The Jacksons do Devon: When pop's most dysfunctional family moved to a British village, events took a surreal turn

By Lina Das for MailOnline
Updated: 18:00 EDT, 21 November 2008

Perhaps it was the bowler hat perched on top of Tito Jackson's head that was a bit of a giveaway as he walked the narrow lanes of Appledore in Devon.

Add in the teams of bodyguards shielding his family front and back, plus the pursuing pack of paparazzi, and there was no doubting the fact that the Jacksons were in town.

But then, what else was to be expected when key members of the famous clan descended on the quaint fishing village this summer, declaring their intention to look for a country retreat in the area.

Despite their insistence that they had come to escape the limelight, there was even a documentary-making crew in tow. The result is an intriguing hour-long film of their stay in this seaside resort with an ice-cream parlour and one fish and chip shop.

The Jackson Five

Tito, 55, was certainly taken with the place. 'When I saw Appledore I loved it, because the people are very mellow and calm,' he says. 'You met the same people every day and hung out with them. I loved talking to them about fishing and houses and music.

The only time there was any trouble was when we went to a nightclub and got mobbed. There were about five bodyguards and they were all too busy looking at the girls to stop it. People started pulling at my hat, and I don't like anyone touching my bowler, so we left after about a minute.'

Bowler hat or no, the Jacksons are intent on showing just how 'normal' they really are. So much so that, disappointingly, there are no sequins or jumpsuits to be seen as Tito and his family - his sons Taj, 35, Taryll, 33, and TJ, 30, who formerly made up the boy band 3T; Tito's brother, Jackie, 57, nephew Siggy (the rapper DealZ), 31, mother Katherine, 78, and stunning 26-year-old 'friend', Claudia Lyn - are filmed traipsing round in their jeans and trainers.

Home for the summer was a £1,200-a-week rented house, which, though nicely furnished, was a far cry from the grandeur of their Californian home, which is set in six acres and has 20 bedrooms and a private theatre. In Devon, there were no maids or chefs.

Instead, Tito did the washing up and all of the cooking - steak and eggs for breakfast, barbecues for supper. He even washed his own smalls, hanging them out to dry on the balcony. And when the family ran out of supplies, he headed down to the shop at the bottom of the hill, lugging all the bags back by himself.

But nothing about the Jackson family and the attention they attract is ever 'normal', and what quickly emerges is that, while Tito and his family are intent on making an intimate documentary, there are other people around them who have other ideas.

Tito, in bowler hat, with two of his sons

So, what started out as a documentary about the Jacksons settling into their UK holiday home, suddenly takes a darker turn when the family fall out with their long-time friend, Matt Fiddes.

Matt, 28, a millionaire from the neighbouring town of Barnstaple, helped organise the trip. He has a string of martial arts schools across the country and proudly recounts how he was introduced to Michael at the age of 17 through their mutual friend Uri Geller.

Michael then counted on Matt and his martial arts chums to act as bodyguards whenever he was in the UK. And the family had previously visited Matt in Devon several times without attracting any interest from the press.

This time, however, their stay rapidly descends into farce. After one exhausting outing to the village, Katherine sinks into the sofa and sighs, 'Sometimes it seems like you don't even belong to yourself. You belong to the public.' She then calls Michael, warning him not to come over because of the media frenzy.

Now back in LA, Tito recalls: 'Matt started to get in more and more shots, and didn't want this or that person to be involved because it would take away from his screen time.

'Jane Preston, the documentary-maker, wanted to show the public what it was like to be me without the showbusiness and the bodyguards, but he wanted to do all that because it got him camera time with his boys wearing his karate jackets. Everything he did was to get publicity.

The Jacksons didn't want to be 'the big showbiz family at the top of the hill'

'When I saw Matt trying to run me the way he wanted, I put a stop to it. That's when things started falling apart. Some people want to be seen in your company and want to piggyback on your 40 years of hard work. And when you figure that out, they get mad. I was supposed to have been godfather to two of his kids, but I cancelled that, because I can't be a godfather if I can't even get along with the father.'

After the contretemps, Matt removed the bodyguards and transportation services he had provided for the family - even leaving them without a car. A move which, ironically, helped the Jacksons gain the locals' trust, because, as Jane says, 'They had never wanted to be the big showbiz family at the top of the hill anyway.'

There remain legal wrangles between Fiddes and the Jacksons over who picked up the bill for the family's flights from the US. (Matt claims he did and hasn't been reimbursed. Tito insists the allegations are 'totally false'.)

Certainly, the documentary appears to back Tito's side of the story, particularly when it emerges, during the course of filming, that Matt was engineering press opportunities during their stay, and a decade-long friendship now appears to have come to an end.

'I'm used to it,' Tito shrugs. 'Matt's a very nice guy and I'm not mad at him. I'm disappointed and that's worse. I shared a lot with him and thought he was my friend, but I could see it was all to promote Matt Fiddes. People try and use you because of the family name, and I just deal with it because I've been dealing with it all my life.

'When I saw Appledore I loved it', said Tito, of the sleepy Devon village

'It starts with very little things, such as people taking me home and I'd be wondering why we'd be going such a long way round. Then I'd realise we'd be driving past their parents' house because they'd want them to see me.

'Sometimes, when I get invited to things, I'll become a conversational piece because everyone wants to ask about Michael or Janet, or talk about their favourite Jackson Five song, when I just want to be a normal person enjoying the party.'

He admits that the allegations of sex abuse surrounding Michael have 'really hurt our family. It tears at you when something like that happens, because the people who know Michael know the real deal.' And what is the real deal? 'That he's an honest, open, giving, loving person, and people don't understand that - they just want to put their own weird twist on things.

'They can't imagine that there are some good people in the world, and when you're the biggest star in the world, then, of course, people will take shots at you. 'I basically shut it all out. People have been gone through every corner of his life, and if there was anything wrong, we would know about it. I just think, to do that to somebody is very cruel.

'It's difficult to trust people and you have to be very careful. You can't not trust people because you wouldn't have much of a life. Although I went through a period when I shut people out, I wasn't happy and I felt very alone. You just have to use your common sense. It's devastating when someone abuses that trust, but you have to move on.

'That's why I like England - the people are more direct and they don't bulls**t you. I'm still looking to moving there, probably somewhere close to London. I'm planning on releasing my first solo single around the time of the documentary. My dream is to come to the UK to perform as a solo artist.'

The Jacksons remain on good terms with Jane Preston. She says, 'I witnessed first hand how difficult it is to be a Jackson, and how hard it must be to trust anybody. They have people around them who use the family shamelessly for their own ends - whether to further their career, or to gain publicity for themselves.

'We spent almost eight weeks with them and, after that amount of time, people eventually crack and show their true colours. But they were unfailingly sweet, well-mannered, dignified and very accessible. Mrs Jackson was a sweetheart. Mr Jackson was very strong and powerful, and he was scary in a way, but not without a sense of humour, although it was clear that all the children had a huge amount of respect for their dad.

'I had a set opinion of the family beforehand and, because my perception of them changed while making the film, it did make me question some of the things I'd heard about them.

They came across as a steady, committed family, whereas it was the people around them who were scrabbling in the dirt. Although the documentary was meant to be about them looking for a home, it ended up being a film about trust and betrayal, and about how the people around them were adversely affected by their fame.'

The Jacksons Are Coming is on Channel 4 on Thursday at 9pm.