MICHAEL JACKSON - JACKSON WANTED TO TOPPLE PRINCE'S RECORD

JACKSON WANTED TO TOPPLE PRINCE'S RECORD

MICHAEL JACKSON was determined to complete a string of 50 concerts in London - because he wanted to beat PRINCE's record 21-night residency, according to his manager.
The King of Pop's father Joe has publicly accused organisers of forcing his son to take on a gruelling 50 shows during his This Is It run at London's O2 Arena, insisting the superstar only ever wanted to perform 10 times.
But Frank Dileo, hired by Jackson to oversee his doomed comeback, maintains the singer was happy with the number of gigs as he wanted to top Prince's landmark run of 21 shows, achieved at the same British venue in 2007.
Dileo tells U.S. talk show host Larry King, "Michael knew there was more than 10 shows. He knew there were 50 shows. Sometimes Michael would like to say, 'Gee, I'm only doing 10. I woke up, now I'm doing 50 more.'
"He was saying (that) by popular demand I have to do 40. And incidentally, there were enough ticket requests to do 85 (concerts). Three attorneys read the contract to him. He knew how many shows he had to do.
"It came out to 50 because he wanted to beat Prince's record of 21, and be in the Guinness Book of World Records. He wanted to do 50 to put it out of touch."
And Jackson himself was aware he would have to perform a large run in order to cover the massive amounts invested in the spectacle.
Dileo, who managed Jackson's Bad World Tour in the late '80s, adds, "Michael's a very competitive person in everything he does. He was very smart. When you get back to the number of shows, Michael Jackson knew that if you spent 27 million dollars to create a stage and a production, ten shows weren't going to cover it."