What you didn't know about 'Thriller,' 30 years later
The Jacksons' 'Victory' Tour Became Michael's 'Thriller' Tour
Credit: Getty Images
To get Jackson on board with his final tour with his brothers, former manager Frank Dileo convinced the singer that the "Victory" tour would allow him to promote "Thriller," biographer Brown said. Jackson, with his single sparkly glove, black sequined jacket and moonwalk, was the clear draw of the tour. "The highlight of the 'Victory' shows was his performance back-to-back of 'Beat It' and 'Billie Jean.' Even at Giants Stadium, with 65,000 people, you could not find one person in their seat when the bongs of 'Beat It' rang out and he emerged on Randy's shoulders with his arms outstretched," Brown said. Jackson saved the live performance of "Thriller" for the tour of his next album, "Bad." Ironically, none of the songs on the "Victory" album, on which Jackson's vocals were scarce, were performed during the tour and the rancor between Jackson and his brothers during the tour would drive a wedge between them.
