On September 11, 1988, Michael Jackson brought his iconic Bad tour to Liverpool - a night that would go down in history.
When it was announced that the King of Pop would be performing the final concert of the British leg of his tour at Aintree Racecourse, hysteria flooded across the city, with fans determined to get their hands on a ticket costing £16.50. Many people queued up all night to ensure they were going to attend what would be one of the greatest concerts the city has ever seen.
Around 125,000 people crammed into Aintree Racecourse and sang, danced and marvelled at Jackson as he gave the performance of a lifetime. Some fans had queued up for hours beforehand to try and get as near to the stage as possible.
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Those lucky enough to be at the concert witnessed Michael perform his most iconic songs of all time. The set list featured an impressive 18 tracks, including legendary songs such as Smooth Criminal, Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean and Bad. Michael saved The Way You Make Me Feel and Man in the Mirror for the encore, much to the delight of the screaming crowd.
Bad was Michael’s first solo tour and supported his seventh studio album of the same name. The tour began in 1987 and continued until 1989, spanning a total of 16 months. Jackson performed 123 concerts for over four million fans across 15 countries, grossing a total of $150 million.
It was the second highest-grossing tour of the 1980s after Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason tour. That’s not all, though, as the iconic Bad tour earned MJ two entries in the Guinness World Records for the largest grossing tour in history and the tour with the largest attended audience. Bad was also nominated for "Tour of the Year 1988" at the International Rock Awards.
The most successful of the Bad European dates were those in London at Wembley Stadium in July 1988, with ticket demand for the five July dates exceeding 1.5 million. Michael performed seven sold-out shows at Wembley, beating the previous record held by Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and Genesis. Prince Charles and Princess Diana attended the third night at Wembley.
For his Liverpool concert, Aintree Racecourse spent months preparing, and Merseyside Police drafted in 500 extra officers. Michael had previously been in Liverpool in 1972 when the Jackson 5 performed at the Empire Theatre. They beat the attendance record previously set by The Beatles, and at his 1988 Aintree concert, it was reported Michael performed a Beatles medley in tribute to being back in our city.
Did you attend Michael Jackson's concert at Aintree Racecourse in 1988? Let us know your memories in the comments section below.
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