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This is a collection of articles from 2009 about the 02 conference,tickets,rehearsals,his appearance,health,concerns and generally everything surrounding that period of time.
I am aware some of them may already be on the forum in seperate threads but I am posting this as a collection to discuss the conflicting stories/reports and images.
There is also one about how he believed he was better off dead which I will leave as it talks a lot about the 02.

I'll keep adding to this when I have time/find articles.

It's also in relation to the current thread about Michael/not Michael at the 02.
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Michael Jackson rehearses near Burbank airport
The King of Pop has a lot riding on his upcoming 50 sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena.
May 12, 2009

Four mornings a week, an SUV with darkened windows bears Michael Jackson through the gates outside a nondescript building near the Burbank airport. He spends the next six hours on a soundstage in the company of 10 dancers and pop music's best-known choreographer.
The details of rehearsals for Jackson's upcoming concerts in London are closely held secrets, but what's at stake for him is not. The ambitious schedule of 50 sold-out shows could turn out to be the final, sad chapter of Jackson's storied career -- or one of pop music's all-time greatest comeback stories.

For The Record
Michael Jackson: An article in Tuesday's Calendar about Michael Jackson's upcoming London concerts said choreographer Todd Sams was collaborating on the shows. The promoter of the shows, AEG Live, says Sams has no role in the concerts.
When -- or if, in the view of many industry skeptics -- Jackson takes the stage at the O2 Arena July 8, it will be his first extended concert run in 12 years. Doubters cite his long hiatus from performing, health problems, a onetime prescription pill addiction, age -- he is 50 -- and his reputation for flaking out on performances and business deals.
But the concert promoter, Los Angeles-based AEG Live, insists that Jackson is prepared mentally and physically and that the show, called "This Is It," will break new ground in both artistry and sheer cost. The production budget is "north of $20 million," a price tag that will include as many as 22 different sets, said Randy Phillips, the company's chief executive.
"It's going to be the biggest, most technologically advanced arena show -- and the most expensive -- ever mounted," Phillips said.
On Monday, the company announced that choreographer and director Kenny Ortega, the force behind the movie "Dirty Dancing" and the "High School Musical" series, as well as Jackson's Dangerous and HIStory tours, has signed on to direct and design the shows. Ortega agreed to work around his schedule as director of the planned remake of the 1984 movie "Footloose" to take on Jackson's shows, according to AEG.
In a statement, Ortega called Jackson "the greatest entertainer of our generation" and said he was eager to collaborate with him again. "My answer without a beat was nothing could keep me away," he said.
In Ortega, Jackson chose someone who has achieved what he could not -- continuous cultural relevance after great success in the 1980s. He tapped as the show's choreographer and associate director Travis Payne, who worked with Jackson in the mid-1990s. Payne's recent work includes routines for Beyonce and Madonna, as well as a "Dancing With the Stars" tribute to Jackson.




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Michael Jackson's 50 dates at London's O2 arena sell out

The King of Pop's residency has completely sold out in just a few hours with fans snapping up more than a million tickets
Fans of the 'King of Pop' queue overnight as first concert tickets are made available ... and sell out immediately Link to this video
Tickets for Michael Jackson's 50 live dates at London's O2 arena have sold out, meaning that a staggering one million tickets to see the singer have been bought in a matter of hours.
Dates for the summer residency, beginning on 8 July, had been extended to 50 nights – one for each year of Jackson's life. The singer is said to be "thrilled" by the response, though no doubt his promoters are even happier. "Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records have never been broken," said Randy Phillips, of promoters AEG Live. "We knew this was show business history, but this is a cultural phenomenon".

Tickets only went on sale on Friday 13 March, with pre-sale allocation available yesterday, and Ticketmaster described the demand as "unprecedented". Fans queued overnight outside the O2 arena in Greenwich, south-east London, in the hope of avoiding jammed phonelines. However, those not lucky enough to secure a ticket can head to eBay to buy them second hand, providing they are prepared to pay between £170 and £10,000.
Jackson confirmed details of his O2 arena residency last week with the words: "When I say this is it, I mean this is it," prompting many to question whether this will be his farewell tour.
Those who managed to buy tickets for the singer's first full concert in 12 years can expect to hear "the songs my fans want". Tabloid speculation this week claimed these would include classics such as Billie Jean and The Way You Make Me Feel. And with the This Is It dates now stretching into 2010, Jackson has plenty of opportunity to perfect them.


