A new book written by Motez Bishara will be released in January 11, 2022 counting Michael Jackson time in Bahrain and the Middle East back in 2005.
Here what you will find inside:
“
June 29, 2005 marked the start of one of the most outlandish times in the history of popular music. That was the day when Michael Jackson moved to the small Arabian island of Bahrain to forge a new life far from his troubles at Neverland.
Two weeks earlier, Jackson had been acquitted in a lengthy child molestation trial in California that took a visible toll on his well-being. Now he was breathing new life on palatial Middle Eastern grounds, courtesy of the son of Bahrain’s king, Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al-Khalifa — an avid fan of Jackson’s with a passion for songwriting.
For the next 11 months, Bahrain would be the superstar’s refuge as he prepared for a collaborative comeback album with the sheikh. While Jackson did some recording – now some of his most sought-after rarities — he spent much of that time clinging to medication and spiraling into depression as his financial solvency hung in the balance.
This oral history recounts the legend’s secretive stay in the kingdom through the voices of key insiders who worked closely with him that year. They make a strong case that Jackson would still be alive today had he remained in seclusion on the island rather than return to the United States, where pressure mounted on him to perform again.
Jackson’s time in the Gulf is the one period of his life that has remained a mystery – until now. The remarkable events that took place that year – marked by first-hand experiences recounted with the King of Pop – are preserved on these pages and shared for the first time.”
Related to the book, some of the stories have came out in the Guardian today such as:
“When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in August 2005, wheels were put in motion. A few days after the storm dissipated, Jackson’s publicist announced that he had written a song to benefit its victims. Abdulla’s incentive was never money, stresses al-Khan, so a charity record was a fitting way to launch their joint effort. “He thought it was a more humane approach towards taking care of him,” he says.
Abdulla enthused to the press about Jackson’s attitude. “I looked at him and he looked at me, and we knew exactly what we needed to do. Michael is such a humanitarian,” he told GQ at the time. “It’s not an easy road, but it will happen. The song is going to come out no matter what.”
John Barnes and Bill Bottrell, producers, songwriters and instrumentalists who had worked on Jackson’s Bad and Dangerous albums, were brought to Bahrain at Abdulla’s expense. Barnes arrived first, while Jackson spoke enthusiastically to Bottrell over the phone about the planned album.
“‘Billy, we’re gonna make the best music ever! When the time is right, Billy, we are going to make Mozart music!’” Bottrell recalls Jackson telling him, adding: “He said ‘when the time is right’, like four times.”
Along with I Have This Dream – which Bottrell says sounded “grand” – two other Jackson-Abdulla co-writes were mentioned in the case: Light the Way and He Who Makes the Sky Gray. Although Sony continues to convert Jackson demos into singles, to some controversy, none of the Bahrain recordings are likely to be released, says Holmes, because of Abdulla’s respect for the hitmaker’s legacy: “I don’t think you’ll ever prise them out of him.”
You can pre-order the book HERE
SOURCE: The Guardian
I want this book.