Behind The Scenes
The Jackson 5 member opens up about his late brother Michael
Tell us about your new Summer Series tour…
The Jacksons are teaming up with The Village People, The Pointers Sisters, Kool & the Gang and more for one big party. I’m excited to perform with all these artists who have hit records I enjoyed through my childhood. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
What Australian city are you most excited to visit?
Definitely Perth! I love the city, the people – it’s just a cool place!
What’s it like touring with your siblings?
It’s nice. We’re a family and we’ve been doing this all our lives but being brothers, of course we’re going to have our little differences here and there, but you have to work through your problems. But we make good music together and that’s what’s most important.
Who would you say you’re closest to?
Everyone is very dear to me in my heart – no one’s a favourite or anything like that.
What do you think the Jackson family legacy will be?
Mainly just standing for peace and love, bringing people together as one and making good music.
Michael was an integral part of the Jackson 5. Is it hard to tour without him?
Of course. We miss Michael very much. He was a loving brother of ours, very talented and a major part of the band. We keep going because that’s what Michael would want us to do. He wouldn’t have wanted us to give up the show because he’s not on the boat. So we’re still doing what we love to do and what we know how to do and what we’ve been doing our whole lives. It’s what we do!
What’s your most endearing memory of Michael? Michael was just such a loving person. He cared about everything and shared a lot and he was just a great person. The greatest thing about Michael was that he never did great things to get publicity, he did great things because he cared. How did you take the news? It killed me. It just drove a hammer right through my heart. It was the worst day of my life. Did anything positive come out of his death? It made the family realise how short life can be and how we must continue to be a family and love each other and support each other because tomorrow is not promised.