Michael Jackson Mourned in Britain Where Comeback Was Planned

By Tom Rivers

London
26 June 2009

The death of Michael Jackson has been greeted with a heightened sense of sadness in Britain, where the "King of Pop" had planned to stage an ambitious series of 50 concerts as part of a long awaited comeback.

Michael Jackson's 50-night run at London's O2 arena was to have set a new course for the entertainer. The highly anticipated dates sold out almost immediately when tickets went on sale.

The lucrative shows would have re-launched his career and sorted out his money problems all in one fell swoop.

But now, would be concert-goers await word on how the refund process will work.

Widely respected for his craft, his private life however over the past 15 years was muddied with allegations of child abuse while he suffered under the weight of a huge financial debt.

Despite his troubles, the death of the singer dubbed the "King of Pop" has been greeted with widespread sadness by statesmen, fellow superstars and ordinary people alike.

A spokesman for Gordon Brown says the prime minister's thoughts are with the singer's family at this difficult time.

Paul McCartney who recorded with Jackson before they had a falling out over the ownership of the Beatles music catalog says his prayers go out to the singer's family and fans. McCartney adds, he feels privileged to have worked with Michael, a person he describes as a massively talented individual with a gentle soul.

Elsewhere, music fans attending Britain's biggest festival this weekend at Glastonbury were shocked to hear the news.

"Yeah, very sad. Just very surprised , sort of thing we have gone through, a lot of people that have been here, sort of last evening, so yeah, very sad," said one fan.

For many here, few will forget where they were when they heard of Jackson's death.

"It is like quite a monumental event, like Elvis dying or JFK being shot or something and yeah, just completely stunned really, so I cannot really imagine a bigger kind of thing happening in my lifetime," said another concert-goer. "Like I cannot imagine a bigger kind of thing happening in my lifetime. Like I cannot imagine anyone who is more famous than Michael Jackson, like dying, which is going to have such a big effect."

In London's Trafalgar Square, fans planned a candlelight vigil under the backdrop of songs that made the singer famous.