Michael Jackson 'Bad' crew jacket
Object No. 2009/23/1
Michael Jackson is an unmistakable icon of late twentieth and early twenty-first century popular culture. Indeed, his 1982 album 'Thriller' is touted by Epic/Legacy Recordings as the world's highest selling recorded release. Jackson, born in 1958, was part of the talented Jackson Five group, consisting of himself, the youngest member, and four of his brothers. The 1978 Jackson Five album 'Destiny' has gone on to become a highly influential record for African American, R&B, and dance music artists, and indeed popular music as a whole. Michael Jackson's fifth solo album (the first with Epic Records), 1979's 'Off the Wall' was a commercial success with the singles 'Don't Stop 'till You get Enough' and 'Rock with You'. Jackson's solo career then grew exponentially. The release of 'Thriller' in 1982 made Jackson a house-hold name. The video clip made for the title track also revolutionised the pop music film clip. The big-budget clip features a full narrative, and a cinematic style. With enormous popularity comes a total lack of anonymity. Jackson's personal life became tabloid news, and the name 'Wacko Jacko' became commonplace when the press would speculate on his personal tastes and choices. Fans did not necessarily desert him though. His 1987 release 'Bad' - the album this jacket promotes, was another commercial success, and the subsequent tour included Australia - the first time Jackson had toured that far from the USA. Jackson's subsequent releases 'Dangerous' (1991), 'HIStory' (1995), and 'Invincible' (2001) have all been commercially successful; though his impact on popular culture as a musician has declined since 'Thriller'. Merchandising for the promotion - and profit - of record companies and artists started in the 1980s. Band T-shirts, posters, badges, stickers, and even lunch boxes and library bags were available from the 1960s; however, these were more a novelty than a deliberate attempt at the promotion of a band, album or tour. Often the merchandise was unlicensed. Stadium rock and pop concert tours from the late 1970s, where hundreds of thousands of music fans would attend an event, saw the beginning of targeted merchandising. Stands were set up to specifically sell an artist's merchandise. These products were licensed by the record and tour companies and, as well as promoting the artist, album and tour, profits were made by selling the products. This practice has become commonplace at all international tour events. Merchandise sold at concerts is often designed and made specifically for the tour, and indeed for the country and city of that part of the tour. Thus, the products are limited in supply, and can become collectors' items. This jacket represents the high-end of this type of merchandising; and is also quite a rare example. Damian McDonald Curator February 2009
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Summary
Object Statement
Crew jacket, Michael Jackson 'Bad' world tour, wool / nylon / metal / leather, designed by Mary Bassel, made by L P Designs, United States of America, 1987
Physical Description
Jacket has a woollen outer shell with leather sleeves and elasticised nylon cuffs. The inner lining is of thin nylon. It has metal press-studs for fastening the jacket closed. The jacket is black with the logo 'Bad' embroidered on the left breast. On the back centre of the jacket is an embroidered red banner with the words 'Michael Jackson', a logo beneath it in white with the image of Mr Jackson's legs performing a particular dance move popularised by him, and below that a blue embroidered banner with the words 'World Tour'.
DIMENSIONS
Width
460 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
The jacket was manufactured by L P Designs in the United States of America for the Epic record company in 1987 for the promotion of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' album and world tour. Mary Bassel designed the jacket. She was one of the two owners of L P Designs, who manufactured approximately 350 of these 'Bad' tour jackets for Jackson's 1987 tour. One jacket was for Bubbles, Michael's pet Chimpanzee. L P Designs was in business from 1977-1995. They made jackets for many tours, movies, the Los Angeles Olympic closing ceremony and television shows. There is a small collection of their jackets at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. L P Designs worked closely with the tour promoter Bill Graham and his company Winterland. They designed jackets for the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney and others. The jacket is in the style, popular in the US, of a letterman jacket. This style of garment is worn by young people who have usually earned the garment by participating in school sport teams. The style is of a woollen outer shell, with a particular letter embodied on the breast, and leather sleeves. In this case, the letter has been replaced with the artist's album logo.
HISTORY
Notes
The donor of this object worked for CBS, the parent company of Epic Records, as a College Marketing Representative in Seattle, Washington, USA; though he also covered the states of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The donor was a student of the University of Washington at the time. The main aspect of his job was to promote the company's artists to college students via college radio stations. The donor, as part of his job, was given promotional material to distribute, and to wear himself. This jacket was given to him to celebrate the release of Michael Jackson's 1987 'Bad' album and world tour. The donor kept the garment, knowing that it would quickly become a collectors' item. The donor gifted the jacket to the Powerhouse Museum to use for research and display linked to popular culture in the 1980s.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Adam Takesce, 2009
Acquisition Date
12 March 2009
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
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