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Fans gather at hospital to pay tribute to Jackson
26 Jun 2009Hundreds of Michael Jackson fans gathered outside the UCLA Medical Centre to pay tribute to their idol today.
Tracy Drendella, 36, from Los Angeles, said she heard the news on the radio.
She said: "I turned on the radio and this song, Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', was playing.
"I love that song, Michael is the greatest, and then they said he was dead and I was just like in shock. I feel like a part of me has died a little bit because that was my era.
"I knew people would be down here paying their respects and I just wanted to show mine and support him.
"He had a very troubled life. There was a lot of stuff that happened to him, there was a lot of choices he made, and I know he wasn't very well loved in the US anymore because of all the trials and everything."
She added that she hoped he had found peace.
Another fan, Frances Davis, 66, was lighting candles outside the hospital.
She said: "I was at Macy's today and all at once they kept saying 'Michael's dead, Michael's dead'.
"I dropped everything and just came running out here. He was the greatest, he was the best singer, the best dancer and everybody loved him, everybody.
"He was a very good, gentle-talking man. He was beautiful, he was one of the greatest, that is all I can say."
Stef Casteel, 28, who described himself as "a superfan" had brought a set of speakers down to the scene and was playing Jackson's hits to the assembled crowd who were singing along.
He said: "There are people moonwalking here and we want to keep the party going.
"It has turned into a celebration which is the way it should be. It's sad but it is a celebration."
He added that Jackson would never be forgotten.
He said: "It's all about the music. These guys singing tunes down here, they love his music, they just love it, it is fantastic.
"His music is going to live on forever. His legacy lives on beyond music and I think people are going to know Michael Jackson for centuries and centuries. He's an icon."