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Michael Jackson’s Summer Tour Breaks All Known Records
March 16th, 2009

Michael Jackson speaking to fans and announcing the “This Is It” final tour in London
Enlarge picture
The greatest comeback in the history of music is upon us come summer 2009, as also is one of the most-anticipated and highly-mediated music events of the decade. Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” summer tour – his last series of gigs in the UK, as the singer himself said – has managed to sell out for all 50 dates in a matter of just a couple of hours, thus breaking all known musical records, a BBC report informs.

While for regular people it is more than enough to simply state that Michael’s 50 shows have sold out within hours, BBC has added up all the numbers and has come with several pretty impressive figures.
Aside from the speculation that the singer stands to make between $50 and 70 million off the entire tour, BBC informs that more than a million fans will have seen the King of Pop on stage by the time the 50th show ends. If this is not convincing enough, it also reports that all tickets have sold at a rate of 11 per second – faster than those for any other concert ever held.
Michael Jackson is reportedly “thrilled” by the fans’ wonderful response to his announcement, but organizers AEG Live are positively through the roof with joy. In fact, they have been so surprised by the magnitude of the event, that they’ve already asked the singer to add more dates to the show, a proposition Michael has not been completely opposed to, as a spokesperson confirms for the same media outlet.

“That wasn’t anticipated.” Randy Phillips of promoters AEG Live told BBC Radio 1 about the fans’ response. “We never thought ‘50 shows’ and frankly based on the queues on Ticketmaster, plus the 300,000 registrants we still haven’t issued codes to, we could spend two years here [at London’s O2 Arena]. Mike asked me how long he would be in the United Kingdom for and I told him, probably long enough to get a British passport. Michael’s already pretty much put together a list of the dancers he wants. Michael’s very engaged now.” Phillips added.
Ticketmaster was equally surprised by the heavy demand from fans looking to see the King of Pop on stage, as Director Chris Edmonds also shared for BBC. “We often talk about unprecedented demand, but this week we have witnessed a live entertainment phenomenon. This was undoubtedly the busiest demand for tickets for an event which we have ever experienced.” Edmonds explained.
As of now, the only tickets still available for Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” series of shows can be found on sites like eBay, retailing for anything between £170 and £10,000. Initial prices were up to £75.


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Michael Jackson Announces "Final Curtain Call"
Thu., Mar. 5, 2009

It's the news fans have been waiting for. Michael Jackson is looking to mount a thriller of a comeback, nearly four years since he was acquitted of child-molestation charges.
The erstwhile King of Pop is aiming to reclaim his throne, announcing today at a press conference plans to play 10 concerts in London's O2 Arena, his first string of shows in more than a decade.
"I love you very much," a fit-looking Jackson told thousands of screaming devotees. "This is it.
"I just want to say that these will be my final show performances in London. This will be it. When I say this is it, it really means this is it," Jackson added. "I'll be performing the songs my fans want to hear...this is the final curtain call. I'll see you in July."

The megastar was stuck in traffic and late to his own press conference. But when he did finally show up, fans were treated to a short film on his storied career and past live performances.
"I love you. I really do so much. From the bottom of my heart. This is it. See you in July," said the 50-year-old Moonwalker.
He then raised his fist in the air, struck a series of poses, and left the stage.

News of Jackson's long-awaited return was the topic of conversation earlier this morning, when the show's promoters, AEG Live, addressed questions at the Billboard Music & Money Symposium in New York City.
"The man is very sane, the man is very focused, the man is very healthy," AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke told Billboard. "I think he has been dragged through the mud."
Various reports had initially claimed Jackson might play up to 30 shows.

He is expected to kick off the run on July 8.
Leiweke said he was awed by Jackson's production budget and dispelled any doubts that the 50-year-old singer might be in too fragile of health to make good on his commitment.

"Despite everything you read about him, he was fine," commented the executive. "The man took a physical for us to go do these concerts."
Negotiations weren't so easy however and took two years and three rejected offers before they could finally get Jackson to agree to terms, Leiweke said.
Jackson's last concert was 2001's solo 20th anniversary show at Madison Square Garden. Before that, he hadn't hit the road since his 1996-97 HIStory World Tour.
It's not known how much the Gloved One will earn for the performances, but insiders say it could be close to $1 million a show.
No doubt, the O2 gigs will go a long way toward easing Jackson's financial woes, including hefty a legal tab stemming from an endless string of lawsuits filed against him.
Tickets go on sale March 13. Check You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login for details.


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'I'm better off dead. I'm done': Michael Jackson's fateful prediction just a week before his death
29th June 2009

   Genetic condition had ruined his lungs and left him unable to sing
    He became so skeletal, doctors believed he was anorexic
    He had nightmares about being murdered – and wanted to die
    He used swine flu as an excuse to avoid coming to England
    He thought he was agreeing to 10 concerts – it was 50

Whatever  the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the gruelling 50 concerts in London’s O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today.

