStory he was at the absolute height of popularity in Europe- despite what the media did to him)
I think that the CD and technology such as home VCRs, walkmen that were half the size of a US model etc played a huge role in this popularity. The political landscape had changed vastly and people were finally able to purchase all his music. I've been there in those years, I read Bravo in the early 90ies.
And yes, as Respect mentioned before- Bravo is the ultimate mainstream music teeny bopper magazine. It is literally dealing with top 40 stuff of the moment and nothing else. (aside from the painfully descriptive sex advice, :hysterical::hysterical:, which is the reason why all these covers are cut off- something you'd never find in any youth magazine in the US)
To be honest, I don't recall the fondness for either OTW or Thriller in Germany. Nor the Jackson 5. I'm sure I can't speak in general terms for all- but I didn't even know he was part of the Jackson 5, I was just a teenager and to me Michael Jackson had always been a solo artist. I also lived under the total rock, so to speak. Thriller actually happened to be the first LP that I bought in 1992- because CDs were still unaffordable (20 Dollar price range per album back then. There was one store in a 15 mile radius that was selling CDs- and there was only one of each for a while) to me as a 12 and 13 year old. So I purchased tapes and LPs.
Until the Oprah interview I barely had heard any Jackson 5 song, to be honest. Honestly, the typical child stars such as Shirley Temple etc might be popular with an older crowd, but they are not as revered in other non- English speaking countries. I think the last true child star in Germany was "Heintje", a Dutch kid born in 1955. And I think kids were not exactly working strip clubs in Germany post WWII, either. Michael is the last generation of kids born in the West that were unprotected child laborers.
Some countries are simply not very fond of child performers- especially not in the wake of several wars when people were just happy to live in a heated apartment with indoor toilet and when they finally had a 5 day work week to even spent with their families. The late 60ies and early 70ies were spent with singer/songwriters for many people. Protest songs and political engagement. Both Germanies had their own musical movements in addition to stuff from overseas, especially from the mid 70ies on.
I remember Germany had one TV show called "Kindquatsch mit Michael" ("Children's nonsense with Michael"- "Michael" was the host, conincidentally). It ran for a while, but a lot of people felt that it ridiculed children and took advantage of them. (plus, there were copyright issues)- so it was taken off the air.
Shows that contain children in a certain context are very controversial- stuff like the American "Toddlers and Tiaras" etc. Germans were okay with stuff like "Lassie" and only in the 90ies did "Kevin Home Alone" have success- as it did everywhere.
You also have to take into consideration that the approach to children had undergone DRASTIC changes, pedagogically, in schools, kindergartens etc- partially as a counter result of the sick, sick views on childhood under Hitler etc. Where in the US corporal punishment in schools was not out of the world- it sure was in Germany. Stuff like that reflects in the number of 'trained' child superstars. Sports were the exception.
Music education to a degree as well, but no child would be doing 3 hours of home schooling and the rest of the time spent in a recording studio.
I even noticed that the vast number of child stars/young folks all seem to come from the North American side of things. Asia being another interesting example.
On top of that you have to understand that Germany had literally been divided until the wall came down. It's a relatively small country, but very densely populated. You couldn't officially buy anything 'Western' in most stores. That applied to the white Beatles as well. Granted, East Germans were only 16 million... but that's still 16 million customers- and trust me, those customers bought anything in sight for a long time, as soon as they didn't have to buy that stuff underhanded somewhere.
Btw, I am from East Germany and only half German. Do you know what my first exposure was anything to American?
Angela Davis, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and literature such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Right after that came Charlie Chaplin and the first Hollywood production that I ever saw was E.T.
I know the Jackson 5 had worldwide success- but aside from Michael only Janet had a lasting memory. Take into consideration that especially from the 50ies on Europe had their very own mainstream acts as well. You will find more American acts in Europe, than European Acts in the US.
So, before accusing anyone of pronounced racism it helps to check out the realities of the day. You can encounter racism anytime- but especially in Germany interracial marriage became quite normal. Those GIs and the Fraeuleins could not resist one another, no matter how 'forbidden' that was at first. There were some very dark chapters in those times as well- but they were overcome and the presence of the American armed forces became a constant feature, especially in Southern Germany.
There are also countless forums that deal with binational and interracial marriage- practically all expats that I know of are in such relationship.
