Worldwide mourning for Michael Jackson

NEW YORK: Legions of fans from Sydney to Hong Kong, Shanghai to Los Angeles, and from New York’s Times Square to London’s

Trafalgar Square mourned the sudden death of Michael Jackson on Friday. He died ‘as dramatically and mysteriously as he lived,’ said the New York Daily News.

In New York fans gathered at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, where Jackson and his brothers performed for the first time in 1968.

Thousands watched Jackson’s songs and images at the Times Square, many crying and embracing each other in grief, others celebrating his life by dancing to his hit songs like ‘Beat it,’ Billie Jean’ ‘Thriller’ etc.

The cause of Jackson’s death is still unknown, but several British Newspapers, including the Times of London, Daily Mail and the Sun, published reports that linked the pop star’s death to an injection of the painkiller Demerol.

The singer’s aides told doctors he was given the injection after a round of strenuous rehearsals for his upcoming tour.

‘He started to experience slow, shallow breathing,’ a source told the British paper Sun. Jackson’s lawyer blamed the pop icon’s sudden death on pressure from his inner circle in the weeks leading up to his planned series of comeback concerts in London, the Daily Mail reported.

The lawyer said Jackson had been taking drugs for several months as he struggled to get in shape for the physically demanding shows, the Mail reported.

Officials warned it could take several weeks to determine the cause of death due to a complex series of toxicology tests needed to detect the possible presence of drugs or alcohol.

The New York Times said that Jackson was preparing for a splashy, 50-concert comeback that was to begin on July 13 in London. The tour was named ‘This is it.’

‘Mr Jackson’s brand of pop knew no borders and needed no translation, linking listeners around the world through the accessible corridors of rhythm, beat, and dance. As reaction to his sudden death began to pour in, its extent underscored how far his influence had spread.

‘In a way, it was as if his fans were embodying the spirit of Mr Jackson’s mega-hit song, ‘We are the World,’ the Times said.

Fans spoke of their shock and sadness. They gathered outside his childhood home in Gary, Indiana.

His music echoed from cafes and car speakers, and everyone from national leaders on down seemed to weigh in.

Britain’s prime minister, Gordon Brown in a statement through his spokesman, said that it ‘is a very sad news for the millions of Michael Jackson fans in Britain and around the world and the prime minister’s thoughts are with his family at this time.’

Opposition leader David Cameron called Jackson a ‘legendary entertainer’ and said that ‘the world of music has lost one of its most extraordinary talents.’

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela called the star’s death ‘lamentable news,’ although he criticised the media for giving it excessive coverage.

Former South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, who had met Jackson once, said: ‘We lost a hero of the world.’

In Paris, fans planned a memorial moonwalk at the Eiffel Tower for Sunday, and a ceremony in his honour is to be held at the 13th-century Notre Dame cathedral.

The New York Times reported fans lit candles at a spontaneous gathering in Hong Kong, while in the Philippines, a dance tribute was planned at a prison in Cebu, where Byron Garcia, a security consultant, had 1,500 inmates join in a synchronised dance to the ‘Thriller’ video.

‘My heart is heavy because my idol died,’ he said. Online, the traffic was so thick with people sharing news of his death that the microblogging service Twitter crashed, and even Google, the search engine, believed it may have been under service attack, the BBC reported.

Pop icon Madonna told newspapers that she had not stopped crying since she heard the news on Thursday night.

The former Philippine first lady, Imelda Marcos, said she cried on hearing the news.

‘Michael Jackson enriched our lives, made us happy,’ she said in a statement. ‘The accusations, the persecution caused him so much financial and mental anguish. He was vindicated in court, but the battle took his life. There is probably a lesson here for all of us.’

Quincy Jones, who worked closely with Jackson on some of his most successful recordings, led tributes from the music world.

‘I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news,’ he said.

Jackson was one of the first black entertainers of the MTV generation to gain a big crossover following.

Film directors Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg also paid tributes.

Scorsese told MTV.com: ‘Michael Jackson was extraordinary. When we worked together on ‘Bad,’ I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. Every step he took was absolutely precise and fluid at the same time. It was like watching quicksilver in motion.

‘He was wonderful to work with, an absolute professional at all times, and — it really goes without saying — a true artist. It will be a while before I can get used to the idea that he’s no longer with us.’

Steven Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly: ‘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 a legend.’

Singer Celine Dion said in a statement, ‘I am shocked. I am overwhelmed by this tragedy. Michael Jackson has been an idol for me all my life.’

Fans in London gathered to mourn. Ben Bradshaw, the British culture secretary, issued a statement to announce his grief in which he said he was ‘a long-time fan of Michael Jackson’ and had ‘Billie Jean’ played as the first dance at his civil partnership.
In Italy, Friday’s papers carried front-page tributes to the ‘King of Pop.’

La Repubblica called the trajectory of Jackson’s life ‘a fairy-tale that turned into a nightmare.’

Readers sent in notes of thanks, grief and disbelief to Newspaper websites around the world.

Fans refuse to believe ‘This is it’ and hope that the ‘Man in the Mirror’ would perhaps appear again.

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