Growing up with the King of pop
Growing up in the far south of New Zealand where the weather is torment at times and rain pelts down on the roof, the one thing to make you feel alive was the sound of Michael Jackson.
I'm a Jackson fan from way back, growing up on the back of hits such as "Beat It', "Billy Jean" to "Thriller". I had a copy of "Thriller" as a young teenager, and even today I still love listening to a Michael Jackson song. I love to boogie.
So it is with great sadness, tears were shed at the sad news reported on CNN of his death today. He changed history with the moon walk and his dance routines in Thriller. Culture has been transformed, and videomakers, dancers and film have taken his dance and incorporated into their own.
But it wasn't until 1996 that I finally got the chance to see him live. A lifelong dream, I snapped up two $100+ tickets and took my young teenage cousin to the Sydney Football Stadium. Our seats were right up the front, and we had a wonderful view. It was the first real concert I have been to that was really a night of entertainment, a whole production with Michael Jackson coming out about the crowd on a crane stage that hovered over the crowd.