NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT > FANS MIFFED AS MICHAEL JACKSON A NO-SHOW AT LONDON CONCERTS

FANS MIFFED AS MICHAEL JACKSON A NO-SHOW AT LONDON CONCERTS

July 13 2009

London, UK – Michael Jackson is perhaps the biggest musical star that has ever lived. Alongside modern giants such as Elvis Presley, Madonna, and The Beatles he reigned supreme as a public figure and as a musical visionary. Through his more eccentric
days the massive fan base that he had built had begun to erode but his status, especially outside the United States, was still bigger than any of his contemporaries and amongst the biggest that will likely ever live.

It is a result of that rabid love of the singer that fans snapped up tickets for what was touted as one of his last concerts. The ‘This is it’ tour had sold out all fifty dates within hours and fans had been counting down the days to seeing their favourite star. The hope and anticipation of those fans disappeared with Jackson’s untimely death. With refunds as abundant as purchases, most people had accepted the fact that they would never again see Jackson perform. A few fans though gathering outside the O2 arena refused to give up the dream but are a little miffed that their favourite star hasn’t shown up for the concert.

“I paid a ridiculous amount of money for these tickets and there was no way I was going to miss this show. I’ve grown up with Michael Jackson and have never had the opportunity to see him live before and I was so excited. I’m so disappointed that he isn’t coming and I think he really owes the fans an apology,” said Sarah Cottom. “We’ve spent all this money and all this time coming to see him and the least he can do is give us an explanation if he wasn’t going to a show up. I’m not mad really, just disappointed. Hopefully he’ll reschedule.”

Jackson’s death on June 25th from a cardiac arrest makes rescheduling of the show extremely unlikely. Many artists have had success after death due to continued fan support and unreleased songs but thus far none have made their concert dates.

“It’s of course very unfortunate for the fans that the concert will not go ahead. The traditional show biz adage is that the show must go on but that is extremely difficult when the star of the show is dead. Really Jackson is the exclusive star of the show and that makes it virtually impossible to continue with the performances no matter no how much fans may want it to
happen,”  said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “The major obstacle in performing a concert after life has ended is obviously the total lack of physical animation. Jackson’s performances have always been lively and that would be extremely to pull off given his current state of being. Dancing, singing, even engaging the crowd would all be very difficult to do given the cold hard reality of his not being alive. Really, I don’t think it would be the Michael Jackson most fans would even want to see.”

Scientists have thus far failed in every effort to reanimate or otherwise bring the dead back to life, despite such occurrences being common in movies and even in Jackson’s own hit video for the song ‘Thriller’. It is not expected that they will be making a major breakthrough anytime soon, putting into jeopardy future concert dates.

“A lot of these fans are just going to have to accept that they are not going to be able to see Jackson perform. The harsh reality is that Jackson is not showing up for the concerts no matter how much they may want it. True he has a terrific reason for not being there but no matter how much they ask and plead the answer is likely going to be the same,” continued Temple. “Unfortunately in this case the fans may not have much of a complaint, legally speaking anyway. Court often side with the dead when it comes to not making appearances whether it be to court dates or concerts. Usually the dead win out in these types of situations.”

Calls to representatives for the concert promoters and Michael Jackson confirmed that he will in fact not be appearing in London.

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

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