Steve Barron: How I made the Billie Jean video with Michael Jackson

Steve Barron directed the music video for ‘Billie Jean’, the chart-topping second single from 1982’s Thriller.

The video sees Jackson portray an enigmatic figure with seemingly magical powers, trailed by a shadowy “private eye” type character, and is very in keeping with Barron’s other work from this time, where fantasy, familiar iconography and technical innovations fused with pop culture. His brief time working with the King of Pop left an indelible impression.

“The idea was that he was a magical character and everything lit up around him, an idea that I had had for a Joan Armatrading video based on the idea of the Midas Touch,” Barron says.