Not the news I was expecting when I got home tonight.
Pop star Michael Jackson has been rushed to hospital in Los Angeles, with several US reports saying he has died.
Paramedics were called to the singer’s home around midday local time after he suffered a suspected cardiac arrest.
He was rushed by ambulance to a medical centre, with reports from several US media outlets saying the 50-year-old star has died.
In recent decades his life has been a descending spiral into ever-increasing bizarreness. Maybe it’s better for him that it has ended, as his obvious mental anguish has had an obvious affect on the upbringing of his children. They’ve been living in a grotesque parody-world. Perhaps now they’ll have a chance of something approaching a normal life. I don’t know. The whole business, his entire life, just feels like a Greek tragedy where the audience has gained enjoyment from watching his gradual meltdown. He needed a lot more help than he received.
Nevertheless, as a teenager during the 80s, his music has been a big part of my life, and I’ll miss him.