Madonna's
50 most memorable moments
Jacko
at 50: the good, the Bad and the ugly
Madonna turns 50 on Saturday, just days before her Sticky & Sweet tour
reaches Britain. Michael Jackson also marks his half-century this month with
a new greatest hits collection due, but no sign of his promised comeback
album. Two controversial megastars with overlapping careers but very
different fortunes: how did it all go so right, and so wrong, for the
planet’s most famous pop duo?
1 Suffer childhood hardship
Madonna Louise Ciccone and Michael Joseph Jackson were born just 13 days apart
in neighbouring US states.
The third of six children, Madonna would later exaggerate the poverty of her
middle-class upbringing in the Detroit suburbs. However, the death of her
mother from breast cancer clearly took its toll on the five-year-old. The
arrival of a stepmother she never accepted was another spur to escape and
reinvent herself. Meanwhile in nearby Gary, Indiana, Jackson suffered years
of physical and mental abuse at the hands of his stern steelworker father,
Joseph. The seventh of nine children, Jackson was pushed into singing and
dancing from an early age. He only went public with his family history in a
series of tearful interviews in 1993.
Angela’s Ashes rating: Maddy 7/10; Jacko 7/10
2 Reinvent yourself
Madonna has always been the mother of reinvention, starting with her carefully
embroidered creation myth as a refugee who arrived in New York with just $35
and a dream. Like Dylan or Bowie, her career has been a series of
shape-shifting collaborations and elusive masks: virginal vamp, Marilynesque
bombshell, Material Girl, ambisexual dominatrix, spiritual diva, lady of the
manor.
Jackson’s reinvention has been more fundamental and problematic, changing the
entire shape of his face with nose jobs and other cosmetic tweaks. His skin
has also lightened over the years, apparently due to the medical condition
vitiligo. Both stars are, in all senses, self-made. But Jackson is ahead by
a nose.
Man in the Mirror rating: Maddy 6/10; Jacko 7/10
3 Turn scandal into opportunity
Both Madonna and Jackson have attracted huge controversy, but with very
different outcomes. Maddy’s hypersexual image has generated plenty of
calculated outrage, titillating with hints of lesbian affairs, bondage and
sadomasochism – although it is telling that her 1992 Sex book
and Erotica album marked a tipping point, ushering in half a decade
of critical and commercial decline. Jackson’s sex scandals have proved far
more serious and damaging and have overshadowed his career.
First, he was accused of sexually molesting Jordan Chandler, who withdrew his
allegations after a $22 million pay-out in 1994. A decade later, a dramatic
high-profile child-sex trial ended in acquittal. But both left Jackson
emotionally and financially drained, his reputation badly battered, perhaps
irretrievably.
It didn’t help when he was filmed dangling his baby son from a third-floor
hotel balcony in 2002. Ironically, in the early 1990s, Jackson asked Madonna
to co-write his teasingly titled song In the Closet, but he deemed
her lyrics too sexually explicit and dropped them.
No such thing as bad publicity rating: Maddy 7/10; Jacko 0/10
4 Marry another celebrity, however briefly
Pop superstars have long recognised the brand-boosting potential of marrying
somebody screamingly incompatible but famous. In 1985 Madonna wed the
pugilistic actor Sean Penn, dedicating her 1986 album True Blue to
“the coolest guy in the Universe”. Soon afterwards, Penn was charged with
domestic assault. Their split was finally legalised in 1989.
When Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1993, he was reeling from
sex abuse allegations and prescription-drug addiction. “I wanted to save
him,” she later confessed. After several cloying media appearances designed
to showcase their healthy, lustful, adult, heterosexual relationship, they
divorced.
In sickness and in health rating: Maddy 7/10; Jacko 6/10
5 Ruffle religious feathers
Upsetting the religiously devout is always a good career move. Brought up as a
Jehovah’s Witness, Michael Jackson reportedly remains devout, turning to his
faith in troubled times. He attracted criticism for his messianic posturing
in the video for his 1995 Christmas chart-topper Earth Song but
incurred nothing more serious than Jarvis Cocker’s bum-waving
excommunication at the 1996 Brit Awards.
By contrast, Madonna has always recognised the headline-grabbing power of
religious taboo. She has earned several Vatican condemnations for her saucy
stage antics. She also angered Church groups with her 1989 video for Like
a Prayer, in which she kisses a statue of a black Jesus back to life,
and the mock crucifixion on her 2004 tour. Tellingly, her 2000 wedding to
Guy Ritchie was a Church of England affair. Meanwhile, Madge has
wholeheartedly embraced the mystic Judaism of the Kabbalah, claiming “it
would be less controversial if I joined the Nazi party”. Maybe, but think of
all that lovely publicity, sweetie.
Papa Don’t Preach rating: Maddy 8/10; Jacko 3/10
6 Persist with a disastrous film career
Truly dreadful films are the mark of a major crossover popstar brand.
