30 years of the Moonwalk

Today, or tonight rather, marks 30 years since Michael Jackson showed the world a dance of such graciousness, it soared him to stratospheric levels.

During the end of his performance of ‘Billie Jean’ at the Motown 25th Anniversary concert, Jackson showed off his new dance. TV broadcaster NBC labelled it ‘The Moonwalk’ and from that moment on, the move became instantly synonymous with the Michael Jackson brand.

Though only lasting around 3 seconds (and in fairness hardly unique as mime artists and tap dancers had been doing it for years since the 1920s), the flair and execution was so stunning that the world became captivated. The day after the broadcast aired on TV, playgrounds everywhere were full of kids trying to imitate (and oft fail) at doing their own version of the move.

Ironically, the song was the only track of the whole concert that had never been released on the Motown label (Jackson had since moved on to CBS Records), and it was thanks to Jackson’s sheer determination against organisers that even allowed him to perform ‘Billie Jean’ in the first place – Berry Gordy wanted him to play a Jackson 5 medley.

In fact, so powerful was the impact of The Moonwalk, that it even overshadowed the rest of the evening. The world was talking about those three seconds; not about a brilliant ‘battle of the bands’ between The Temptations or The Four Tops, not about Diana Ross’s reunion with The Supremes for the first time since 1969, not even about stellar performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye. No, the moment was won by Jackson and that short transition from one side of the dancefloor to the other.

To this day, people still call it the number one piece of music television history of all time, and it holds with good regard. Below, we take a look back at this classic performance as well as some of the best, and worst, attempts at Moonwalking. Rest in peace Michael Jackson.

Jackson wows the world with The Moonwalk

The Best:

The ones who should never have let themselves be filmed