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Michael Jackson’s eerie confession: ‘I want to die like Elvis’
By Larry Getlen October 8, 2016 | 2:50pm



Wiped out from a turbulent transatlantic flight and early-stage mononucleosis, Thomas Dolby was having the kind of day only the world’s greatest pop star sitting atop a bejeweled throne could make you forget.

Luckily, his host, Michael Jackson, provided just that.

Dolby is best known for his 1982 hit song and video, “She Blinded Me With Science.” In his new memoir, he tells of his astounding two-pronged career in music and technology, including inventing the device that allows us to play personalized ringtones on our smartphones, and getting to spend time with the King of Pop.

Dolby met Jackson in a London video-production house, where Dolby was editing the “Science” video while Jackson worked on “Billie Jean.” Jackson told Dolby he was surprised, based on Dolby’s song, that he wasn’t black, then gave Dolby his phone number, saying to call him when he was in LA.

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That happened in February 1983, and when Dolby phoned, Jackson invited him right over to his Encino home.

When he rang the bell at Jackson’s “imposing mansion,” he could see a “grand hallway” inside with “twin Busby Berkeley-style curling staircases” and “a small figure in a pink silk leisure suit” — Jackson — answering the door.

Inside, Jackson “mounted a gigantic, jewel-encrusted medieval throne,” writes Dolby. “It was so massive that he had to clamber up to get into it. His arms barely reached the armrests, as it was clearly designed for someone much larger (Henry VIII, perhaps?). Perched on his throne, Michael looked like an action figure of himself.”

The room was filled with “a curious array of art treasures,” including “a stuffed raccoon” and “a Darth Vader helmet on a plinth.”

Jackson asked how his record was doing, and when Dolby explained that fans were accusing him of selling out, Jackson gave him a pep talk.

“You have to go on believing that you’re better than . . . everybody,” Jackson said. “You must never let go of your dream.” Dolby was so touched that he was “welling up.” But then, “out of the corner of my eye, I noticed tiny faces peeking out from the railing of the upstairs landing,” along with “hysterical giggling.”

‘Michael explained that on Thursday evenings he liked to invite the neighborhood kids over to play with their radio-controlled toys.’
 - Thomas Dolby, in The Speed of Sound
“Michael explained that on Thursday evenings he liked to invite the neighborhood kids over to play with their radio-controlled toys,” Dolby writes. “He beckoned to them, and they traipsed down the staircase, each with a toy truck or race car. They were in pajamas and dressing gowns.” The kids played as Jackson “directed the proceedings from his perch.”

Jackson told Dolby why he did this.

“ ‘I never really had a childhood,’ Michael told me. ‘I spent too much of it on the road.’ It sounded to me as if his dad and his brothers bullied and teased him because they knew he was by far the most talented.”

The two then discussed their mutual love of the Beach Boys, and the conversation took a morbid turn.

“Michael was sad that Brian Wilson had severe psychiatric problems and that his brother Dennis was a drunk and a drug addict. ‘It’s better to die a sudden death than just deteriorate. When I die,’ said Michael, ‘I want to die like Elvis.’ ”

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Thomas Dolby attends the 27th Annual Grammy Awards in 1985.Photo: WireImage
The following January, Dolby played the Greek Theatre in LA, and Jackson came backstage. Dolby noticed a change in his friend. “His skin was translucent, like a lithe black vampire’s. He was evolving.”

Dolby lied and said he had been working on two great new songs, and Jackson invited him to send them for consideration for his new album. Dolby scrambled back to his tour bus and spent a frantic night penning two songs from scratch.

By morning, he had two demos. One was “a touch reminiscent” of Jackson’s hit “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” The other was “like a Prince power ballad,” although Dolby knew better than to mention Prince to his biggest rival, as Jackson had once told him, “Prince is too dirty. You can’t sing songs about sleeping with your sister!”

When Dolby called Jackson, the King of Pop asked him to sing his tunes. The songs didn’t translate without instruments and the line soon went dead.

Dolby eventually got the demos to Jackson, but when he asked his opinion, Jackson demurred. “I guess I kinda liked the drum parts,” he said.

Dolby asked if he could send any other songs, and there was a pause. “Are you near Wales?” Jackson asked the British-born singer.

“Could you get me some ragwort for my llamas? Welsh ragwort is Louie’s favorite.”

“I laughed, but he wasn’t joking,” Dolby writes.

That was the last time Jackson and Dolby ever discussed collaborating.

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RK

 "like a lithe black vampire"......LMAO
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