As a child I was, and I am sure many on here were, absolutely HUGE Jackson fans.... I recently started listening to some of his stuff again (after pulling out some tracks to hear who I know now as famous and expert rock guitarists and other musicians - Eddie Van Halen, Slash, Jennifer Batten, Jeff Porcaro, John "JR" Robinson etc) and forgot how good his stuff actually was! I mean Thriller and Bad especially are two absolutely STRIKING records, each containing some absolutely superb pieces of music - Dirty Diana, Beat It, Man In The Mirror, Thriller, to name a few.... Other pieces of work notable of mention (IMO) are Earth Song, Come Together (Beatles cover) Billie Jean, Blood On The Dancefloor...

The production alone on "Bad" is just incredible. For an album recorded in 1987, it's production was YEARS ahead of it's time. By the time Jackson recorded HIStory (1995) Blood On The Dancefloor (1997) his own personal studio in his Neverland ranch outperformed Sony's flagship recording studio in terms of sound and quality!

It just made me think tho - it's such a crying shame where his life is at now! The man was a TRUE star - a star like the world has not seen since, and likely never will. His achievements include 8 Guiness World records including the worlds best selling album (Thriller, 1982 - which sells up to hundred million copies worldwide each year!), thirteen grammy's, thirteen number one records (just from his solo career alone) and total solo record sales of over 750,000,000 records! His life has been part of the media for non-stop virtually forty years, he performed at the Superbowl XXVII Half-Time entertainment in 1993 which aired to the largest audience in television history (1.5 billion) Through touring and record/single sales, Jackson has raised severa hundred of millions of dollars for charities and beneficial, alongside his own personal wealth he has contributed.

He has played alongside some of the best musicians in the world, worked with some of the music industries best and most talented people/producers/record labels, and toured virtually every country in the world, and been on stage in front of millions of people (the 1987 Bad tour and 1995's HIStory saw over 4.5million each)

He's met some of the most powerful leaders and people in the world, been to places most people have never heard of, married Elvis Presley's daughter, and in contraversey been tried and aquitted of four counts of child abuse, and two counts dismissed.

It's truly a shame where his life is now. Living in rented property in Las Vegas (okay, so it might be bigger than buckingham palace, but it's not a patch on his Neverland Ranch) and selling his posessions, such as hand written lyrics, the original Thriller red and black jacket, his white glove etc in an auction in the back of casino (where virtually nothing was bought because it wasn't publicised!)

He may have gone completely loopy - fame affects people in different ways. I'd say he's handled it comparatively well - Kurt Cobain shot himself because of the fame and he only had it 1 tenth of what Jackson's fame has been, and only for 5mins comparred to Jackson's standings : Jackson is still alive. He battled a skin disorder for his whole life (Vitiligo) and whilst he might be bit of a mess to look at due to his extensive plastic surgery, he's come out relatively unscathed.

But he's gone from being one of the richest and most powerfull men in the world, and possibly the biggest star the planet has ever seen, to being a shell of his former self. Moving to Las Vegas really was the final nail in the coffin. Vegas is where burned out stars go to try and kickstart a dying career, and not even anyone in Vegas is hiring or promoting Jackson.

I think it's sad - the man was a genious, an INCREDIBLY talented singer and performer, great songwriter, excellent producer and all round musical legend, and now - he's nothing.....

Thoughts.....