[MJSunshine]

I'm curious to know when you got infected with the MJ fever and why?
Has there been a special performance that has fascinated you? Or a video premiere?

I became a fan in 1992 at the age of 8.
Everything I can remember is that I have already been crazy about Michael when the Bucharest concert was shown on TV, but I don't know what actually gave the impulse to learn more about Michael.

[MJPC]

I watched the J5 cartoons as reruns when I was a kid, but I think I "really" became a fan around Thriller era because my cousins were huge fans. But actually, during the 1984 Grammys, I remember still being a much bigger fan of Billy Joel--so I was routing against Michael! When the Victory Tour started though, there was just no turning back.

As far as collecting, I bought Thriller era stuff in 1983/84 like buttons, shirts, etc. But 1987 is when I started becoming a "serious" collector, getting a full time job and spending 100% of my money to fund my habit!

[Billie Jean]

I grew up watching the J5 on Carol Burnett, Flip Wilson, cartoons, etc. But I was still young. My mom used to take us roller skating all the time. I remember hearing Shake Your Body Down To the Ground while skating and that was a favorite. The first album I ever bought with my own money was vinyl OFF THE WALL. I still remember moving to different places and having it with me. So I have been in love with Michael since about 1980. I was in HS during the Thriller to Captain EO era, and those are still my favorite eras musically. I admit I was not the best fan, having not really followed him since Butterflies and You Rock My World, but he was still rockin' on my iPod before June, and his absence has taken a big toll on me since he reminds me of my childhood and of my mortality. I feel sorry for the future generations who did not have him present, but I will do all I can to keep his legacy alive.


Love you forever Michael!

[Yana Jackson]

I come from a long line of Jackson Lovers.
My mother and my grandmother before her were always fans of the Jackson family.


Every Sunday my grandmother would get up at the crack of dawn to start Sunday Dinner,
while playing her large collection of vinyl records all day long. The Jackson 5 were her favourite.
We'd listen to the Third Album non-stop. My personal favourite was Diana Ross presents...
So when I was old enough to handle the needle careful enough to not scratch the records, I got to pick the songs.

Then there was my mother who was in love with Jacky so she played all the Jackson hits.
To be honest, I prefer The Jacksons Era over J5. I love the slick disco/funk tinged soul classics.
Their first album The Jacksons is horrendously underrated.
Michael's adlibs on "Show You the Way to Go" sends shivers up my spine.

Then there is Off The Wall. The first album I ever owned and still to this day my favourite by any artist.

As you can see that question was pretty hard to answer for me,
but it is clear that I was weaned to love anything and everything Michael was destined for.

This post has been edited by Yana Jackson: 13 May 2010 - 08:02 PM

[Nikki]

I became a fan during the Thriller era. I was three at the time, and Michael was EVERYWHERE! It was the middle of "Michael-mania" at the time, and I got caught up in it. I remember collecting his pictures and listening to his music even at that age. It's pretty much been life-long for me, but I'd never change a thing about it, though.

[MJMoonwalker]

I became a fan bk in 87-88, i remeber seeing the bad vid on the tv and smiling at mike. I also remeber my nan getting me the bad casstte for me bk then. Plus bk then my mum and dad was playing alot of motown bk in the day too so some of it was that too.

[MJ'sGirl]

My parents used to always listen to Michael and his brothers but when I saw Michael at the Motown 25 special where he preformed Billie Jean and did his moonwalk well.. that was enough for me and I have loved and followed him ever since and will continue to support him and his legacy any way I can!!

This post has been edited by MJ'sGirl: 15 May 2010 - 02:28 AM

[Billie Jean]

MJ, on 15 May 2010 - 02:28 AM, said:

My parents used to always listen to Michael and his brothers but when I saw Michael at the Motown 25 special where he preformed Billie Jean and did his moonwalk well.. that was enough for me and I have loved and followed him ever since and will continue to support him and his legacy any way I can!!

Watching that show was an awesome experience. Mesmerizing and wow, we talked about it at school the rest of the year!

[yuco]

I have no memories of him like you guys, cuz I'm a new fan. After hearing his news in June last year, I started to check about him, and I fell in love with him soon. And thought, how could I spend my days without knowing such a cool, hot, gorgeous, adorable...hmm....I can't find a right word. As getting to know about his hard life, I beat myself up, "why I believed the media?""why I didn't check about him for myself?". I sometimes envy old fans cuz I have no old memories of him but I can't help it. I can't change my past. Even though it's too late, I'm a lucky person to know about this beautiful man, Michael Jackson, I think.

[Black Porsche]

I became a fan during the Jackson 5 era. The first album I ever bought with my own babysitting money was a J5 album. My Mother and I danced like crazy to their music. The first time I fell head over heels for him was during the shaving cream scene in Say, Say, Say. That beautiful smile of his did it for me.

This post has been edited by Black Porsche: 17 May 2010 - 01:40 PM

[MJSunshine]

yuco, on 17 May 2010 - 07:37 AM, said:

I have no memories of him like you guys, cuz I'm a new fan. After hearing his news in June last year, I started to check about him, and I fell in love with him soon. And thought, how could I spend my days without knowing such a cool, hot, gorgeous, adorable...hmm....I can't find a right word. As getting to know about his hard life, I beat myself up, "why I believed the media?""why I didn't check about him for myself?". I sometimes envy old fans cuz I have no old memories of him but I can't help it. I can't change my past. Even though it's too late, I'm a lucky person to know about this beautiful man, Michael Jackson, I think.

Thank you for sharing your feelings with us.
I can feel what you are trying to say. That you regret you didn't take that one step forward to get to know the real Michael when he was alive. I had a similar conversation with Draskou about how difficult it is for people to ignore the media coverage. I am very happy that your thoughts about MJ have changed. And this really is a great place to get to know about other fans' experiences and memories.

