The years from 1986 to 1989 are known as the Bad Era. The recording of the Bad
album took place between January 5 - July 9, 1987. Michael wrote nine of the eleven
tracks himself; “Bad”, “The Way You Make Me Feel”, “Speed Demon”, “Liberian Girl”,
“Another Part of Me”, “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, “Dirty Diana”, “Smooth Criminal”
and “Leave Me Alone”. The first single from the Bad album was a duet with Sie-
dah Garrett called “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You”, released on July 27, 1987. The
song became the highest debuting single of 1987. The highly anticipated Bad
album was released worldwide on August 31, 1987 and sold 500,000 copies
within five days in the UK. It debuted at number one in both the US and UK
and many other countries around the world. The album’s title track “Bad” was
released the same day as the Bad album with an amazing 18 minute long
short film, directed by Martin Scorsese. The film was shot on location in New
York and starred Wesley Snipes. It reportedly took six weeks to make with an
estimated budget of $2 million. It shot to number 1 in the U.S. and many other
countries around the world. In September 1987, Michael kicked off his “Bad
World Tour” in Tokyo, Japan. The show reportedly cost $500,000 per week
to create. Michael had said at the beginning of the tour that it would be
his “first and final” tour and that all proceeds from the shows would be
donated to charity. In addition, at every stop on the tour, Michael
set aside a portion of free tickets for under-privileged youths
who would not otherwise be able to attend his concerts. The
tour moved onto Australia in November where Michael played
five sold out shows. Stevie Wonder, also on tour in Austra-
lia, joined Michael onstage in Sydney where they treated
fans to a special performance of the duet “Just Good
Friends”. The third single from the Bad album, ‘The Way
You Make Me Feel”, was released on November 21, 1987.
The 9 minute short film featured beautiful model, Tatiana
Thumbtzen as Michael’s love interest. The single shot
to number 1 and stayed in the top 10 for 6 weeks in the
US. It became the third number one single from the Bad
album. By February 1988, the Bad album sales were at
approximately 7 million copies and it was number one
in 21 different countries. Also in February, Michael’s
much anticipated autobiography, “Moonwalk”, hit book
stores. The book was dedicated to Fred Astaire and
featured an introduction by Jacqueline Onassis.
“Moonwalk” made the New York Times Best Seller
List by May of 1988. In March 1988, Michael fina-
lised the purchase of his new home, the 2,700 acre
Neverland Valley Ranch in California. Michael pur-
chased the property for $17 million. Michael promptly
built a zoo and amusement park on the property and
officially opened Neverland Valley at the end of 1988. On
27 January, 1989, Michael played his final show of the Bad
World Tour at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles. The Bad World
Tour had finally come to an end after 16 months. The Tour was
the largest any entertainer had undertaken- with 123 shows in 15
countries on 4 continents and played to approximately 4.4 million
fans. The Tour grossed an amazing $125 million, with all proceeds go-
ing to charities around the world.
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