During the last weeks and months of his life, Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the concert series scheduled for next month – a series that would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but which he could never have completed, not mentally, and not physically.
michael jackson with face mask

Ailing: Michael Jackson may have worn a mask in public to protect his diseased lungs

Michael knew it and his advisers knew it. Anyone who caught even a fleeting glimpse of the frail old man hiding beneath the costumes and cosmetics would have understood that the London tour was madness. For Michael Jackson, it was fatal.
I had more than a glimpse of the real Michael; as an award-winning freelance journalist and film-maker, I spent more than five years inside his ‘camp’.
Many in his entourage spoke frankly to me – and that made it possible for me to write authoritatively last December that Michael had six months to live, a claim that, at the time, his official spokesman, Dr Tohme Tohme, called a ‘complete fabrication’. The singer, he told the world, was in ‘fine health’. Six months and one day later, Jackson was dead.

Some liked to snigger at his public image, and it is true that flamboyant clothes and bizarre make-up made for a comic grotesque; yet without them, his appearance was distressing; with skin blemishes, thinning hair and discoloured fingernails.

I had established beyond doubt, for example, that Jackson relied on an extensive collection of wigs to hide his greying hair. Shorn of their luxuriance, the Peter Pan of Neverland cut a skeletal figure.

    24hr 'sober coach' was hired for Michael Jackson as desperate family brought in controversial 'Doc Hollywood' to save star
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    Michael Jackson was due to move into 32-bed Kent manor house this weekend

It was clear that he was in no condition to do a single concert, let alone 50. He could no longer sing, for a start. On some days he could barely talk. He could no longer dance. Disaster was looming in London and, in the opinion of his closest confidantes, he was feeling suicidal.

To understand why a singer of Jackson’s fragility would even think about travelling to London, we need to go back to June 13, 2005, when my involvement in his story began.

As a breaking news alert flashed on CNN announcing that the jury had reached a verdict in Jackson’s trial for allegedly molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland Ranch in California, I knew that history had been made but that Michael Jackson had been broken – irrevocably so, as it proved.

Nor was it the first time that Michael had been accused of impropriety with young boys. Little more than a decade earlier, another 13-year-old, Jordan Chandler, made similar accusations in a case that was eventually settled before trial – but not before the damage had been done to Jackson’s reputation.
Michael Jackson is pushed in a wheelchair
Michael had not helped his case. Appearing in a documentary with British broadcaster Martin Bashir, he not only admitted that he liked to share a bed with teenagers, mainly boys, in pyjamas, but showed no sign of understanding why anyone might be legitimately concerned.

I had started my investigation convinced that Jackson was guilty. By the end, I no longer believed that.

I could not find a single shred of evidence suggesting that Jackson had molested a child. But I found significant evidence demonstrating that most, if not all, of his accusers lacked credibility and were motivated primarily by money.

Jackson also deserved much of the blame, of course. Continuing to share a bed with children even after the suspicions surfaced bordered on criminal stupidity.

He was also playing a truly dangerous game. It is clear to me that Michael was homosexual and that his taste was for young men, albeit not as young as Jordan Chandler or Gavin Arvizo.

In the course of my investigations, I spoke to two of his gay lovers, one a Hollywood waiter, the other an aspiring actor. The waiter had remained friends, perhaps more, with the singer until his death last week. He had served Jackson at a restaurant, Jackson made his interest plain and the two slept together the following night. According to the waiter, Jackson fell in love.

The actor, who has been given solid but uninspiring film parts, saw Jackson in the middle of 2007. He told me they had spent nearly every night together during their affair – an easy claim to make, you might think. But this lover produced corroboration in the form of photographs of the two of them together, and a witness.

Other witnesses speak of strings of young men visiting his house at all hours, even in the period of his decline. Some stayed overnight.
When Jackson lived in Las Vegas, one of his closest aides told how he would sneak off to a ‘grungy, rat-infested’ motel – often dressed as a woman to disguise his identity – to meet a male construction worker he had fallen in love with.
Jackson was acquitted in the Arvizo case, dramatically so, but the effect on his mental state was ruinous. Sources close to him suggest he was close to complete nervous breakdown.
The ordeal had left him physically shattered, too. One of my sources suggested that he might already have had a genetic condition I had never previously come across, called Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency – the lack of a protein that can help protect the lungs.