Surprisingly, despite his friendships with Hollywood royalty such as
Elizabeth Taylor and Steven Spielberg, Michael Jackson’s acting career
stalled on the starting line. His clunky Wizard of Oz update The
Wiz, his 3-D sci-fi novelty Captain Eo and his vanity project Moonwalker
are best forgotten.
Madonna, meanwhile, has amassed more than 20 movie credits, from the credible Desperately
Seeking Susan to the middling Evita to the jaw-droppingly awful
straight-to-video flop Swept Away. Admittedly the latter may have
been a subliminal bid to sabotage the career of her husband Guy Ritchie,
because Madge recently moved into feature directing with her lacklustre
Brit-com Filth and Wisdom. Her nerve, at least, is impressive. The
current state of her marriage to Ritchie is much speculated over.
It’s the films that got smaller rating: Maddy 5/10; Jacko 3/10
7 Fall out with family
Another surefire gauge of a pop star’s importance is a public attack from an
estranged relative, which in no way reeks of opportunistic cash-in. In 1993,
Michael Jackson’s sister LaToya told a news conference that she believed the
rumours about his child molesting were true. She later withdrew the
statement, claiming it was made under duress from her former husband. But in
general, Jacko’s siblings have rallied around to support him.
At the moment Madonna is facing a full-on nuclear meltdown from her brother
Christopher Ciccone in his mud-slinging memoir, Life With My Sister
Madonna. Once a dancer and interior designer for his more famous
sibling, Ciccone vents years of pent-up resentment over unpaid bills,
slights and snubs, blaming Ritchie’s immersion in homophobic Britlad culture
for souring their relations. “I gave up my life to help make you the evil
queen you are today,” Ciccone tells Madge. “Fifteen years listening to your
bitching, egotistical rantings, mediocre talent and a lack of taste that
would stun the ages.” Fantastic soap opera.
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother rating: Maddy 8/10; Jacko 3/10
8 Sue your record label
Both Jackson and Madonna have exchanged lawsuits with their record companies
in recent years. It’s a gamble that can backfire badly. Announcing plans to
leave Sony shortly before releasing his poor-selling 2001 album Invincible,
Jacko later claimed that the label failed to promote the record in a
calculated bid to deplete his finances and force him to sell Sony his
publishing stake in Northern Songs, the Beatles back catalogue. Bizarrely,
in 2002, he protested in an open-top bus outside Sony HQ, branding the chief
executive, Tommy Mottola, “devilish” and “racist”.
Two years later Madonna and her sub-label Maverick sued Warner Music Group,
claiming the corporation had lost Maverick millions of dollars through
financial mismanagement. Both record companies counter-sued. The disputes
were resolved, but Jackson terminated his Sony contract for an ultimately
fruitless joint venture with a Bahraini prince. Madonna is still signed to
Warners, but will soon leave for a new recording deal with Live Nation,
worth $120 million.
Bite the hand that feeds rating: Maddy 7/10; Jacko 3/10
9 Take care of business
In sheer numbers, both Jackson and Madonna are phenomenal success stories. His
credits include the bestselling album of all time, Thriller (1982),
with global sales somewhere close to 100 million. His royalty rate is
notoriously high, his fortune estimated in billions, and his overall record
sales of 750 million dwarf Maddy’s 200 million. And yet she may yet prove
the smarter long-term investor. With her new Live Nation deal and estimated
net worth of $400 million, she is the most successful female pop artist yet,
recently surpassing Elvis Presley in the US Top Ten singles league.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s million-dollar shopping sprees and legal bills have
forced him to sell off a majority chunk of his publishing business. Now
living off massive bank loans, he recently came close to losing his
Neverland ranch in California. But he is reportedly preparing a comeback
album to be released on his own label. And possibly delivered by unicorn.
Credit crunch rating: Maddy 8/10; Jacko 4/10
10 Move to Britain
Unlikely as it sounds, settling in Wiltshire and adopting that comical
cod-English accent has coincided with a sustained upturn in Madonna’s
critical and commercial success. Her recent run of chart-topping albums have
made Mrs Ritchie the female artist with the most UK No 1 singles to date.
Yes, OK, as long as we overlook that terrible rap about feeling super-duper
in a Mini Cooper. So can Jacko take a leaf out of Maddy’s book? Bizarrely,
Jackson’s brother Tito has bought a family hideaway near Barnstaple in
Devon, and Michael has visited twice.
Dick Van Dyke rating: Maddy 8/10; Jacko 4/10
Overall rating
Maddy 71/100; Jacko 40/100
Despite Jackson being a superior singer, better dancer and bigger seller, his
career is a shambles while Madonna goes from strength to strength. Her
toughness, commercial sense and smart command of pop trends have served her
well. Jackson is damaged goods, but remains a genius with a loyal global
following. If he can muster just one more great album, this could be the
mother of all comebacks.
Now
read the books...
The explosive new book, 'Life
with my sister Madonna,' by Christopher Ciccone.
Michael Jackson, 'The
Magic and the Madness,' by J.Randy Taraborrelli.
