Sony will mark the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ album with the anniversary three CD and one DVD edition of the album in September.
Michael Jackson Bad 25th anniversary
The new version will include the original ‘Bad’ album remastered, a CD of previously unreleased material from the Bad sessions and a live album from the July 16, 1988 performance of the Bad Tour. The Bad tour was Michael’s first ever tour as a solo artist.
The DVD will be the complete July 16, 1988 concert from Wembley performed for Prince Charles and Princess Diana and 72,000 fans. The footage was recently discovered in Michael’s personal collection.
“The era of BAD represented Michael’s creative ‘coming of age’ as a solo artist in charge of every aspect of his career – from recording to touring to endorsements to merchandising. This was the first album on which nearly all of the songs were written by Michael. It was also was the first album in history to produce five consecutive #1 singles and it took 2 ½ decades for another artist to match that success. It was also the first time Michael would tour as a solo artist – his vision, his decisions on what the show would be. The enormous success of the BAD album and tour was a pivotal moment in Michael’s growth as a composer, performer and producer cementing his role as the King of Pop. We are thrilled to celebrate such an historic era in Michael’s career with this release”, stated John Branca and John McClain, Co-Executors of the Estate of Michael Jackson.
On July 8, Sony Australia will release a CD single of the album’s first single ‘I Can’t Stop Loving You’ with the previously unreleased Bad sessions track ‘Don’t Be Messin’ Around’. On July 29, a 7” vinyl version of the original single will also be released.
The BAD album was the third Michael Jackson album produced by Quincy Jones and was originally released on August 31, 1987. It was monumental in many ways; Michael wrote nine of the album’s eleven tracks and received co-producer credit for the entire album. The album was #1 around the world, made history with five consecutive #1 singles on the Billboard chart, produced ten chart-topping singles, nine ground breaking short films and to date, the Bad album has generated over 45 Million units in sales. BAD was nominated for six Grammys and won two; the album earned Michael the first-ever Video Vanguard Award at the MTV VMA Awards. Songs on the original album are: “Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Speed Demon,” “Liberian Girl,” “Just Good Friends” featuring Stevie Wonder, “Another Part of Me,” “Man in the Mirror,” “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Dirty Diana,” “Smooth Criminal,” with “Leave Me Alone” added to the album once released.
The BAD World Tour was Michael’s first concert tour as a solo artist. The legendary tour included 123 concerts attended by more than 4.4 million fans over sixteen months. When it concluded, the tour had shattered all previous touring records for attendance and total gross revenue adding three new entries in the Guinness World Records for the largest grossing tour in history, the tour with the largest attended audience and the most sold out shows at Wembley Stadium.
