Adrian Grant Talks About Michael

(۲۳-۵-۲۰۱۱) Adrian Grant, author of several books about the King of Pop including Michael Jackson: The Visual Documentary, and creator of the amazing stage production THRILLER LIVE, recently gave an interview to the Northampton Chronicle. That interview can be read below. ۱. Can you tell me a bit about the Thriller Live show? Thriller Live is the ultimate celebration of Michael Jackson's music. We don't tell the story of Michael's life, but we celebrate the King of Pop via two hours of song and dance. It's a feel-good show that the whole family can enjoy. ۲. And what are your thoughts on the cast? I'd say we have one of the hardest working casts out there, and the audience certainly get their money's worth with a high-tempo, high-energy production. ۳. What was it like meeting Michael Jackson in person? I first met him in ۱۹۹۰ and didn't have any preconceptions of what he would be like. But from the moment I did meet him he was kind, funny and had a big smile. He was very talkative about many different subjects, but mainly he liked to have a laugh and joke around. That's not to say he wasn't ever serious because he was an absolute genius in the recording studio and when performing. ۴. What do you think was Jackson's musical legacy? There will never be another Michael Jackson. The music industry has changed and is far more instant then it was ۱۰, ۲۰, ۳۰ years ago. Michael grew up during the Motown era, and worked hard with his brothers touring and perfecting their craft. Furthermore, he learnt from greats such as Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Jackie Wilson and James Brown. He always said he would "study the greats and aim to become better!" You may find an individual who can sing better or dance better, but what made Michael the King of Pop was that he did everything, and he did it so very well and with his own style. As a songwriter he was sometimes underrated, but hits such as Billie Jean, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Earth Song and Don't Stop Til You Get Enough are pure pop classics. As a singer he had an incredible four-octave range, and as a dancer he created breakthrough videos such as Beat It and Thriller, and was complimented by none other than Fred Astaire. ۵. What was it like for you to be able to attend the memorial service alongside the Jackson family? My first thoughts were for his family, especially his mother Katherine and three children. They had lost a father and a son, and this became evident when I went to the family house after the service. I gave a copy of my book, Michael Jackson - The Visual Documentary, to Paris, and when she looked at the cover and saw a picture of her dad, she just thanked me and gave me the biggest hug. She was a really nice girl, and she ran into the lounge to tell her grandmother Katherine about my book. Mrs Jackson was also a lovely lady, and it's good to know that Michael's kids will be brought up with the same love and devotion that he would have given them. ۶. Which is your favourite Michael Jackson song? There are too many to name just one. Many of them are in the Thriller Live show which is just over two hours long, but because Michael has so many great songs the show could easily have been five hours long. So I just had to choose songs which would take people on a journey through his career as well as including the big hits such as Billie Jean and Smooth Criminal. My favourite section of the show though is from the Off The Wall album with songs like Rock With You and Don't Stop Til You Get Enough. ۷. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? Michael told me that you needed rhinoceros skin to survive in the entertainment industry. He also taught me to really reach for the stars, follow your dreams and be the best you can. He was very much a perfectionist. ۸. What does your perfect day involve? Sunshine, good friends, good music and good food. ۹. How do you like to spend your time when not working? I like to chill out at home, watch a good movie or some football, usually Liverpool FC. ۱۰. What book did you last read? I'm currently reading The Accidental Billionaires (about the founding of Facebook), which inspired the film The Social Network. ۱۱. What meal do you most like to cook at home? I live by myself so usually keep it simple with a pasta dish or jerk chicken and rice. ۱۲. What is your proudest achievement? Having Thriller Live open in London's West End in January ۲۰۰۹ and it is still playing there two-and-a-half years later. ۱۳. What is your worst habit? Getting up at the break of dawn. ۱۴. What car do you drive? A Range Rover. ۱۵. What is your most treasured possession? My memories, but as for items it would be a signed picture that Michael Jackson gave me and a prayer book I was given as a child from my mum. ۱۶. What has been your best moment? The birth of my daughter in ۲۰۰۱. ۱۷. What has been your worst moment? Not being able to play football any more due to a hip injury. ۱۸. What makes you laugh? Stand-up comedy, used