168: Vindication Day Special with Gratian Dimech

Charles Thomson welcomes first-time guest Gratian Dimech to the show for this year’s Vindication Day Special.

Gratian first saw Michael Jackson live on the Bad Tour and first met him on the Dangerous Tour. Attending 35 Dangerous concerts, he got to know many of Michael’s inner circle. Michael and Brett Barnes even nicknamed Gratian and his friend Justin as the “Waldos”, because wherever they went, they could pick them out of the crowd.

Gratian became an advocate and an activist, challenging negative media coverage of Michael. His creative protest against a particular British tabloid photographer was immortalised in Adrian Grant’s book Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary and he has been interviewed about it for filmmaker Jin Chohan’s upcoming documentary series “Trial By Media”.

Gratian had a front-row view for everything from the “Give In To Me” music video shoot, to Jarvis Cocker’s stage invasion during Michael’s 1996 Brit Awards performance, and even the infamous, history-altering bridge collapse during Michael’s 1999 MJ and Friends benefit concert in Munich.

Gratian has toured Neverland, got stuck in New York when the Twin Towers were attacked mere hours after Michael’s 30th Anniversary concerts, and even spent time hanging out in Janet Jackson’s hotel rooms.

When Michael drove around London on an open top bus to protest against Sony Music, Gratian was on the bus with him – and when Michael went on trial in 2005, Gratian flew out to support him, even winning the lottery to go inside the courtroom.

In this unscripted conversation with his friend Charles Thomson, Gratian tells us only a fraction of his amazing and insightful experiences in the orbit of Michael Jackson. The MJCast can’t wait to have him back for future episodes!

This episode was edited by Charlie Carter and Jamon Bull.

Like this episode?
• If you have the means, consider a donation in any amount through PayPal to help cover our costs of creating the show. All proceeds go towards online running costs, upgrading equipment, and occasional charity donations.
• We also have an official merchandise shop. Support The MJCast and Michael Jackson all at the same time by buying some of our fun merch.
• Learn all about the various ways you can support and engage with The MJCast through visiting our website.

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Mastodon
• X
• Threads
• YouTube

If you have feedback on this Michael Jackson podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.com. Keep Michaeling!

067: Joseph Vogel Special

After an extended break from the Michael Jackson fan community, author and Merrimack College professor Dr. Joseph Vogel is back. He appears on this week’s special edition of The MJCast to mark the release of his fully revised book, ‘Earth Song: Michael Jackson and the Art of Compassion‘.  Interviewed by Jamon Bull and Charles Thomson, Vogel gives the most candid interview of his career.

After attracting criticism for his endorsement of fake tracks released on the MJ Estate’s first posthumous album, Vogel left social media several years ago. In this exclusive interview, Vogel tells The MJCast he no longer stands by his old comments and now believes the songs are fake. The Estate assured him it had evidence they were real but, over the years, he came to realise that simply wasn’t true.

Fans who boycott the Estate over the release of those songs are being perfectly reasonable, says Vogel. He hasn’t spoken to the Estate for around two years and hasn’t been approached to appear in Spike Lee’s rumoured Thriller documentary. He is now actively seeking a publisher to reprint his first MJ book – ‘Man in the Music‘ – in part so he can remove his words on the fake tracks and cease to acknowledge them as MJ songs.

Also in this bombshell interview, Vogel discusses how and why he revised his Earth Song book, why he left social media, whether the fans who turned on him were justified and what his next projects will be.

Joe’s revised edition of ‘Earth Song: Michael Jackson and the Art of Compassion’ includes fresh insights based on new evidence and interviews with key MJ collaborators, like Earth Song short film director Nick Brandt.

In addition to writing several books on Michael Jackson, Joe has appeared in the Estate’s documentaries on the Bad and Off The Wall albums and wrote the liner notes for the Estate’s Bad 25 box set.

Links
• 
Joseph Vogel’s website, Twitter and Facebook pages
• Earth Song: Michael Jackson and the Art of Compassion
• Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson
• Michael Jackson and the Reinvention of Pop
• Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues 1989 documentary
• Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album
• Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker
• Michael Jackson’s Dangerous deposition
• Michael Jackson’s The Girl is Mine deposition
• Michael Jackson’s Bad 25 album and documentary
• Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall album and documentary
• Crack Kills lyrics
• Nick Brandt’s websiteEarth Song short film
• Stranger in Moscow short film
• Childhood short film
• Brad Sundberg’s website, Twitter and Facebook pages
• 
Earth Song live at Wetten Dass (1995)
• 
Earth Song live at the World Music Awards (1996)
• 
Earth Song live at the Royal Brunei concert in Brunei (1997)
• 
Earth Song live on the HIStory World Tour in Munich (1997)
• Earth Song live at Michael Jackson & Friends in Munich (1999)
• Earth Song live at the This Is It rehearsals (2009)
• Michael Jackson’s This Is It documentary film
• Jason Malachi – Breaking News
• Joseph Vogel’s Huffington Post article; Exclusive: The Inside Story Behind Michael Jackson’s Controversial New Song and Album
• Joseph Vogel’s Huffington Post article; Is Michael Really Michael? A Review of the King of Pop’s New Album
• Joseph Vogel’s Huffington Post article; Michael Jackson’s Forgotten Humanitarian Legacy
• Howard Weitzman’s official statement on the Cascio tracks
• The MJCast’s online repository for Cascio Case court documents
• Joseph Vogel’s article; Regarding the Cascio Tracks
• The Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music’s Michael Jackson Halloween album; Scream.

Music Breaks & Ads
• 
Funkyphon – Stranger in Moscow (Orchestral Version)
• Michael Jackson – Earth Song (Demo)
• Michael Jackson – Rock With You (Live in Yokohama, 1987)

Connect with Us
• TheMJCast.com
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube

If you have any thoughts, opinions, or feedback on the show, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at themjcast@icloud.com or find the links to our many social networks on www.themjcast.comMichael on!