1972 - Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 perform a concert at an NAACP fund-raising dinner at Hollywood, Palladium, California, at the 6th annual Black Image Awards. The Jackson 5 won the NAACP Image Award for Best Singing Group.

1979 - The Jacksons perform Destiny tour in Houston, Texas

1984 - The Jacksons perform Victory tour at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada attending 42,000.

Michael Jackson is made an honorary member of the New Westminster Police Department during his hush-hush visit to New Westminster while in British Columbia, Canada. Appointed PC 49, he swears as a police constable to "serve the Queen and cause the peace to be kept and preserved".

The King of Pop received Badge 49 during his visit to the Royal City.

"He was very quiet. He was very soft-spoken. He almost seemed introverted," said retired police officer Ken McIntosh, who attended the gathering at city hall. "By that time he was a big star."

Jackson's visit was arranged by former police chief Jack Fordham, who was an inspector for the department at that time. He learned Jackson was a big soccer fan and contacted Jackson's publicists to let them know the police department ran a soccer school.

Prior to Jackson's visit to city hall, a couple of New Westminster police cars were deployed to Jackson's Vancouver hotel. They escorted the Dodge van he and his companions were riding in back to New Westminster.

"You wouldn't have known he was here," said Det. Const. Mike Macfarlane, one of the officers in attendance. "That was one of the prerequisites."

At New Westminster City Hall, Jackson appeared on the front stairs of city hall with a group of local police officers for a photo opportunity.

"It was amazing for Michael Jackson to be there, We didn't know he'd want us to go up and down the stairs." McIntosh said.

Jackson, who provided the police officers with sunglasses, requested that he film himself walking up and down the stairs of city hall with the officers. It's unknown whether Jackson ever used the video footage shot that day.

The visit and filming took place on a Sunday, so city hall was closed. The activity caught the attention of some people passing by on Royal Avenue and people in the rooftop restaurant or bar that was located in the Royal Towers Hotel at the time.

While police officers sometimes run into celebrities when doing movie callouts, Macfarlane said they rarely encounter people of Jackson's star power and have a chance to work alongside them. At the end the visit, Jackson shook each officer's hand.

"I am not a big Michael Jackson fan. At that time you couldn't help ... but be somewhat awed, Here he was in New Westminster." Macfarlane said.
While the visit had been arranged ahead of time, Macfarlane recalls it coming together at the last moment to prevent any leaks. CKNW reporter George Garrett, respected by Lower Mainland police forces, was tipped off about the visit and provided the photos featured in The Record.
"He gave us a (soccer) ball that was signed, It used to be in the old (police) building." Macfarlane recalled.

At that time, Jackson was in Vancouver for the Victory tour, with his brothers. It came two years after his blockbuster album Thriller.
Mayor Wayne Wright said Jackson signed the City of New Westminster's guest book.
"I think it's obviously very interesting because of the nature of the day, When he came here, he was a star."

The front page of the Nov. 21, 1985 issue of the Royal City Record featured an article about the results of the municipal election (Tom Baker was re-elected mayor) and Jackson's surprise visit to New Westminster.

Getting the star treatment, Jackson received a full police uniform sewn by Gastaldo Tailors, soccer jerseys featuring silkscreening by MVP Athletic, an engraved plaque done by the Click Shop, a police badge, assorted police-related caps and a police identification card.

"After it happened, people were freaking out, They couldn't believe it happened. A lot of people thought it was really cool." Although McIntosh wasn't a fan of the pop star, he enjoyed the experience. "Historically, now, it is kind of significant, My kids got to see him up close. He was quite the entertainer. I found him to be very humble. He wasn't a demanding, look-at-me person," he recalled. "He almost seemed overwhelmed by the fuss. He did not seem to be arrogant."

McIntosh said all of the participating police officers were issued a set of sunglasses.
He has donated his sunglasses, a photograph taken that day of officers and Jackson and a copy of the book Moonwalk to the New Westminster Museum and Archives. A photograph of New Westminster police officers with Jackson is included in the book.

1987 - Michael visits the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, Australia.

Natasha Lang, mother of a child committed in the hospital at the time, offers her account of his visit there years later: "... I will never forget that day as long as I live, when Michael came to the hospital with an abundance of stuffed animal toys, so generously given, to all the children in the children’s ward. He went around the ward and visited each child personally and quietly spoke words of comfort to them and I will never forget the delight of these children, the medical staff and the parents who visited on that day. My son now is a grown man and I wish to share this photograph with the whole world because it shows Michael’s selfless and generous nature. My son, unfortunately, lost his eye in a school accident that week and, as you can imagine, it was a real tragedy for the whole family, but that day he gave us all some joy, great pleasure and an abundance of happiness."

1991 - Michael and Brooke Shields go out for dinner at The Inn Of The Seventh Ray Restaurant, Malibu, Ca


1997 - Michael Jackson quietly arrives in Seoul, South Korea to discuss investment in troubled underwear maker, Ssangbangwool Ltd's Ski Resort. “Michael Jackson has come to Korea to discuss the possibility of investing in Muju Resort,” says a company spokesman. The spokesman adds that Ssangbangwool has planned to expand the resort complex to include a theme park, but says the plans had been put on hold when the company faced financial troubles.


2003 - The Michael Jackson album Number Ones was released. The album contained 18 songs including the song "One More Chance."

Number Ones, the greatest hits album included Jackson singles that reportedly reached #1 in charts around the world.

Number Ones reached #1 in the UK and #13 in the United States. It proved to be an enduring catalog seller, eventually returning to the top spot in the UK and US charts in 2009. It stayed as the #1 selling album in the United States for 6 weeks and for 27 week on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart.

At the 2009 American Music Awards, Number Ones claimed two awards - Favorite Rock/Pop Album and Favorite Soul/Rhythm and Blues Album.

Overall, the album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide, with 4,138,600 of those being sold in the U.S.


After a search warrant was served at Neverland Ranch Michael made the following statement:
"I've seen lawyers who don't represent me and spokespeople who do not know me speaking for me. These characters always seem to surface with dreadful allegations just as another project, an album, a video is being released".