Although up to 100,000 Americans are severely affected by it, it is an under-recognised condition. Michael was receiving regular injections of Alpha-1 antitrypsin derived from human plasma. The treatment is said to be remarkably effective and can enable the sufferer to lead a normal life.
But the disease can cause respiratory problems and, in severe cases, emphysema. Could this be why Jackson had for years been wearing a surgical mask in public, to protect his lungs from the ravages of the disease? Or why, from time to time, he resorted to a wheelchair? When I returned to my source inside the Jackson camp for confirmation, he said: ‘Yeah, that’s what he’s got. He’s in bad shape. They’re worried that he might need a lung transplant but he may be too weak.

‘Some days he can hardly see and he’s having a lot of trouble walking.’
Even Michael Jackson’s legendary wealth was in sharp decline. Just a few days before he announced his 50-concert comeback at the O2 Arena, one of my sources told me Jackson had been offered £1.8million to perform at a party for a Russian billionaire on the Black Sea.
‘Is he up to it?’ I had asked.
‘He has no choice. He needs the money. His people are pushing him hard,’ said the source.

Could he even stand on a stage for an hour concert?

‘He can stand. The treatments have been successful. He can even dance once he gets in better shape. He just can’t sing,’ said the aide, adding that Jackson would have to lip-synch to get through the performance. ‘Nobody will care, as long as he shows up and moonwalks.’
He also revealed Jackson had been offered well over £60million to play Las Vegas for six months.  ‘He said no, but his people are trying to force it on him. He’s that close to losing everything,’ said the source.
michael jackson this is it tour
Forced: Michael Jackson thought he was agreeing to 10 concerts at London's O2 Arena not 50
Indeed, by all accounts Jackson’s finances were in a shambles. The Arvizo trial itself was a relative bargain, costing a little more than £18million in legal bills.

But the damage to his career, already in trouble before the charges, was incalculable. After the Arvizo trial, a Bahraini sheikh allowed Jackson to stay in his palace, underwriting his lavish lifestyle. But a few years later, the prince sued his former guest, demanding repayment for his hospitality. Jackson claimed he thought it had been a gift.

Roger Friedman, a TV journalist, said: ‘For one year, the prince underwrote Jackson’s life in Bahrain – everything including accommodation, guests, security and transportation. And what did Jackson do? He left for Japan and then Ireland. He took the money and moonwalked right out the door. This is the real Michael Jackson. He has never returned a phone call from the prince since he left Bahrain.’

Although Jackson settled with the sheikh on the eve of the trial that would have aired his financial dirty laundry, the settlement only put him that much deeper into the hole. A hole that kept getting bigger, but that was guaranteed by Jackson’s half ownership of the copyrights to The Beatles catalogue. He owned them in a joint venture with record company Sony, which have kept him from bankruptcy.

‘Jackson is in hock to Sony for hundreds of millions,’ a source told me a couple of months ago. ‘No bank will give him any money so Sony have been paying his bills.

‘The trouble is that he hasn’t been meeting his obligations. Sony have been in a position for more than a year where it can repossess Michael’s share of the [Beatles] catalogue. That’s always been Sony’s dream scenario, full ownership.

‘But they don’t want to do it as they’re afraid of a backlash from his fans. Their nightmare is an organised 'boycott Sony' movement worldwide, which could prove hugely costly. It is the only thing standing between Michael and bankruptcy.’
Pop star Michael Jackson (centre) holds the hands of his two children Paris Michael, four, and son Prince Michael, five, with their faces covered during a visit to Berlin Zoo.

Legacy: Michael Jackson wanted to ensure the future of his children by leaving them 200 unpublished songs

The source aid at the time that the scheduled London concerts wouldn’t clear Jackson’s debts – estimated at almost £242million – but they would allow him to get them under control and get him out of default with Sony.

According to two sources in Jackson’s camp, the singer put in place a contingency plan to ensure his children would be well taken care of in the event of bankruptcy.

‘He has as many as 200 unpublished songs that he is planning to leave behind for his children when he dies. They can’t be touched by the creditors, but they could be worth as much as £60million that will ensure his kids a comfortable existence no matter what happens,’ one of his collaborators revealed.

But for the circle of handlers who surrounded Jackson during his final years, their golden goose could not be allowed to run dry. Bankruptcy was not an option.

These, after all, were not the handlers who had seen him through the aftermath of the Arvizo trial and who had been protecting his fragile emotional health to the best of their ability. They were gone, and a new set of advisers was in place.

The clearout had apparently been engineered by his children’s nanny, Grace Rwaramba, who was gaining considerable influence over Jackson and his affairs and has been described as the ‘queen bee’ by those around Jackson.

Rwaramba had ties to the black militant organisation, the Nation of Islam, and its controversial leader, Louis Farrakhan, whom she enlisted for help in running Jackson’s affairs.

