Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album Bad (1987). The 123-show world tour began on September 12, 1987 in Japan, and concluded on January 27, 1989, in the United States, and sponsored by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi. It grossed a total of $125 million, making it the second highest-grossing tour of the 1980s after Pink Floyd's Momentary Lapse of Reason tour, and earning two new entries in the Guinness World Records for the largest grossing tour in history and the tour with the largest attended audience. It was nominated for "Tour of the Year 1988" at the inaugural International Rock Awards.

At the end of the Bad tour, Jackson made a public statement that he intended for it to be his last as a touring artist, as he had plans to transition to filmmaking; however, it was followed by the Dangerous World Tour in 1992–1993 and the HIStory World Tour in 1996–1997. Except for two shows in Hawaii during the HIStory Tour, this would be the only time that Jackson would tour the United States as a solo artist.

Background

On June 29, 1987, Jackson's manager Frank DiLeo held a press conference in Tokyo to announce that the 28-year-old Jackson would embark on his first concert tour as a solo artist. It marked his first concerts since the Victory Tour in 1984 which he performed with his brothers as the Jacksons. DiLeo said the tour would start with a Japanese leg because of the country's loyal fans. In a written statement, Jackson, who was completing Bad in Los Angeles, promised "thrilling and exciting" concerts.^[6] The soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, with whom Jackson and his brothers had a deal worth an estimated $5 million per year, sponsored the tour. Sales of the drink in Japan doubled during the summer following the announcement, helped by an advertising campaign that offered free tickets and 30,000 souvenirs. The entire entourage was instructed not to be seen drinking a product from rival Coca-Cola in public. Marlon Brando's son Miko joined the tour as a production assistant.

Auditions for the musicians, and subsequent rehearsals, were held at the Leeds facility in North Hollywood. Keyboardist Rory Kaplan, who had played on the Victory Tour, was touring with the Chick Corea Elektric Band when he was asked by Jackson's secretary to join his group as musical director, which Kaplan accepted. The original idea was to bring in former Victory Tour drummer Jonathan Moffett and guitarist David Williams, but the pair were on tour with Madonna. Jackson wanted the music on stage to sound like the albums and asked Chris Currell, who had played the Synclavier synthesizer and sampler on Bad, to play it live.Currell arranged to have three complete systems: two to handle the music on stage and one for his hotel room for Jackson to record ideas while traveling, plus a dismantled setup for spare parts in case of a problem, and a full-time technician. Currell estimated the Synclaviers alone cost $1.4 million. Since he was primarily a guitarist and not a keyboardist, he purchased a SynthAxe MIDI controller guitar to trigger cues to a computer that operated the Synclaviers. The audition performances were filmed and played to Jackson at his home in the evening. The band had just two weeks to rehearse at Leeds before production rehearsals followed at Universal Studios for another three, although no full production in its entirety happened until the first show.

Auditions for the musicians, and subsequent rehearsals, were held at the Leeds facility in North Hollywood. Keyboardist Rory Kaplan, who had played on the Victory Tour, was touring with the Chick Corea Elektric Band when he was asked by Jackson's secretary to join his group as musical director, which Kaplan accepted. The original idea was to bring in former Victory Tour drummer Jonathan Moffett and guitarist David Williams, but the pair were on tour with Madonna.Jackson wanted the music on stage to sound like the albums and asked Chris Currell, who had played the Synclavier synthesizer and sampler on Bad, to play it live. Currell arranged to have three complete systems: two to handle the music on stage and one for his hotel room for Jackson to record ideas while traveling, plus a dismantled setup for spare parts in case of a problem, and a full-time technician. Currell estimated the Synclaviers alone cost $1.4 million. Since he was primarily a guitarist and not a keyboardist, he purchased a SynthAxe MIDI controller guitar to trigger cues to a computer that operated the Synclaviers. The audition performances were filmed and played to Jackson at his home in the evening. The band had just two weeks to rehearse at Leeds before production rehearsals followed at Universal Studios for another three, although no full production in its entirety happened until the first show.

Jackson left Japan for a rest period in Hong Kong and China before the Australian leg. On October 30, a planned New Zealand leg was canceled as local promoters were unable to meet demands that the audience be seated, although dates there and in Australia were also canceled due to low ticket sales.^[Between November 13 and 28, Jackson performed five concerts in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. The loud and enthusiastic crowds were a contrast to the Japanese audience, who were instructed to remain quiet and make little noise, and made it difficult for the group to hear the count-ins at the beginning of a number. The November 28 show in Brisbane was recorded and broadcast. During the concert, Jackson brought Stevie Wonder on stage to sing "Bad" with him.