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London show 'could be turned into tribute gig'
Ben Bailey01.07.09
Michael Jackson's tour promoter said the dead star's ill-fated London show could be turned into a tribute gig featuring his family.
Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live, also said Jackson had personally requested Dr Conrad Murray as his personal physician in the months before his death.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Phillips denied Jackson was suffering from stage fright, saying AEG Live would at "some point" be releasing footage of the rehearsals.
Mr Phillips said the show was going to be "beyond anything", adding: "At some point the world needs to see this production and I would imagine it could be done as a tribute with the family, with the brothers performing, some sisters, and the stars that were influenced by him.
"The world needs to see this production. It would have been, which is the tragedy here, one of the most amazing shows ever, so at some point we want the world to see that.
"We are discussing with the family so the sooner, the better."
Describing the night of Jackson's death, Mr Phillips went on to say he would be thinking about the fear on Jackson's children's faces "for the rest of his life".
When asked if AEG had lost a lot of money over the cancelled shows at the O2, he said: "I lost one of my closest friends so it's not about money necessarily.
"When you're in business you take risks and in Michael's case, his brilliance, we thought it an acceptable risk."
He added: "We, probably, will be fine financially from this."
On the eve of his death, Jackson had told Mr Phillips "now I know I can do this".
Describing rehearsals the day before his death, Mr Phillips said: "He was so amazing in the final week.
"He gave me a hug and said 'now I know I can do this'. He was that engaged and that incredible."
He added the family wanted the public to share in grief at the funeral but plans had not yet been finalised.
Dr Murray is considered a prime witness in the investigation and provided detectives with details of the singer's medication.
Mr Phillips said the producers did not want to pay for a full-time doctor in America - but Jackson had insisted that Dr Murray was hired.
"We would have preferred to have doctors on call in London than to bring someone from over here," he added.
"Michael insisted on hiring Dr Murray. He told us he was his personal physician.
"Michael told me 'you don't understand, my body is the machine that feels this business and I need personal care and I want a doctor 24-7'."