Before long, the Nation was supplying Jackson’s security detail and Farrakhan’s son-in-law, Leonard Muhammad, was appointed as Jackson’s business manager, though his role has lessened significantly in recent years.

In late 2008, a shadowy figure who called himself Dr Tohme Tohme suddenly emerged as Jackson’s ‘official spokesman’.

Tohme has been alternately described as a Saudi Arabian billionaire and an orthopaedic surgeon, but he is actually a Lebanese businessman who does not have a medical licence. At one point, Tohme claimed he was an ambassador at large for Senegal, but the Senegalese embassy said they had never heard of him.
MICHAEL JACKSON AND CANCER SUFFERER GAVIN ARVIZO

Misguided: Michael Jackson showed no sign of understanding why anyone might be legitimately concerned about him sharing a bed with young boys

Tohme’s own ties to the Nation of Islam came to light in March 2009, when New York auctioneer Darren Julien was conducting an auction of Michael Jackson memorabilia.

Julien filed an affidavit in Los Angeles Superior Court that month in which he described a meeting he had with Tohme’s business partner, James R. Weller. According to Julien’s account, ‘Weller said if we refused to postpone [the auction], we would be in danger from 'Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam; those people are very protective of Michael'.

He told us that Dr Tohme and Michael Jackson wanted to give the message to us that 'our lives are at stake and there will be bloodshed'.’
A month after these alleged threats, Tohme accompanied Jackson to a meeting at a Las Vegas hotel with Randy Phillips, chief executive of the AEG Group, to finalise plans for Jackson’s return to the concert stage.

Jackson’s handlers had twice before said no to Phillips. This time, with Tohme acting as his confidant, Jackson left the room agreeing to perform ten concerts at the O2.
Before long, however, ten concerts had turned into 50 and the potential revenues had skyrocketed. ‘The vultures who were pulling his strings somehow managed to put this concert extravaganza together behind his back, then presented it to him as a fait accompli,’ said one aide.
‘The money was just unbelievable and all his financial people were telling him he was facing bankruptcy. But Michael still resisted. He didn’t think he could pull it off.’

Eventually, they wore him down, the aide explained, but not with the money argument.
‘They told him that this would be the greatest comeback the world had ever known. That’s what convinced him. He thought if he could emerge triumphantly from the success of these concerts, he could be the King again.’
The financial details of the O2 concerts are still murky, though various sources have revealed that Jackson was paid as much as £10million in advance, most of which went to the middlemen. But Jackson could have received as much as £100million had the concerts gone ahead.

It is worth noting that the O2 Arena has the most sophisticated lip synching technology in the world – a particular attraction for a singer who can no longer sing. Had, by some miracle, the concerts gone ahead, Jackson’s personal contribution could have been limited to just 13 minutes for each performance. The rest was to have been choreography and lights.
‘We knew it was a disaster waiting to happen,’ said one aide. ‘I don’t think anybody predicted it would actually kill him but nobody believed he would end up performing.’
Their doubts were underscored when Jackson collapsed during only his second rehearsal.

Hidden life: It was 'clear Michael Jackson was gay' but he married twice, firstly to Lisa Marie Presley, above
‘Collapse might be overstating it,’ said the aide. ‘He needed medical attention and couldn’t go on. I’m not sure what caused it.’
Meanwhile, everybody around him noticed that Jackson had lost an astonishing amount of weight in recent months. His medical team even believed he was anorexic.
‘He goes days at a time hardly eating a thing and at one point his doctor was asking people if he had been throwing up after meals,’ one staff member told me in May.
‘He suspected bulimia but when we said he hardly eats any meals, the doc thought it was probably anorexia. He seemed alarmed and at one point said, 'People die from that all the time. You’ve got to get him to eat.'’

Indeed, one known consequence of anorexia is cardiac arrest.
After spotting him leave one rehearsal, Fox News reported that ‘Michael Jackson’s skeletal physique is so bad that he might not be able to moonwalk any more’.
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So er,was he of premier leauge football player build then or not?
On May 20 this year, AEG suddenly announced that the first London shows had been delayed for five days while the remainder had been pushed back until March 2010. At the time, they denied that the postponements were health-related, explaining that they needed more time to mount the technically complex production, though scepticism immediately erupted. It was well placed.
Behind the scenes, Jackson was in rapid decline. According to a member of his staff, he was ‘terrified’ at the prospect of the London concerts.
‘He wasn’t eating, he wasn’t sleeping and, when he did sleep, he had nightmares that he was going to be murdered. He was deeply worried that he was going to disappoint his fans. He even said something that made me briefly think he was suicidal. He said he thought he’d die before doing the London concerts.

