Michael Jackson: Historic Telethon visit and its link to the biggest music deal in history
Forty years ago this Sunday, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, wowed Perth audiences with a short-lived Telethon show that became an iconic part of the event’s story.
Although unable to perform due to contractual reasons, Jackson appeared on live TV for a rare interview with early 1980s Molly Meldrum and the late Peter Waltham, who died earlier this year, and met two Little Telethon Stars.
But Jackson’s reason for being there (often ignored as a footnote) tied Telethon to one of the biggest and most important music deals in history.
Jackson’s appearance at the Telethon was part of a deal with Perth billionaire Robert Holmes a Court, who then owned Channel 7 and had recently sold a music streaming catalog to Jackson for $47.5 million (USD).
Although often referred to as the “Beatles’ music catalogue” (as it included the Northern Songs catalogue), Jackson’s purchase of the ATV Music catalog in 1985 gave him control of not only approximately 250 Lennon-McCartney songs, but also approximately 4,000 tracks from other artists, including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley.
Jackson later merged this catalog with Sony in 1995 to form Sony/ATV Music Publishing; this organization remains the world’s largest music publishing catalog to this day.
With Jackson as co-founder, Sony Music Publishing now holds the rights to more than six million songs.
The Michael Jackson Estate didn’t sell its 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing for $750 million (USD) until 2016, in a deal led by attorney John Branca, who co-managed the estate and initially helped negotiate the purchase with Holmes a Court.
Hollywood star Miles Teller has been cast as John Branca in the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic Michael; That means Robert Holmes’ famous courtroom deal and Jackson’s Telethon visit are unlikely to appear in the film.
As a result of Jackson’s 1985 acquisition and subsequent merger with Sony, by 2016 whenever a record, CD or track was released by hundreds of artists, including Bob Dylan, Eminem, Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran, a portion of the royalties likely flowed to Jackson’s estate; It was a chain of events that could be linked to the brief Telethon visit in Perth.
Sir Paul McCartney advised Jackson to buy into music publishing while they were recording songs together such as ‘Say Say Say’ and ‘The Girl Is Mine’. ‘I’ll take yours,’ replied Jackson; McCartney thought it was a joke.
Although somewhat displeased with Jackson’s acquisition, McCartney chose not to bid from Holmes a Court for the rights to his music.
Speaking to The West Australian, Janet Holmes, wife of the late Robert, said that they met McCartney a few years before Jackson, but no agreement was reached.
“We had lunch with Paul McCartney in London for his 40th birthday. So what did you get Paul McCartney? I didn’t know, so I gave him a jar of Vegemite. But he had come to see Robert about the purchase of the catalogue,” he said.
“And we went to New York and saw Yoko Ono, had lunch with her, but Michael must have outbid them both.”
Ms. Holmes told a Court she believed Jackson bought the catalog because it contained the rights to several legendary African-American musical artists.
“Everyone thinks he bought the catalog just because it had Beatles music in it, but he didn’t actually buy it,” he said.
“He bought it because it had artists like Nat King Cole in what was called ‘black music’ at the time.”
During Jackson’s 1985 visit to Perth following Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, he not only appeared live at the Telethon, but was also presented with the keys to the city at a ceremony held by then-Mayor Mick Michaels outside the Perth Entertainment Centre.
According to Ms Holmes a Court, she visited sick children at the Princess Margaret Hospital, an antique bookshop in Fremantle, a koala park in Gosnells and even cruised the streets in her original yellow “Great Gatsby” Rolls-Royce.
Speaking to PerthNow, Mr. Telethon himself, Jeff Newman, who showed Jackson around the city during his visit and still has a framed photo of himself with Jackson on display, said Jackson was disappointed not to perform.
But Mr. Newman said it was still exciting to have him at the event alongside other stars such as Whitney Houston, who would later appear at the Telethon.
“Michael was very shy. I can still remember him being quite stiff with the handshake,” she said.
“Everything off stage was different from how he performed on stage; he was like a completely different person.
“Whitney Houston at the Telethon in 1988 was amazing, truly earth-shattering. She, along with Stevie Wonder, gave I think the best performances we’ve ever had.”
Although Ms. Holmes a Court was unable to perform, she said the legacy of Jackson’s visit was that of Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1980s. He said that, along with other artists such as, he helped elevate Telethon to the success it has to date.
“It was undoubtedly very exciting to have someone of his caliber, talent and reputation in Perth at the time of the Telethon,” he said.
“It’s great that Telethon is going from strength to strength and is still supporting so much new medical research into children’s problems.”
Founded in 1968, Channel 7’s Telethon has raised $688 million for sick children since its inception, making it the highest-earning Telethon per capita in the world.
