Michael Jackson RIP

So far today I have received six text messages about Michael Jackson’s death – five of them wicked jokes that I shant repeat. The first just said “condolences” – sent from a friend who has long teased me for defending Jackson in pub arguments. Here’s why. For all his wackiness he was, he was by any standards an incredible composer, singer and performer whose accomplishments towered above those of his far more normal competitors. It does him an injustice to remember him (as so many radio stations have done so far today) by the Jackson Five numbers.  They were pretty much all written by the Motown Corporation and Jackson’s role was a kiddie vocalist. His signature work was the world’s bestselling album, Thriller, where he wrote most songs and produced the greatest pop video ever made. Then his stage shows became famous for dance moves: the moonwalk, the anti-gravity lean etc.