‘He said he was worried that he was going to end up like Elvis. He was always comparing himself to Elvis, but there was something in his tone that made me think that he wanted to die, he was tired of life. He gave up. His voice and dance moves weren’t there any more. I think maybe he wanted to die rather than embarrass himself on stage.’

The most obvious comparison between the King of Pop and the King of Rock ’n’ Roll was their prescription drug habits, which in Jackson’s case had significantly intensified in his final months.
‘He is surrounded by enablers,’ said one aide. ‘We should be stopping him before he kills himself, but we just sit by and watch him medicate himself into oblivion.’
Jackson could count on an array of doctors to write him prescriptions without asking too many questions if he complained of ‘pain’. He was particularly fond of OxyContin, nicknamed ‘Hillbilly heroin’, which gave an instant high, although he did not take it on a daily basis.

According to the aide, painkillers are not the only drugs Jackson took.
michael jackson
Performer: Michael Jackson was unable to dance and sing like he once could due to his illnesses
‘He pops Demerol and morphine, sure, apparently going back to the time in 1984 when he burned himself during the Pepsi commercial, but there’s also some kind of psychiatric medication. One of his brothers once told me he was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was younger, so it may be to treat that.’
His aides weren’t the only ones who recognised that a 50-concert run was foolhardy. In May, Jackson himself reportedly addressed fans as he left his Burbank rehearsal studio.
‘Thank you for your love and support,’ he told them. ‘I want you guys to know I love you very much.
'I don’t know how I’m going to do 50 shows. I’m not a big eater. I need to put some weight on. I’m really angry with them booking me up to do 50 shows. I only wanted to do ten.’

One of his former employees was particularly struck by Jackson’s wording that day. ‘The way he was talking, it’s like he’s not in control over his own life any more,’ she told me earlier this month. ‘It sounds like somebody else is pulling his strings and telling him what to do. Someone wants him dead.
'They keep feeding him pills like candy. They are trying to push him over the edge. He needs serious help. The people around him will kill him.’
As the London concerts approached, something was clearly wrong. Jackson had vowed to travel to England at least eight weeks before his first shows, but he kept putting it off.
‘To be honest, I never thought Michael would set foot on a concert stage ever again,’ said one aide, choking back tears on the evening of his death.

‘This was not only predictable, this was inevitable.’

On June 21, Jackson told my contact that he wanted to die. He said that he didn’t have what it would take to perform any more because he had lost his voice and dance moves.
‘It’s not working out,’ Jackson said. ‘I’m better off dead. I don’t have anywhere left to turn. I’m done.’
Michael’s closest confidante told me just two hours after he died that ‘Michael was tired of living. He was a complete wreck for years and now he can finally be in a better place. People around him fed him drugs to keep him on their side. They should be held accountable.’
Michael Jackson was undoubtedly a deeply troubled and lonely man. Throughout my investigation, I was torn between compassion and anger, sorrow and empathy.

Even his legacy is problematic. As I have already revealed, he has bequeathed up to 200 original songs to his three children, Prince Michael, aged 12, Paris Katherine, 11, and Prince Michael II (also known as Blanket), seven. It is a wonderful gift.

Yet I can reveal that his will, not as yet made public, demands that the three of them remain with Jackson’s 79-year-old mother Katherine in California. It promises an ugly row.
Ex-wife Deborah Rowe, the mother of the eldest two, has already made it clear to her legal team that she wants her children in her custody, immediately.
The mother of the third child has never been identified. I fully expect that it will emerge that the children had a ‘test tube’ conception, a claim already made by Deborah Rowe.
Michael Jackson may very well have been the most talented performer of his generation, but for 15 years that fact has been lost to a generation who may remember him only as a grotesque caricature who liked to share his bed with little boys. Now that he’s gone, maybe it’s time to shelve the suspicions and appreciate the music.






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Michael Jackson Unhappy With 50 Date Tour
Jacko is ‘angry’ about O2 run…
Tuesday, 2 June 2009

Michael Jackson has finally spoken up about his phenomenal 50 date tour in London.
It’s that time of day again where Jackson’s health is doubted with regards to his ‘This Is It’ show.
According to ‘The Sun’ Jackson has openly admitted that he does not feel physically fit enough to carry out all dates of his show.
"I don't know how I'm going to do 50 shows. I'm not a big eater - I need to put some weight on."

Signing up for 50 dates is something that has been heavily questioned and the ‘Invincible’ star blames the O2 Arena for booking him for so many shows.
"I'm really angry with them booking me up to do 50 shows. I only wanted to do ten, and take the tour around the world to other cities, not 50 in one place.”
The tour, which is set to start in July, has already had some of its dates postponed but will be resuming from July 13th.
Jacko - please  ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til (We) Get Enough’!

