Latest news with #HIStory
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Michael Jackson Returns To His Career Peak
Michael Jackson's The Essential compilation climbs to No. 7 on the Official Albums Streaming chart, ... More returning the late singer to his career high point. AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 10: Michael Jackson performs on stage during is "HIStory" world tour concert at Ericsson Stadium November 10, 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by) Michael Jackson spent much of his career as one of the bestselling musical artists of his era. He achieved feats that no other act before him had managed, both in terms of albums and singles. These days, most people access the music they love via platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and others, and while some legacy acts have gotten lost in the shuffle when it comes to streaming platforms, Jackson has not. His discography is flush with so many beloved tunes that listeners continue to stream them heavily. The Essential Michael Jackson Returns to the Top 10 The Essential Michael Jackson, a compilation of some of the superstar's biggest hits, climbs this week on the Official Albums Streaming chart in the United Kingdom. The project lifts from No. 12 to No. 7, returning not only to the top 10, but reaching its loftiest placement ever. Michael Jackson Soars Back to His Career Peak No. 7 isn't just a high point for The Essential — it's the all-time peak for Jackson on the ranking as well. The compilation remains his only release to break into the top 10 on the streaming-only tally, and it has never climbed higher than seventh place. Despite the fact that The Essential came out in 2005, it didn't hit No. 7 until November 2023. Since then, the set has come close to matching that position several times, but it never quite made it until this frame. Michael Jackson Climbs on Every Chart As streams of The Essential grow, the title rises on the only other roster on which it can currently be found in the U.K., the Official Albums chart. The singles collection pushes from No. 21 to No. 16 this frame. The compilation has previously ruled that list and still ranks among Jackson's No. 1s on the main albums tally.
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Giant Michael Jackson statues popped up 30 years ago. Where have they gone?
Getty Images In June 1995, a giant statue of Michael Jackson provided a surreal sight in the heart of London when it was floated on a barge down the River Thames. This 32ft (10m) pop colossus was just one of 10 that appeared around the world to promote the superstar's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The fibreglass titans then followed Jackson on his global tour. Thirty years later - and 16 years after his death - the King of Pop continues to attract controversy, but some of the statues still stand defiantly in unexpected corners of the world. How the King of Pop became fibreglass Stephen Pyle Jackson's double album was a mix of his greatest hits alongside 15 new tracks including Earth Song, which would spend six weeks at the top of the UK chart. In America, sculptor Diana Walczak consulted with the pop star to create a clay sculpture that was digitally scanned for the album cover. Hertfordshire-based artist Stephen Pyle, who had built sets for worldwide productions of The Phantom of the Opera, was asked by a Sony employee called Robbie Williams (not that one) to make 10 huge statues based on this album cover. He hired sculptor Derek Howarth to craft the statue in polystyrene sections, which Mr Pyle used to make moulds and fibreglass casts. Everything was assembled in Chris and Liz Clark's workshop at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where they were painted to look like stone. The team worked without access to Ms Walczak's prototype, which led to them looking slightly different. Mr Pyle says: "Making 10 statues in four months was quite the challenge, but thanks to Derek, Chris, Liz and the rest of my workshop team at the time, we became quite the efficient factory for Michael Jackson monoliths!" The fates of some of the statues is uncertain, and they may have been locked in storage or destroyed. But others have remained on show in some unlikely locations. A McDonald's in the Netherlands Peter Van Gelder For many years, a King of Pop monument towered over a McDonald's car park in the village of Best in the Netherlands. Restaurant owner Peter Van Gelder bought the statue from Sony at a 1996 charity gala for the Ronald McDonald Children's Fund. "The restaurant had just opened and didn't yet have the big yellow M," he says. "It was my intention to put it down as an eye-catcher." Jackson fans began flocking to the spot, taking photos and playing his music. Crowds became so frequent that Peter had to fence off the statue to stop people