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The shock news of Michael Jackson's death prompted extraordinary scenes outside the Los Angeles hospital where he was taken — and at any venue that he had been associated with.
From Hollywood's Walk of Fame to the West End in London, and Africa to Australia, fans expressed disbelief. And at the Glastonbury festival, bands playing this weekend were preparing cover versions in honour of the dead star.
As details spread quickly worldwide, impromptu memorials appeared on Facebook, Google behaved as if under emergency attack at the onslaught of information requests and YouTube offered distraught fans the chance to relive the highlights of the troubled star's career.
Once details of his collapse began to circulate, members of the public gathered at the UCLA Medical Centre, where he was taken in a desperate attempt to save his life. Crowds grew larger as his death was confirmed, with many weeping, singing and blasting his biggest hits from car stereos.
A large group sported a white-gloved hand and held arms aloft in memory of their hero's distinctive style.
Others performed Jackson's Thriller dance in streets that quickly became blocked. Some simply recorded the chaotic scenes on their mobile phones while TV news helicopters hovered overhead to capture the throng.
Across the city, more people paid homage outside the Jackson family residence in Encino, near Los Angeles, where police arrived to stand guard.
Helene Arthur, a neighbour for more than 40 years, burst into tears, and Florence LaRue, one of the lead singers of Sixties stars Fifth Dimension, cried as she laid flowers.
Similar scenes were being played out at any venue associated with the troubled star, from his former home, Neverland, to his most recent base, a rented French Chateau-style mansion.
In Gary, Indiana, hundreds of people descended on the small white house where Jackson spent his childhood to leave teddy bears, roses and personal notes. Former neighbours joined hands and formed a prayer circle.
Ida Boyd-King, a local pastor, led the prayers. “Just continue to glorify the man, Lord. Let's give God praise for Michael.”
Thomas Hicks, 43, who remembered the singer as a child, added: “Mike was just Mike. That's why all the people are here right now.”
In New York, stunned fans flocked to the Apollo Theatre in Harlem to hold a spontaneous party outside the venue where the Jackson 5 first performed at an amateur night in 1969. Jackson used the same venue to unveil his moonwalk dance move to the world in 1983.
At Glastonbury, the first many music-lovers knew of the news was when DJs across the site began to play Jackson tracks, prompting a muted mood.
Co-organiser Emily Eavis said: “There will be tributes all over the site, all weekend”. Dave McCabe, singer with The Zutons, told the BBC some cover versions were inevitable. “Hopefully, because he's got good songs and it's always a winner.”
The internet allowed the news of his death to spread quickly across the world. Akamai's Net Usage Index, which monitors global news consumption online, found that traffic to news sites increased by about 50 per cent as people tried to verify the reports.
Computers running Google's news section interpreted the onslaught of “Michael Jackson” requests as an automated attack and barred users.
On Twitter, the volume of Jackson-related messages hit 5,000 a minute at their peak, 30 per cent of all traffic.
Biz Stone, Twitter's co-founder, said: “We saw an instant doubling of tweets per second the moment the story broke.”
But the singer's dark side also prompted less glowing tributes in chatrooms. Within hours of his death, internet users had even set up a website, DeadMichaelJacksonJokes.com, to post sick jokes.
Internet security firms noted a huge rise in junk emails using the news to try to lure people to hacked web sites.
Musician Wyclef Jean paid tribute to Jackson on Twitter. He wrote: “He lives forever in my heart. I will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and I played him music.”
The head of the Sony Corporation Sir Howard Stringer said: “Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era.”
Jackson last toured 12 years ago when he played 82 shows in 58 cities for the HIStory tour.
At the World Music Awards in London in November 2006 he performed just a few lines from We Are The World.
Matt Blank from the Michael Jackson World Network fan club told BBC News 24 he was “a bit dumbfounded and a bit shellshocked by it all”. He added: “I can only imagine this is down to the amount of stress he was under to come out and perform.”
Jackson's close friend Uri Geller also believed the stress of planning for his forthcoming London concerts may have been responsible for the star's death. Speaking from his home in Sonning, Berkshire, he said: “I guess the stress, the anticipation and the passion he was emitting from his heart, wanting to do this comeback so badly, maybe that got to him.”
Reader views (1)
Hi fans,lets honour the late king of pop by attending the O2 show,even if its not live.i believe its an opportunity to shake it down and also recognised the good gesture he(michael)brougth to the music industry.long live fans,long live michael as you lay to rest in the hands of god.
- Emmanuel Oluwole, London,United Kingdom