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Michael Jackson’s Summer Tour Completely Sells Out
March 14th, 2009, 10:55 GMT| By Elena Gorgan

When the media said that this summer’s comeback, that of the King of the Pop himself, would mark an unprecedented musical event, the media obviously knew what it was talking about. With tickets for Michael’s “This Is It” farewell tour going on sale on Friday, all 50 dates are already sold out – and it happened in just a matter of a couple of hours, the Telegraph is informing.
As we reported yesterday, fans came to London from all corners of the world to queue outside O2 Arena to get their hands on tickets for the shows, preferably for the first dates if possible. With this in mind, it’s probably not that surprising that over 1 million tickets disappeared just like that in a couple of hours, the aforementioned source says. Michael, in his turn, is said to be “thrilled” by the fans’ reaction (and quick response), but the concert organizers are no doubt doubly thrilled.
“Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records have never been broken. We knew this was show business history, but this is a cultural phenomenon.” Randy Phillips of promoters AEG Live told the British publication regarding the almost unbelievable quick way in which all tickets were moved. Of course, fans who did not get the chance to get their entry to what will certainly be one of the hottest shows this summer can always turn to sites like eBay – if they’re willing to pay from £170 up to £10,000 for just one ticket.

Even if the prices at intermediaries are considerably bigger than the official one, there will be fans who will certainly pay as much as they’re asked to. “This Is It” is not only Michael Jackson’s first series of live shows in many, many years and his comeback on the music scene, but it’s also his final tour, as he himself said during a press statement made the other week in London. Quite understandably, the hype about it will only increase in time.
Yet, skeptics still refuse to believe that Michael will be able to do all 50 shows as scheduled. “I’m immensely excited. I did not know I would get front row tickets and it’s a surprise for my fiancé and my mum and dad. I don’t think he will do all 50 shows – I think he can dance but I don't think he can sing as well. I knew the earlier I got down here the better the seats would be and we could get opening night, which is gonna be the best.” one fan was telling the British media yesterday. Many others echo the sentiment but, the truth is, only time will tell who is in the right with this one.


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Michael Jackson held a press conference in London on Thursday to announce that he will once again perform live in a concert series this summer.
Jackson's appearance gave the press its first opportunity to photograph the reclusive "King of Pop" in years.
He has been spotted by paparazzi on occasion at book stores and in Las Vegas, and even reportedly dressed as a woman in Bahrain, but there have been few public appearances in years.
Below are photos and zooms of photos of Jackson on Wednesday. Despite wearing black sunglasses and what appears to be a thick wig, there was still plenty to look at.
Under the first photo in the slide show this is written
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Michael Jackson at a press conference in London on Thursday to announce he would perform live this summer
Not WILL perform live this summer but would...
Could easily lead on to say 'he would perform live this summer but he is not going to be around'
I know it's a trashy tabloid article but that is really BAD English/Grammar if it wasn't intentional *wink...
Some of the photos









oh hello,I no longer have discoloured fingernails,magically,although I had them last week,and will do again after this conference.


still waiting for an explanation as to what the brown and black stuff is on his hands.Brown i'm gonna go with fake tan/make up Black...unknown.




You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login Love how this still exists yet all the info,posts on the official website from Oct 08 to around July/Aug 09 has been removed and all trace of the 02/tour/death announcements have gone with it...


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Wanna be stoppin' somethin'? This is it - Jackson announces 'final' tour
The Guardian, Friday 6 March 2009

If, at the height of his powers, Michael Jackson had invited everyone in the world to a press conference, the stampede would have made the Harrods sale look like a village fete.
But when the 50-year-old curiosity issued an open invitation to join him in the foyer of the former Millennium Dome in London yesterday for a Very Special Announcement, anyone who fancied it could have got close enough to see the whites of his eyes - had he not been wearing sunglasses, of course.
When Jackson finally arrived, complete with police escort 90 minutes after the scheduled showtime, there was no Beatles-at-the-airport moment.
Sure, there was cheering when he announced: "This is it," and said he would play his final London shows in July. A few fans sobbed into their souvenir scarves. But the hysteria was nothing compared with the day Primark opened its doors on Oxford Street two years ago.

And though Jackson kept having to stop his telecasted speech to wait for the whoops to die down, he didn't get interrupted by adoring applause nearly as often as Gordon Brown did when addressing Congress on Wednesday.

