DIRTY DIANA

Posted by Webmaster in Michael Jackson Music Videos on 06 17th, 2009 | 2 responses

“Dirty Diana” is a hit song by singer Michael Jackson, released in April 1988. The song presented a harder rock sound similar to that of “Beat It” from the album Thriller. It was the fifth and last number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 from his 1987 album Bad.

Song information

Jackson hired Billy Idol’s former guitarist Steve Stevens to back him on the track. On an interview from the special edition of Bad, Quincy Jones later confirmed that it was about groupies.

Music video

The video was shot in early 1988 in front of a live audience. The video starts with a low guitar note. Then it shows Michael performing in front of an audience. In between shots of him performing there are shots of a woman (Sheryl Crow) ^[1]walking down a dark alley. The crescendo reaches as Michael rips his shirt embracing the crowd. After the concert, he races down the stairs toward his limo. He opens the door, only to find Diana waiting for him and the video ends on the same note it started on.

Live performances

“Dirty Diana” was performed during later Bad World Tour concerts.

According to Michael Jackson in an interview, this song was scheduled for a live 1988 performance at Wembley Stadium during the Bad World Tour; however, Michael felt the song would be an insult to Princess Diana, who was in attendance, so he had it removed. Diana informed him the song was actually one of her personal favorites.The concerts in the United Kingdom, particularly at the original Wembley Stadium in London were the most anticipated and eagerly awaited by fans of the whole tour. Tickets for the initial 5 July dates went on sale in January, with ticket demand exceeding 1.5 million, enough to sell-out the 72,000 capacity venue 20 times. Two days later on July 16, Princess Diana and Prince Charles were in attendance. Jackson met them both prior to the concert in which he donated $450,000 to the Prince’s Trust and the Great Ormond Street Hospital. Jackson also presented a special tour jacket and display of Jackson’s solo albums Bad, Thriller and Off the Wall to the royal children.