Black Porsche, on 17 May 2010 - 01:39 PM, said:

I became a fan during the Jackson 5 era. The first album I ever bought with my own babysitting money was a J5 album. My Mother and I danced like crazy to their music. The first time I fell head over heels for him was during the shaving cream scene in Say, Say, Say. That beautiful smile of his did it for me.

Wow, a fan from the J5 era
Michael looks absolutely stunning in the Say Say Say video, so I can understand you 100%

[Draskou]

So many long time fans! Michael certainly had the most loyal fan base of any entertainer I know. The people who have stuck by him through the thick and the thin I really admire, it must have been really trying to have to hear all the negative stuff about him and keep a stiff upper lip! Even now, while attending MJ events around town, people pass us and drop insults and laugh at us for worshiping a "dead child molester." Michael wasn't the only one who had to have rhinoceros skin and even though he's already thanked you and given you his love, I have to give homage to the veterans *bows*

Yuko, as a fellow recent fan, all I can say is that at least MJ got to us now. That was his mission, to reach out to the world and spread Love to all people. We heard his call and that's what matters, that's what he wanted. I'll always regret the wasted years and the unkind thoughts but this is an experience that I hope will help us keep our eyes open in the future. Let it be a lesson in how we view and judge people.

As to how I started to like MJ, it was back in around '94 when he married LMP - I thought he was a handsome fellow and wondered why the newscasters were so doubtful as to his true intentions in marrying her. Then when HIStory came out and was in the music/video stores I would pass the album nearly every night with my dad and I would long to pick it up and buy it...at the very least touch it. My father was very against MJ though and he would tell me quite definitely "no" every time I got too close to it. It wasn't until high school that I was allowed to listen to what I pleased and MJ fell right into that. Still, with all the negativity around him as a person, I sort of never took the next step to becoming a fan of HIM as opposed to just his music until after his death. So glad to have been inducted into the mighty and glittery world of MJ at long last

[MJSunshine]

^^ Beautifully said, Dorothy

To me, although all the lies that were written and said about Michael hurt me very much, it only increased the unity of his fans. And I feel that the love we had for Michael and the love he felt for us only grew bigger with every malicious story that surfaced.

BTW, it's really great to see so many long-long time fans here.
I'm so looking forward to hear more of your stories

[yuco]

Thank you for your kind words, MJSunshine & Draskou

I love to know about old fans memories. They make me happy and sometimes feel sad.
I don't want to bring someone into my MJ world forcibly but when I come across those who have wrong informations about MJ, I will tell them true stories of him.

[J5 Collector]

I became a fan in the J5 era, when I first saw them performing live on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1969. I was a kid myself and it was so great to see other kids who were so talented and so good. Not long after that, I was in a department store, Christmas shopping with my mom, and I saw the brand-new LP Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. I was supposed to spend the money I had brought along on presents for my brothers and sisters, but I bought the album instead. (I think my siblings got Bic pens from me that year. ha ha ha)

Those photos on the DRPTJ5 LP were the first ones I ever saw of the J5, and I stared at them for hours. I remember being mad that Michael got to stand out in front, with Diana Ross, in the photo on the back. Why didn't she talk to all the brothers? Also, that was the first time I had seen their names, so for the longest time, I called Tito "Toriano" and thought Jermaine's name was spelled "Germaine" because that's what the album notes said.

[You'll find more of my memories of being a fan in the early days on my blog www.j5collector.com]

Ever since then, I have been a fan, of all eras and all the brothers. The Dangerous era is my favorite Michael solo era, and I love Jermaine's solo music as well. But I've always had a special fondness for the J5 era because there are so many happy memories associated with it -- and those kids were so damned talented!

This post has been edited by J5 Collector: 20 May 2010 - 04:27 PM

[MJSunshine]

Wow, it's really special to have been a fan since the J5 made their first appearances in the public. I really enjoy your blog and btw, that's how I got to know this site here, so thank you

[yuco]

Dear J5 Collector,

Thank you for sharing your lovely memories. They gave me smile I can see you really treasure them.
And your blog! There are many photos I've never seen! Thank you so much!!

[Katriona]

yuco, on 17 May 2010 - 07:37 AM, said:

I have no memories of him like you guys, cuz I'm a new fan. After hearing his news in June last year, I started to check about him, and I fell in love with him soon. And thought, how could I spend my days without knowing such a cool, hot, gorgeous, adorable...hmm....I can't find a right word. As getting to know about his hard life, I beat myself up, "why I believed the media?""why I didn't check about him for myself?". I sometimes envy old fans cuz I have no old memories of him but I can't help it. I can't change my past. Even though it's too late, I'm a lucky person to know about this beautiful man, Michael Jackson, I think.

It's never too late to admire Michael! Welcome to the fam of fans!

[Katriona]

yuco, on 20 May 2010 - 01:23 PM, said:

Thank you for your kind words, MJSunshine & Draskou

I love to know about old fans memories. They make me happy and sometimes feel sad.
I don't want to bring someone into my MJ world forcibly but when I come across those who have wrong informations about MJ, I will tell them true stories of him.

Just try to remember most of us "old fans" were close to Michael's age and prefer being referred to as "long-time" fans! hehehehe (myself included, I'm 55)

[J5 Collector]

Katriona, on 24 May 2010 - 10:50 PM, said:

Just try to remember most of us "old fans" were close to Michael's age and prefer being referred to as "long-time" fans! hehehehe (myself included, I'm 55)

Katriona, I thought I was the oldest one here, but you have me beat by a year!