climbing on it. Each year on Jackson's birthday, and on the day he died, it became a shrine, with fans gathering to play music, hang pictures and leave flowers. Peter Van Gelder Things changed in 2019 after HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary levelled new allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson. "In the Netherlands there was not such a strong reaction and my intention was to just leave the statue there," explained Peter. But he said pressure from the fast food chain's US headquarters led to its removal and storage in a "secret location". McDonald's tells the BBC: "In 2019, following the documentary, it was decided to remove the statue. "We felt and feel it is important for all guests to feel comfortable when visiting one of our restaurants." Peter hopes to donate the statue to a fan club, but due to its size a building permit is required. "Many have approached me but still no-one has been able to get a permit," he says. "The years have passed since his death and I've noticed that the interest in the statue is decreasing... So the Michael Jackson statue lies resting under a tarp in an insignificant shed." A nightclub in Austria Franz Josef Zika The courtyard of an abandoned club in a small town 18 miles (30km) west of Vienna is not the place you'd expect to find a towering effigy of the King of Pop. Owner Franz Josef Zika won the statue in 1998 at a radio charity auction in aid of the Red Cross, and spent 150,000 Austrian Schillings (£9,300). He recalls: "The big problem was when I went home and had to tell my uncle, who was the family boss, and he said, 'You're crazy!'" Visitors to The Baby'O in Judenau-Baumgarten may have been surprised to find Michael Jackson in the smoking area, but Franz saw it as a great way to promote his club. "There were also many bars next to the statue, so there was a party around Jackson," he says. Franz Josef Zika Last year the club was forced to close after a new residential building was built nearby. Now Franz wants to find somebody to open a small cafe or pizzeria at the venue, but needs to get rid of the pop monolith first. He said: "I've been trying to sell it for two years. I would be happy if I get €25,000 (£21,000) for it. "I've had some interest from Sweden and some in Hungary, but the problem is people don't have enough money." What if he can't find a buyer? "We don't know. Maybe I'll send it to Mars. Elon will do this for me!" he laughs. A Swiss fairground Marino Trotta For more than 50 years, an annual fairground event called Luna Park has taken place in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is among these blinking lights and brightly coloured rides that another Jackson statue can be found. It has been given slight refurbishment, with gold paint added to his faux military uniform. Organisers tell the BBC they bought it 2008 from a man who had purchased it from Sony years earlier. The statue has not been displayed for a few years, but they do not say why - however they stress it is not for sale. A miniature town in South Africa Heather Mason/ When Jackson brought his HIStory tour to South Africa, he had one of the 10 statues with him. Santarama Miniland, which opened in Johannesburg in the 1970s to showcase the country in miniature, is now abandoned. Attractions have been removed and the miniature train no longer runs, but a repainted MJ monolith still stands, visible in Google Earth satellite images. Blogger Heather Mason of visited the park in 2013. She recalls: "It was quite strange to see a giant blue Michael Jackson statue in the middle of Miniland, where the general theme is for things to be smaller than life, not larger than life. "But I certainly appreciated it! The MJ statue was the best photo op in the park." An Italian amusement park Europark Milano A fresh coat of paint and new pair of sunglasses have not made this fibreglass figure too unrecognisable. In June 2019, Europark Idroscalo Milano unveiled the "restored" statue after a Jackson-themed flash mob. An announcer told the gathered crowd: "This statue is dedicated to all of you, who keep on loving him through the years." The dramatic reveal came just months after the Leaving Neverland documentary. A park spokesperson tells the BBC the statue was purchased at the end of the tour but remained abandoned for many years before ending up in the park. They said the titan had its face covered for a while following allegations of child abuse because park owners at the time "did not want to show that MJ welcomed children at the park, so it was transformed almost into a robot". Despite the work to restore and repaint the statue, the park's owners have now put the refurbished statue up for sale. Michael Jackson Music Celebrities
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Where are Michael Jackson's giant HIStory statues 30 years later?
