The Dangerous World Tour, also called Heal the World Tour, was the second worldwide solo concert tour by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The tour, sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, included 69 performances to an audience of 3.5 million. All profits were donated to various charities including Jackson's own "Heal the World Foundation". The tour ran from June 27, 1992, to November 11, 1993. In 1993, Jackson ended the tour due to, as he announced, illness that required hospitalization. The performer became dependent on painkillers, having suffered from dehydration, migraines and injuries. Originally, the Dangerous tour was supposed to run until the end of December 1993.
[edit]Following the huge success of the Bad World Tour, Jackson's first solo world tour where he earned $125 million, the star claimed that he would not tour again, and would instead concentrate on making films and records. On February 3, 1992 in a Pepsi press conference, it was announced that Jackson would be touring again. The announcement coincided with a new deal between Jackson and Pepsi, with a reported $20 million deal to sponsor the tour.
In an interview, Jackson stated, “The only reason I am going on tour is to raise funds for the newly-formed Heal the World Foundation, an international children's charity, that I am spearheading to assist children and the ecology. My goal is to gross $100 million by Christmas 1993. I urge every corporation and individual who cares about this planet and the future of the children to help raise money for the charity. The Heal the World Foundation will contribute funds to paediatric AIDS in honour of my friend, Ryan White. I am looking forward to this tour because it will allow me to devote time to visiting children all around the world, as well as spread the message of global love, in the hope that others will be moved to do their share to help heal the world. ”
[edit]Preparations and Set Designs
The stage used for the tour required more time to set up than before. This was seen in the tour schedule where a considerable number of concerts were one-stop performances. Equipment, which in total weighed over 100 tons, required two Boeing 747 jet aircraft and multiple lorries to transport to each venue.
Before the tour began, Jackson and his band (which had changed a little since the Bad Tour) rehearsed, where the footage has been leaked into the internet. However, the exact date and location of the performances is not clear, but it was rumoured that the rehearsals took place in Jackson's Neverland home. The rehearsals included performances of "Remember the Time" and "Rock With You".
For the tour's design, Jackson was influenced by the uniform worn in the military. For "Jam", the first performance on the tour's set list, Jackson wore two variations of a faux-military uniform. Costumes worn for the performances of "Workin' Day and Night", "Bad", as well as his later HIStory World Tour, were examples of this. During the first and second legs, the uniform was a grey-green jacket with a one bolted strap which sparkled with multicolour. For the third leg, Jackson wore a black uniform with three gold bolted straps, one going from his collar to his waist in one direction and the other two in another; he also used this costume at the first Dangerous Tour concert in Munich, first second leg concert in Tokyo, the Super BowlXXVII halftime show in 1993, and later at the Royal Brunei Concert (pre-HIStory Tour concert) in 1996. Another interesting fact is that Michael's gold leotard costume for his Dangerous Tour was designed by Gianni Versace, which later also designed Michael's gold costume for his HIStory Tour.
The tour also incorporated several stage illusions.The Dangerous era was considered one of Michael's best. Each concert on the tour ended by a stuntman, Kinnie Gibson, who secretly switched with Jackson as he kneels down a trap hole in the stage, dressed in a full astronaut costume (therefore appearing as Jackson), flying out of the arena using a rocket belt. Each concert also began with a illusion-like stunt dubbed "the Toaster" in which following the ringing of bells and the roar of a panther, Jackson catapults on to the stage through a trap door in the front, sending off pyrotechnics that electrified the crowd. A similar version of "the Toaster" stunt was used in the beginning of Michael's Super Bowl XXVII Halftime Show performance in 1993. In the first and second legs, the transition from "Thriller" to "Billie Jean" was another stage trick. When Jackson walks into two pillars, he secretly switches with a werewolf-masked backup dancer while he changes for Billie Jean. The backup dancer posing as Jackson is placed into a coffin which disappears when dancers posing as skeletons and zombies drape a cloth over the coffin and pull it out. Jackson appears fully dressed for Billie Jean in the upper stage level as it lowers down. The coffin portion of this stage illusion was removed in some of first leg shows and the entire third leg of the tour, and replaced with the Jackson impersonator and the backup dancers performing an encore of the "Monster Breakdown" (the dance sequence in Thriller).
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