Michael Jackson's 1984 rehearsals in Birmingham caused a bit of chaos. '[T]here were thousands of kids out there,' said Don Hawkins, then the assistant executive director at the BJCC. 'It wasn’t just a handful. There were mob scenes out there.”
Michael Jackson's 1984 visit to BirminghamCrowds gathered. Signs were held aloft. People waved and pointed, yelled and cheered.
Jackson was reclusive during his short stay in Birmingham, and reports from the time say the Jacksons had hoped to prep for their tour in a place where they wouldn’t draw a big crowd. Don Hawkins, assistant executive director at the BJCC in 1984, recalled the fan frenzy over Jackson for AL.com. “They were looking for a rehearsal place that was an arena so obviously they could make sure everything works and they took the bugs out of it and put the show together,” Hawkins said. “They were here six or seven days. Not many arenas have that many days where they don’t have a hockey game or a basketball game or whatever coming into the arena, so it was fortunate for Birmingham and it was fortunate for crew too.
To get to the BJCC for rehearsals, the Victory Tour band and crew would simply walk across the street from the Hyatt. Michael Jackson was driven across the street — Hawkins has a memory of it being a black sedan or SUV — and into the arena, through a large rollup door. The numerous 18-wheeler trucks parked in a nearby lot would soon transport the tour to its opening show, July 6, at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
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