Michael Jackson in Marbella: The Concert of the Century Witnessed by 28,000 People

They cost 5,000 pesetas. 30 euros back then, which would be just over 90 euros today. Quite a sum even now. Even more so if you were a teenager in the 80s. But back then, a Michael Jackson concert in Málaga was like science fiction. There was the local scene promoted by the City Council, which was celebrated by The Refrescos. And we had a great time. No complaints. But Michael Jackson... that was another galaxy. And it happened. The King of Pop announced his first concert in Spain. And it wasn't in Madrid or Barcelona. It was to be held at the Municipal Football Stadium in Marbella and the tickets were sold at El Corte Inglés. You had to break the piggy bank or find those 5,000 pesetas somehow and run to buy them. No virtual queues or viral frustrations, like today. A full-color ticket with a photo of the overwhelming singer and dancer was a pass to a show never seen before in these lands. August 5, 1988, the concert of the century. With 28,000 people screaming and dancing non-stop. Hard to forget.

The premiere of the authorized biopic 'Michael' this Wednesday not only brings back that legendary first concert that made history in our country, but the film also showcases the overwhelming live performance of an artist whose reign was a blend of willpower, contagious music, fascinating choreography, and personal charisma mixed in his live shows with the use of the most fiercely modern technology at the service of the spectacle. In the Marbella stadium, there were no lights, it turned to daylight as night fell. There was no smoke cannon, but a whole artillery that turned Marbella in August into London in the middle of winter when the first notes of 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' started. Followed by a sea of screams although nothing was visible, until the unmistakable silhouette of the five-star Jackson began to emerge from the fog. By then, it was madness.

Surely each of the 28,000 who enjoyed that moment will keep their own memory. At this point, it's hard to fully remember that cinematic night, but there are unforgettable flashes. From the adventure of parking the car to the rivers of people at the entrance. The great atmosphere inside the stadium. The bars without Coca Cola, only Pepsi, the official sponsor of the myth. The immense stage befitting the apocryphal monarchy of its tenant. A thousand square meters that the king Jackson kept running and covering, so strong and yet so fragile. With so much coming and going, the lengthy platform became too small for him and he ended up flying over thousands of spectators on a crane, even hanging completely outside of it. Without a harness or anything. Back then, occupational risks were not yet a concern in the workplace. Over time, it's inevitable to think about the artist's flirtation with the void. Both personally and with his own family. Like the day he dangled his baby from a hotel balcony in Berlin as if his whole life was a concert. And worse, a spectacle.

Going back to that 1988, for these reported memories, I asked Josele, a photography institution on the Costa del Sol, for his images of that August night when the 'Bad Tour Live' marked an era in Marbella. And from his archive have emerged images of that great story filled with pop and glamour of the music legend, but also of the smaller one, experienced by many of those 28,000 people. Snapshots of the audience that, revealed again today, turn out to be a revelation. Spectators fervently young and grounded by the electrifying music of a Michael Jackson at his peak.

The concert had it all, even time to disappoint some. In the days before, it was advertised that, in this first concert in our country, a young woman would go up on stage to give a kiss to the King of Pop. It was never said to be a draw, but it was implied that any of the attendees could be the chosen one. It was not so. In a show measured to the last detail, the young woman chosen 'at random' was Chabeli Iglesias, whose father, Julio Iglesias, shared the same music company with Michael Jackson: Sony. It all stayed in the family.

That was the glossy foam of an unrepeatable concert that dazzled with its continuous avalanche of stimuli and hits. Like that performance of 'Thriller' with a choir of dancers and spasmodic movements. Once again, madness. The hits kept coming. He sang 'Dirty Diana' as if he had Diana Ross in the front row of the audience to shout at her that thing about dirty. Urban legend about the bad relationship between Jackson and Ross, although then, still without the Internet in our lives, the gossip ran like wildfire by word of mouth. Also in chorus, the audience enjoyed 'Smooth Criminal' and the classic 'Billie Jean' dedicated to the 'groupies'.

Those who were there—and those who weren't—will keep their favorite Michael song. For me, it wasn't any of the most repeated or essential ones. I'll stick with a smaller anthem, but an anthem nonetheless. The moment he began to softly sing as a ballad "Uh, uh, uh, I'm gonna make a change" to become the shout of 'Man in the Mirror', that man in the mirror in which Michael himself reflected convinced that music would change the world. This song talked about the poor and injustices, but looking inward and proclaiming that change starts here and now, with oneself. He took it literally. And it saddens me to recognize that in the wrong sense. Change of appearance, skin, face, but also of will, as if he didn't like what he saw in that 'mirror'. Beautiful, melancholic, and revolutionary song more alive than ever.

That concert made history. It was the star's first in Spain. An event never seen before in Málaga. And that was during an unrepeatable era when the Costa del Sol was on the agenda of the big tours. Here came Prince, Simple Minds, or Rolling Stones. But none raised as much excitement or headlines as Michael, the sun king of music in his era of maximum splendor. A performance that even starred in two consecutive covers of SUR. First to record with the photo of Jackson in Spain and the second front page to tell about the concert. The concert of the century.