Michael Jackson
What the world is saying :-
Pop legend Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles after suffering a heart attack
By Jack Bremer
FIRST POSTED JUNE 26, 2009
The death of the American pop legend Michael Jackson has brought tributes from fellow musicians, friends and fans across the world. He died of a heart attack at the UCLA medical centre after falling into a coma at his home in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles on Thursday. Paramedics were unable to revive him.
His death came just weeks before he was due to resurrect his career with a series of concerts at the 02 Centre in London starting on July 12.
After four decades as an entertainer, having started out at the age of eight as lead singer of the Jackson 5, his popularity was undiminished: despite his sometimes bizarre public behaviour, and his reputation being mired in accusations of child molestation, one million tickets for the London concerts were sold within hours of going on sale in March.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Richard Williams in the Guardian: "Under the outlandish surface was a singer who had come by his fame not via mere eccentricity or a stroke of luck, but through a genuinely remarkable talent that deserved to conquer the world... Jackson could legitimately be seen as the greatest entertainer of his generation, the natural successor to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley."
Madonna: "I can't stop crying over the sad news. I've always admired Michael Jackson - the world has lost one of its greats but his music will live on forever. My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."
Quincy Jones, producer of his albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad:
"Divinity brought our souls together and allowed us to do what we could do through the 80s. To this day that music is played in every corner of the world, and the reason is because he had it all - talent, grace and professionalism."
Joel Achenbach, the Washington Post: "He lived to be 50 years old. But maybe he was always really 10. He never seemed to know how to live life as an adult."
Cher: "I'm having a million different reactions I didn't expect I would feel. He was a great singer - God gives you certain gifts and this child was just an extraordinary child touched by this ability. He could sing like nobody else and he was able to connect with people."
The Rev Al Sharpton, civil rights campaigner: "Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of colour way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama... Michael Jackson was a trailblazer. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."
P Diddy: "Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him!"
Jon Pareles in the New York Times: "Jackson wasn't just an old-school show-business expert who could sing and dance onstage in real time; he was also more than ready for the music-video era... His dance moves were angular and twitchy, hinting at digital stops and starts rather than analog fluidity - except, of course, for his famous moonwalk, the image of someone striding gracefully without ever leaving center stage."
Paul Gambaccini: "Michael Jackson was the greatest showman we had ever seen. [He was] definitely one of the greatest stars of recorded music. There is no doubt of that... But you also have to remember that he went through different stages and owed some of his popularity to collaborators - who I'm sure will be feeling particularly struck tonight."
Steven Spielberg: "Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend."
Ben Macintyre in the Times: "If there is one clear parallel in the grim pantheon of premature pop death it is with Elvis Presley. Like Elvis, Jackson had won everything and lost most of it, courted publicity and hated it, was mocked and adored in equal measure, lived like a king but died of a stopped heart in circumstances that seemed too grimly ordinary for an extraordinary life."
