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Is it true that Michael wasn't well know in the Eastern Europe and Middle East until late 80's?

Woman in the Mirror

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I was reading a quote by some European MJfan who said that, is it true?
Maybe some fan who lives in these area could answer better.
Because I can't imagine MJ doesn't being well known in these places
:D
 
One of the reasons could be , because of the un-knowledge of TV and radio
A lot of East European countries walked behind if it comes to technology
and of course these countries struggled with the cold war regime ...which went better for them after the disintegration of the Soviet Empire ...started in 1989 in Hungary

Not saying that this ^^ is the reason but it could explain I think
 
Un-knowledge of tv and radio ? :D yeah and we still lived in small woodden houses using sticks and stones...
There was tv and there was radio, just dont know how much it was controlled, Im pretty sure there were only local channels.

hmm I was born in 88 in central europe which was eastern europe back then. i dont remember well the first 2 years myself, but I remember really well all the short films off dangerous album in the early 90ties. That was on tv all the time. Michael was on tv all the time, everyone knew who Michael jackson was, it was household name just as everywhere else. Someone who was born earlier could maybe clarify the 80s situation.
 
I'm from Eastern Europe. I became a fan in or around 1987 and that's when I first heard about him but that does not mean anything in terms of how well known he generally was, because that's just that I was very young and that's when I generally started to be interested in pop culture and music.

You must keep in mind that until the late 80s Eastern Europe was kind of culturally isolated because of the iron wall. It's not the lack of TV and radio - there was TV and radio here, but what was allowed to be shown is another question.

I actually lived in one of the most free countries of the Eastern Block (Hungary) which was relatively liberal compared to other Socialist countries, but even here we lagged behind the West culturally. For example, Star Wars first shown in theaters here years after it was released in the US. I remember watching it in the theater when I was about 6 and that would be around 1983, when in the US it came out in 1977.

And most Socialist countries were a lot more strict than Hungary, meaning that in some countries Western music, movies etc. were not allowed at all. (Actually when tourists came to Hungary from other Eastern European countries it felt like the West to them, because at home they weren't allowed to do a lot of things which were allowed here.)

But the first time that even here in Hungary we got cabel TV - and thus TV channels from Western countries was around 1987-88. MTV Europe also started in 1987. So everything kind of coincided to me: I turned that age when kids start to be interested in such things, MTV first came in (though that's not how I first "met" MJ and became a fan - it was accidentaly coming across a casette tape of Bad).

I can't talk about the Middle East. But in Eastern Europe it wasn't just Michael - it was generally Western culture which was probably less known and less popular before the iron curtain came down.
 
speeddemon88 said:
Un-knowledge of tv and radio ? :D yeah and we still lived in small woodden houses using sticks and stones...
There was tv and there was radio, just dont know how much it was controlled, Im pretty sure there were only local channels.

hmm I was born in 88 in central europe which was eastern europe back then. i dont remember well the first 2 years myself, but I remember really well all the short films off dangerous album in the early 90ties. That was on tv all the time. Michael was on tv all the time, everyone knew who Michael jackson was, it was household name just as everywhere else. Someone who was born earlier could maybe clarify the 80s situation.
Click to expand...
What about the bricks, stones and wooden houses ? I never said this, and I sure didn't mean to offend anyone here.
Of course I know they already had TV and radio ...I have been there in 1984 ..I have seen this ...but I meant indeed what it was that people were able to look at.
 
Treasure said:
What about the bricks, stones and wooden houses ? I never said this, and I sure didn't mean to offend anyone here.
Of course I know they already had TV and radio ...I have been there in 1984 ..I have seen this ...but I meant indeed what it was that people were able to look at.
Click to expand...

Haha Im not offended, it just sounded funny and my reaction was meant to be funny as well ;)
 
In Russia he became widely known in the 80s with Thriller and Bad, and his popularity really exploded in the early 90s when he first visited the country with Dangerous tour. Off the Wall was known a lot less, and J5 stuff was familiar only to big Western music lovers.
 
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