My life in the Jackson Five
Jackie tells how being on stage is their way of honouring their dad and iconic brother – and recalls Michael’s love affair with Ireland
THIRTY years ago this weekend, 130,000 people packed out Cork’s Pairc Uí Chaoimh for the most highlyanticipated concerts this country has ever seen, as Michael Jackson brought his Bad tour to Ireland for two sold-out shows. Now, three decades on from the King of Pop’s only Irish dates, his family will take to the stage in Dublin, with Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon using their live shows as a way to honour the passing of their brother nine years ago, as well as the more recent death of their father Joe.
To a family whose whole lives were based on performing, keeping the show on the road is the brothers’ way of paying tribute to both men.
‘Being on the road is not hard for us and we know that Michael would want us to carry on,’ Jackie, 67, tells the Irish Daily Mail ahead of their appearance at this weekend’s Beatyard festival. ‘It was great healing to be on stage for us performing.
‘There is that void when we perform because Michael is not there but we know on stage even today exactly where he would be at any given time. We feel his energy and his spirit on stage with us and it is wonderful. We know that if he were there he would be giving 110 per cent and that is what we are trying to do now.
‘We also have a spot on the show where we honour him and show pictures of him and us together. Some people cry and tear up when they see that but there is laughter as well because there are up-tempo songs. I enjoy doing it.
‘We try to do him proud every night. There were times that it was difficult but it goes with the territory.
‘After dad’s passing, we buried him and the very next day we were on a plane heading to a show. That’s what he would have wanted. It was healing for us too, singing the songs and showing our father on the screen and people were applauding. It was great healing for us rather than just sit at home and be sad. We were out on the road doing what we do best.’
THOUGH Michael only managed to play those two iconic concerts here, he had a great affinity with Ireland. He surprised the world when he came to live in Co Westmeath with his children Michael Jr, Paris and Prince back in 2006. The youngsters are still regular visitors here as it reminds them of such happy times.
‘They’ve been to visit and I’m sure they’ll come back again,’ reveals Jackie. ‘Michael spent a lot of time in different places but he liked Ireland a lot and spent a lot of time there. I remember him talking a lot about Ireland when he was a small boy in school.
‘He was a good student and studied hard and was always taken by Ireland when he learned about it. When he had the chance to go and live there and see how people there lived and did their day-to-day work, he was so taken by that.
‘To get the chance to live there and almost bring his past alive was a wonderful experience for him and he really loved it.
‘I’ve been there several times myself and I really like the place. That’s why I’m coming back.’
The Jacksons bring Michael back to life on stage by playing some of his solo hits and using images of him throughout the concert. They also sing all of their mega-hits accompanied by a nine-piece band. Jackie said performing helps his family and Jacko’s fans to process his death.
‘When we take to the stage we, of course, draw on that time when we were children,’ he says. ‘We are a family of entertainers — it’s all we did for a while and you don’t forget that, how it began and where it all started. The show takes the audience back to the time when they first heard the songs when they were younger. That’s all part of the whole concept of the show — to allow people to think back to times that were maybe simpler. We have a good time doing that. Live performance is where it’s all at for us. You don’t make any money selling records any more. So you have to be good at live performing and thankfully it comes easy for us.’
Though the group are clearly excited to be playing the Dublin gig, Jackie says they are still coming to terms with Joe’s death a month ago. He had a reputation of being a hard manager and an even tougher father but Jackie insists that the public perception of the man who created the Jackson Five is wrong. If anything, he says, he kept them alive and out of criminality and gang violence.
‘Sometimes people get that all wrong about my father,’ he says. ‘You look at other parents and they bring their kids playing soccer and to
tennis lessons — it’s up to them to take them down whatever path they want to go. Our father taught us to sing and to play instruments so we had a lot of fun together. ‘I’m successful today because of my parents. They gave me guidance and that’s what you have to do as a parent. My father was a very tough, strict guy because there was a lot of gang violence and he had six boys. A lot of my
friends that I grew up with are in jail or even dead. We’re still alive and working and that’s what he did for us. I understand that now when I look back at it.
‘Death is part of the business and we have had two deaths in the family. It was tough. But when anyone loses a sibling and then a parent, you never forget. But by the same token they would want us to carry on, I know that much. They would want us to keep on entertaining and that’s what we are doing.’
Jackie promises a greatest hits show at the Beatyard Festival tonight, with fans being transported back to when the Jackson Five were top of the pops.
‘We can’t wait,’ he says. ‘It feels wonderful to be back on the road with The Jacksons. The shows are going great and the fans are singing the songs back to us and partying in the audience. There’s nothing like it.
‘Honestly it’s the same feeling now as when we were on tour as kids. That’s what we do best. They come to hear the hits and we try to give them as many as we can within that 90-minute set. I love entertaining on stage because it’s a great workout for me and I love that, but also performing is in my blood.
‘There’s nothing like it — when you see the crowd dancing and the smiles on their faces, you instantly know that you’re doing something good and rewarding. It’s a great feeling, it really is.
‘We work with the audience and they are part of the show. We just love being on stage.’
THE JACKSONS play tonight at this weekend’s Beatyard Festival in Dun Laoghaire, tickets from €59, see thebeatyard.com or eventbrite.ie for details.