For the brief minutes he was on stage, Jackson - dressed in a silky black military style jacket with glittery epaulets and using a voice pitched well below his usual dog whistle frequency - said little. "I just want to say that these [long pause], these will be my final show performances in London. This is it," he began. "When I say this I, I really mean that this is it." He went on, saying he would be "playing the songs my fans wanna hear". Fingers crossed then: no Earth Song.
He then got a little emotional. "I love you," he yelled. "I really do. I hope you know that. I love you so much from the bottom of my heart."
It quickly became apparent that this is not Jackson's farewell tour. He will play 10 shows at the O2 from 8 July and promises to never sing another note on our small island ever again. AEG, the promoters, assured the Guardian afterwards of this and added that Jackson would not play any other shows anywhere THIS YEAR.

But he is leaving the option open to play every other corner of the world at any other time. Presumably if all 20,000 tickets sell out every night in London, he'll be repeating the trick all over the globe before long.
And sell out they surely will. Despite rumours that the London shows would net Jackson £50m, the ticket prices are refreshingly modest. The most expensive seats are £75, and there are others for £65 and £50. This is small change compared with the outrageous starting price of £160 for Madonna's Sticky and Sweet tour last autumn.

It's all the more remarkable given that Jackson hasn't toured properly for 12 years. AEG also promises "an explosive return with a band of the highest calibre, state-of-the-art stage show and incredible surprise support acts".
The fans - a surprising number of whom, all things considered, had brought their children along - were delighted. Donna Williams, 24, from Shrewsbury, had brought her three offspring along to witness the historic occasion.
"I was up all night thinking about Michael. I couldn't sleep," she said. "So at 6am I said 'right, that's it. We're going to see Michael'. So we got in the car, drove down the motorway and here we are."
Asked whether the two oldest children, Jaden, five, and Tyler, six, oughtn't really be in school, she said "obviously they are very, very sick - and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity". Which is true. Unless this isn't really "it", of course.

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This shows it was 50 straight away it was 10, 30,40 then 50
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12.03.2009
Michael Jackson
I actually didn't expect I would ever be in the situation to add 'tour dates' for Michael Jackson to livetourdates.org - but it seems, that I can now finally add - and keep adding even more shows. Although compared to other artists' farewell tours Michael Jackson's 'tour schedule' looks a bit dull: all the gigs listed announced so far will be held in London's O2 arena.
After first announcing only ten shows - and selling out pretty quickly, the schedule now features more than 30 nearly 40 shows - and even more shows are promised.. please feel free to check for tickets and dates yourself on   You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login - and of course there you can also watch Michaels legendary press conference once again..
Ah - and here's the current list of confirmed shows at London's O2 arena:To be continued....


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The King of Pop and his arsenal of dancers are tucked away in secret California location putting together the choreography on this summer’s This Is It Concert Series. Michael, 50, is putting his team through their paces for a 50-date run at the 02 Arena in London.
Here are the first pictures of MJ getting into the swing of things. Over 5,000 dancers applied for the chance to perform as part of Mike’s big comeback. The concert, Michael’s first in over a decade, will kick off July 7, featuring the performance of 18-22 songs by the star.

Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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Thanks for all this Sinderella, I know there will be some who say it's bad lighting or whatever but the fourth picture in the column just doesn't seem to add up to me, it says to me - "prosthetics".  Hard to describe why, the entire face just looks too malleable, like a mask.  And of course the fingernails thing, had MJ really not wanted anyone to figure this out as a double that would have been taken care of with gloves or band-aids or whatever.  And of course we never see his EYES!  The eyes have it... ;)
Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream.  And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.

The only photo with the real michael seems to be the third foto. I can see the scar at his mouth as he otherwise has.Maybe the thent also but I am not surre about that one.
Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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*

curls

Thanks for putting all these together Sinderella. Very hard to read some of these articles in spite of everything to the contrary that I think I know about MJ. :(
Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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I know but you have to laugh at the contradictions from one story to the next, from one month to another.
One day he was 'thrilled' he'd sold 50
The next he was 'very angry' at having been lied to about it all.

I have loads more to add I just thought I'd get it started and see what everyone thought to it.
Anyone who has anything to add article/video/photo wise add it even if it had it's been looked into before,good to refresh and look at everything together.

A few lines in all those articles are strangely worded too
the huff post one especially.
Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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Sorry, but I see on pictures from the top 2,10,13 Michael's hands not fully straight because of arthritis, fingers with bold arthritis bumps on the little finger, discolored nails,and kaballah bracelet. Brown and black staff on his palm could be not covered spots from vitiligo.
On the other hand, his face and smile is weird to me and his walking out from the car was very weird too.
Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by Guest
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EndlesslovetoMJ

 

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