In June 1995, a giant statue of Michael Jackson provided a surreal sight in the heart of London when it was floated on a barge down the River 32ft (10m) pop colossus was just one of 10 that appeared around the world to promote the superstar's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book fibreglass titans then followed Jackson on his global years later - and 16 years after his death - the King of Pop continues to attract controversy, but some of the statues still stand defiantly in unexpected corners of the world. How the King of Pop became fibreglass Jackson's double album was a mix of his greatest hits alongside 15 new tracks including Earth Song, which would spend six weeks at the top of the UK America, sculptor Diana Walczak consulted with the pop star to create a clay sculpture that was digitally scanned for the album artist Stephen Pyle, who had built sets for worldwide productions of The Phantom of the Opera, was asked by a Sony employee called Robbie Williams (not that one) to make 10 huge statues based on this album cover. He hired sculptor Derek Howarth to craft the statue in polystyrene sections, which Mr Pyle used to make moulds and fibreglass was assembled in Chris and Liz Clark's workshop at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where they were painted to look like team worked without access to Ms Walczak's prototype, which led to them looking slightly Pyle says: "Making 10 statues in four months was quite the challenge, but thanks to Derek, Chris, Liz and the rest of my workshop team at the time, we became quite the efficient factory for Michael Jackson monoliths!"The fates of some of the statues is uncertain, and they may have been locked in storage or destroyed. But others have remained on show in some unlikely locations. A McDonald's in the Netherlands For many years, a King of Pop monument towered over a McDonald's car park in the village of Best in the owner Peter Van Gelder bought the statue from Sony at a 1996 charity gala for the Ronald McDonald Children's Fund."The restaurant had just opened and didn't yet have the big yellow M," he says. "It was my intention to put it down as an eye-catcher."Jackson fans began flocking to the spot, taking photos and playing his music. Crowds became so frequent that Peter had to fence off the statue to stop people climbing on year on Jackson's birthday, and on the day he died, it became a shrine, with fans gathering to play music, hang pictures and leave flowers. Things changed in 2019 after HBO's Leaving Neverland documentary levelled new allegations of child sexual abuse against Jackson. "In the Netherlands there was not such a strong reaction and my intention was to just leave the statue there," explained he said pressure from the fast food chain's US headquarters led to its removal and storage in a "secret location".McDonald's tells the BBC: "In 2019, following the documentary, it was decided to remove the statue."We felt and feel it is important for all guests to feel comfortable when visiting one of our restaurants."Peter hopes to donate the statue to a fan club, but due to its size a building permit is required. "Many have approached me but still no-one has been able to get a permit," he says."The years have passed since his death and I've noticed that the interest in the statue is decreasing... So the Michael Jackson statue lies resting under a tarp in an insignificant shed." A nightclub in Austria The courtyard of an abandoned club in a small town 18 miles (30km) west of Vienna is not the place you'd expect to find a towering effigy of the King of Franz Josef Zika won the statue in 1998 at a radio charity auction in aid of the Red Cross, and spent 150,000 Austrian Schillings (£9,300).He recalls: "The big problem was when I went home and had to tell my uncle, who was the family boss, and he said, 'You're crazy!'"Visitors to The Baby'O in Judenau-Baumgarten may have been surprised to find Michael Jackson in the smoking area, but Franz saw it as a great way to promote his club."There were also many bars next to the statue, so there was a party around Jackson," he says. Last year the club was forced to close after a new residential building was built Franz wants to find somebody to open a small cafe or pizzeria at the venue, but needs to get rid of the pop monolith said: "I've been trying to sell it for two years. I would be happy if I get €25,000 (£21,000) for it."I've had some interest from Sweden and some in Hungary, but the problem is people don't have enough money."What if he can't find a buyer? "We don't know. Maybe I'll send it to Mars. Elon will do this for me!" he laughs. A Swiss fairground For more than 50 years, an annual fairground event called Luna Park has taken place in Lausanne, is among