to like Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor. Today I find Chris Rock very funny along with the TV show The Inbetweeners and Misfits. ۱۹. Who has most inspired you in your life? Michael Jackson, Richard Branson and Martin Luther King. ۲۰. What ambition would you most like to fulfil? To write and direct a film that stirs great emotion in millions of people around the world. Thriller Live will come to Northampton's Royal & Derngate this week and will run from May ۲۶ until ۲۸. To book tickets you can visit their website here. Source: MJFC / northamptonchron.co.uk Adrian Grant Talks About 'Thriller Live' (۲۹-۵-۲۰۱۱) Next month will mark two years since Michael Jackson died, and many fans around the world are still trying to figure out how to deal with the grief. For many, it is still sinking in that the King of Pop will never tour again. However, the stage show 'Thriller Live' has found a home in the hearts of many and next month it will go to Abu Dhabi for two nights on June ۹ and ۱۰. The show, which is still in the middle of its third West End run in London, captures something of Jackson's spirit. It is a tribute rather than a musical with five singers of different ages, races and sexes and ۱۰ dancers staging versions of the hits, from ABC to Man in the Mirror. Short video presentations between the songs give highlights of the superstar entertainer's career (like his still-unbeaten number of awards and record sales), while the singers and dancers encourage the audience to get out of their seats and sing, dance and cheer along. The staging is basic, but there are some pyrotechnics and a glitter cannon and, of course, some moonwalking. To some, this might all sound like an obvious attempt to cash in on the grief of a dead star's fans but, nothing could be further from the truth. The show's creator, Adrian Grant, began putting on Michael Jackson tributes many years ago and even spent time with Jackson at Neverland when, at ۱۹, he started a fanzine dedicated to the singer, who read it and invited him to his ranch. "Michael was really down-to-earth," Grant says now. "Laughing around, joking around; he was a big kid at heart. Inquisitive, very knowledgable, a genius in his studio, and a very humble person." In addition to interviewing Jackson that day, Grant also hung out in his studio, met his pet giraffe and chimpanzee, played arcade games, watched films and ate lunch with the singer. "It was an unbelievable day," Grant says. "At the end Michael says 'Come back any time,' so I used to go back there once or twice a year. It highlights his generosity. He didn't need to do that, but he was just a kind person." Inspired by Jackson's support, Grant began putting together an annual tribute show and Jackson himself flew to the UK to attend the ۱۰th edition. After the show he took to the stage to say a few words, calling the show "incredible" and "beautiful." It was this production that evolved into 'Thriller Live,' the theatrical touring show we know today. "Michael watching [that show] gave me the inspiration that if you've got something you believe in you should follow it through, you can make things happen," Grant says. "Everything else that followed is thanks to him." 'Thriller Live' began in ۲۰۰۶, and Jackson told Grant that when he came over to London for his This Is It tour, he would come and watch the show - in disguise to avoid being mobbed. Sadly, that of course, never happened. Jackson died on June ۲۵, ۲۰۰۹ during rehearsals for the tour. "I didn't believe it," Grant says of the news. "It took a couple of days to sink in and then my first thoughts were for his family; his children and his mother." Grant says he considered cancelling the show for the immediate future but "there was such an outpouring from the public that the Lyric Theatre [where 'Thriller Live' was performed] turned into a bit of a shrine and there was a lot of demand for people to come and see the show and pay their respects to Michael. So we've continued in that vein and ever since it's become more of a celebration and tribute to his legacy." The show went on the night after Jackson's death and Grant describes it as a "very charged performance," with lots of tears among the cast that day. Since then, the show's popularity has skyrocketed. There are now three versions of the show going on in different parts of the world simultaneously, and ۱.۲ million people have been to see it. With all the other Michael Jackson tribute shows sprouting up everywhere, you might say that 'Thriller Live' is the original, and the only one personally endorsed by the King of Pop himself. "Thriller Live is what it always was," Grant says. "I started it because Michael had been getting a lot of negative press and I wanted to focus on the music. It wasn't a case of trying to commercially exploit anything. Since Michael's passing there have been a number of other copycat tribute shows popping up here and there, and I think they're the ones that have really jumped on the bandwagon." Source: MJFC / thenational.ae