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Unless you live on another planet, you can’t help have noticed from the amount of media coverage on the TV and in the newspapers, that entertainer Michael Jackson died on Thursday 25th June 2009. Like the passing of other famous entertainers such as Elvis Presley and John Lennon, this event has affected people all around the world, who have been shocked and saddened by his passing. There have been vigils in most major cities by fans and tributes from other famous people including politicians and musicians. His music has been played on the TV and on the radio, in shops, pubs and clubs and in people’s homes and cars.
Unlike the passing of Diana in 1997, which seemed to hit people everywhere like a bolt out of the blue, there seems to have been a feeling of inevitability about his death. I was lucky enough to have a ticket for one of the O2 arena shows in London, but I had the feeling that they weren’t going to take place. Many other people that I have spoken to had felt the same. Obviously it was asking a lot of him, both physically and mentally, to perform so many shows, but from what we were told, he had large debts that he needed to pay off and this would help clear them. The pressure he was under must have been tremendous. The fact that he was probably the most famous man on planet Earth in this first decade of the 21st century, made us all think that we knew Michael Jackson.
Yet there seem
ed to be two Michael Jacksons. Firstly there was the entertainer, who wrote countless memorable songs and who danced and performed on stage to tens of thousands of fans. Then there was the private and damaged individual who hid away from the world in his Neverland mansion, retreating back into the childhood he never had. The media interest in his private life grew and grew with the stories of all the plastic surgery, the unusual pets, the sleeping in an oxygen chamber, and of course the child molestation accusations. Certainly he became the most newsworthy person on the planet.
Although his life on Earth is at and end, I have no doubt more lurid stories are bound to surface over the coming months and years. As Music writer and broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said, “First you get the facts, then you get the tributes and then you get the dirt!” Personally, I prefer to remember Michael Jackson both as a fantastic entertainer, who I was privileged to see back in 1992, and as a humanitarian, who helped many people through his “Heal the World” foundation and many other campaigns. Whilst he may have been the most famous individual of his era, he wasn’t able to end world poverty or starvation, or bring about an end to war. It takes more than one man to do that. But he did manage to touch millions of people around the world through his music and lyrics. That is what I see the legacy of Michael Jackson as being.
Michael Jackson : celebrity : death : icon : idol : music : entertainer :
Michael Jackson : celebrity : death : icon : idol : music : entertainer :
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