I think Michael's popularity really boomed during the Bad era in Europe. Of course, Thriller was Thriller everywhere, but Bad sold more in the UK. And I think in Germany Dangerous was his biggest selling album.
Maybe on a subconscious level that had something to do with his lightening skin as well, but I think it mainly had to do with the Bad and Dangerous World Tours. Remember, the Victory Tour was only on American soil.
Correct, Michael's extreme success (and I mean EXTREME, seriously, he was on every channel etc) started with Bad. Dangerous was absolute madness in stores.
See, the thing is that Michael fans are faced with issues. If he sees success from Bad on somebody is going to say that has to do with his skin becoming lighter. And in the US people are being accused of unkosher motives if they focus on pictures that depict him with a darker complection. What do you make of either one?
I was 12 and didn't even NOTICE his skin changes- I seriously had the mentality of a child who just didn't care- yes, that exists. I remember that because the only reason I even started thinking about that was because 2 people people started making stupid comments to me how I don't think it's weird that he 'was black' and isn't anymore?
I didn't even think about it, to me he was just "Michael"- I didn't define him as "black artist", the same way I didn't define Chopin as "white artist".
I actually do not recall anyone else having these armchair diagnosis that seems to be so popular in the US: Does MJ 'hate his blackness'. That was largely a US obsession. I don't recall as much hubbubb the way Pearl Jr. for example stood out. This seems to be something rooted in US history with some disturbing effects.
http://pearljr.livejournal.com/330.html
And Janet Jackson actually was hugely popular, so I'm not sure that argument applies. Think of Tina Turner- hugely popular at some point as well. They were female and black- and hugely popular. Turner drew an older crowd though, no so much teenagers. The teeny markets are very different in different countries.
And I actually hate that I lost my 'innocent' approach to Michael. He was just Michael to me and I loved him to pieces. Always. End of story. When he pulled his cosmic star traveler/astronaut number at the end of 'Man In The Mirror' in Dangerous, I felt like I came 'home', which is funny- since that dream was a competition between political systems- and yet shared by all of mankind.
Now I am consistently asking myself if it's okay that I love certain pictures- which seriously, is stupid. Nowhere else do people have to justify themselves for loving Michael. Did they 'always' love him, or only when he became whiter? It's absurd, really. Some of us simply had no access to Off The Wall and Thriller- not to mention anything before that.
My library also featured Seal and Terence Trent D'Arby, so I'm fairly certain that Michael's success from Bad on had to do largely with changes in the way music could be distributed.
In the past you had to have a huge piece of equipment- record players. The one my family had was so heavy- you could barely lift that thing.
Even tapes where still expensive- and a lot people didn't have two tape players at home at first. That changed and now people were able to record straight from the radio, copy tapes etc.
MJ tapes were hugely popular in East Germany- and illegal, btw. We had walkmen, too- but you couldn't just walk into a store and buy an MJ tape. It didn't work that way. Michael literally took off in certain countries as soon as people were able to purchase the necessary technology at a price they could afford. I remember the prices for a simple VCR in 1992- you wouldn't believe what stuff like that once cost.
Germany was also not the US when you compare TV channels etc- East Germany had 2 (!!!) channels and West Germany didn't look a whole lot better. "Private" TV US style with it's different networks was in it's infancy in the 80ies.
People need to see things as a whole, the world was a different place back then.
When my family was able to purchase a CD player and a VCR- believe me, THAT was when even my parents were suddenly buying music they simply couldn't listen to before. And my dad loved the Beatles for example- but unless you knew the right people, you couldn't just buy them, either.
I'm remembering one cover of Michael with a picture around 1988/1989 and in the lower right hand corner it featured a lengthy article with the headline of "Xenophobia/Hatred toward foreigners".
I can't speak for any editor of the past, where humans are- you will encounter stupidity. But: This publication even tackled the issue of hatred. Because yes, it was an issue. Racism and xenophobia exist anywhere.
Ask some if he wants to be stationed in Alabama or the South of Germany, lol, most service members know pretty well why they extend and extend their contracts. (thing of the past largely at this point)
Sorry that this became a "too long, didn't read", but there's no way to shorten down decades of cultural realities in 2 (!!) countries into a 5 sentence paragraph.