these blinking lights and brightly coloured rides that another Jackson statue can be has been given slight refurbishment, with gold paint added to his faux military tell the BBC they bought it 2008 from a man who had purchased it from Sony years statue has not been displayed for a few years, but they do not say why - however they stress it is not for sale. A miniature town in South Africa When Jackson brought his HIStory tour to South Africa, he had one of the 10 statues with Miniland, which opened in Johannesburg in the 1970s to showcase the country in miniature, is now abandoned. Attractions have been removed and the miniature train no longer runs, but a repainted MJ monolith still stands, visible in Google Earth satellite Heather Mason of visited the park in recalls: "It was quite strange to see a giant blue Michael Jackson statue in the middle of Miniland, where the general theme is for things to be smaller than life, not larger than life. "But I certainly appreciated it! The MJ statue was the best photo op in the park." An Italian amusement park A fresh coat of paint and new pair of sunglasses have not made this fibreglass figure too June 2019, Europark Idroscalo Milano unveiled the "restored" statue after a Jackson-themed flash announcer told the gathered crowd: "This statue is dedicated to all of you, who keep on loving him through the years."The dramatic reveal came just months after the Leaving Neverland documentary.A park spokesperson tells the BBC the statue was purchased at the end of the tour but remained abandoned for many years before ending up in the said the titan had its face covered for a while following allegations of child abuse because park owners at the time "did not want to show that MJ welcomed children at the park, so it was transformed almost into a robot".Despite the work to restore and repaint the statue, the park's owners have now put the refurbished statue up for sale.
New York Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Home closest to the iconic Hollywood sign lists for $2.25M
If location is everything in real estate, then 6105 Mulholland Highway may have just taken home the crown. Nestled into the hillside of Beachwood Canyon and perched just beneath the towering white letters that spell 'Hollywood,' this A-frame chalet isn't just close to the famous sign — it's the closest residence to it, The Post has learned. Listed for $2.25 million with Christopher Soffer and Trenton Armitage of The Beverly Hills Estates, the midcentury hideaway offers something few properties can: front-row views of the cultural landmark that has defined Los Angeles for a century. Advertisement 'It is extremely limited,' Soffer told The Post. 'Being the closest house to the Hollywood sign in the world is as limited as it gets.' 17 Located at 6105 Mulholland Highway, the 1963 chalet-style property sits at the end of a private road in L.A.'s Beachwood Canyon and is surrounded by untouched wilderness. Lawrence Fitz-Simon Built in 1963 and tucked at the end of a private road, the three-bedroom, 2,500-square-foot home will be the first time it will hit the market in almost 40 years. Advertisement 'It's perched up in the trees, almost like a tree house,' Soffer said. 'You have this sense when you're there that you really feel like you're entrenched in this lifestyle and this period of time that seems to have faded away with the modern age.' 17 The foyer. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 The current owners, digital artists Jeffrey Kleiser and Diana Walczak, are selling the home as part of a broader real estate consolidation. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 The kitchen and breakfast nook. Lawrence Fitz-Simon Advertisement The chalet is a rarity in both style and setting. Its A-frame design — uncommon in Los Angeles — is clad in wood inside and out, creating a cabin-in-the-woods ambiance in the middle of one of the city's most iconic neighborhoods. 'There's tons and tons of wood,' Soffer said. 'You kind of also feel like you're in a cabin in the woods, which is beautiful because the entire A-frame is essentially made out of wood.' The home's current owners, digital effects pioneer Jeffrey Kleiser and sculptor Diana Walczak, have used the space as both residence and creative incubator. Walczak, best known for sculpting the Michael Jackson HIStory statue and designing its digital version for the album cover, and Kleiser, whose credits span 'Tron' to 'X-Men,' are consolidating their property portfolio, according to Soffer. Advertisement 17 The home has hosted a slew of artists over the years. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 Walczak is best known for sculpting Michael Jackson's HIStory statue, while Kleiser's visual effects work includes 'Tron' and 'X-Men.' Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 The three-bedroom home has played host to numerous artists and musicians, including The Association, the 1960s band featured in Linda McCartney's photography book, 'The Sixties.' Lawrence Fitz-Simon 'They've absolutely loved living there and they are creatives themselves,' Soffer said. 'They've actually recorded in that house, numerous bands over the years.' One of the most famous is The Association, the 1960s band behind hits like 'Cherish' and 'Windy.' Their connection to the property earned it a cameo in Linda McCartney's photography book, 'The Sixties.' The home's creative legacy doesn't stop at music, and has quietly played host to artists, sculptors and filmmakers over the decades. 'That place kind of attracts a very interesting crowd and has a very interesting creative energy to it,' Soffer said. 17 Nearly every surface inside the house is clad in wood, giving it the feeling of a forest cabin, while expansive rooftop decks offer panoramic views of downtown Los Angeles on one side and the towering Hollywood sign on the other. Lawrence Fitz-Simon Advertisement 17 'It's perched up in the trees, almost like a treehouse,' said listing agent Christopher Soffer. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 Despite its fame-adjacent location, the home has remained surprisingly peaceful, with the owners reporting no issues from tourists or passersby. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 It has also performed well as a short-term rental, earning spots in Travel + Leisure and the Emmy-winning show Staycation. Lawrence Fitz-Simon Though it's tucked into the hills, the property is not without modern acclaim. It has been featured on 'Staycation,' the Emmy-winning travel show, and was recognized by Travel + Leisure as one of California's best Airbnbs. Advertisement The owners even produce 'Hollywood Honey' on the premises, courtesy of a small hillside apiary tended by a local beekeeper. The house's positioning on the ridge yields dual vistas: the Hollywood sign at its back and sweeping views of downtown L.A., Griffith Park, and — on clear days — the Pacific Ocean at its front. 'When you are building on a site like that, the Hollywood sign is as direct as it gets,' Soffer said. 'When you're sitting on either of the rooftop decks, all you can see is the Hollywood sign… and on the front of the house, you have these panoramic views of the city.' 17 The property even features a honeybee colony producing 'Hollywood Honey' on a hillside perch. Lawrence Fitz-Simon Advertisement 17 The surrounding land is protected from overdevelopment, with only one neighboring lot eligible for construction. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 Soffer described the home as a rare architectural gem, especially in a city where A-frame homes are uncommon. Lawrence Fitz-Simon The listing also marks a nod to the roots of the surrounding area. 'Originally, Beachwood Canyon was built by a single guy and he had done it because he wanted to create a neighborhood that was perfect for Hollywood and studio production,' Soffer said. 'When they first built the Hollywood sign, it was actually almost like an advertisement for the neighborhood.' Advertisement At the time, the sign was even illuminated at night — a touch of glamor that has since disappeared. 'They actually used to have lights on the Hollywood sign, believe it or not,' Soffer said. 'I would love to see that today, but I think it might be a little bit too bright for the current landscape of the neighborhood.' Despite its proximity to a tourist magnet, the property offers peace and privacy. 17 'Being the closest house to the Hollywood sign in the world is as limited as it gets,' he said. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 A hot tub. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 17 One of four bedrooms. Lawrence Fitz-Simon 'They said everyone is so enamored by the sign, everyone's in such a good mood when they're up there,' Soffer said of the owners. 'They've never had any issues with break-ins or trespassing or anything like that over the years.' There's little risk of competition either: 'To the right of the property, if you're facing the property, there's only one other lot that can be developed,' Soffer noted. 'As of now, there's nothing on it. It's just a raw piece of land. And beyond that, it's pure wilderness.' It's that blend of exclusivity, architectural significance, and Hollywood history that Soffer believes makes the home one-of-a-kind. 'The architectural community loves these types of houses — A-frame houses,' he said. 'They aren't typical for Los Angeles, and when they do pop up, it's something to be cherished.'
