News und Presseartikel zur O2-Konzertreihe in London (Keine Diskussion)

-> Hier mal ein Thread für alle weiteren News und Presseartikel, die sicherlich in den nächsten Wochen und Monaten zur O2-Konzertreihe erscheinen werden, und um diese übersichtlich zu sammeln:

£500 for Michael Jackson comeback show tickets as promoter in secret deal

Patrick Foster, Dan Sabbagh and Adam Sherwin
March 12, 2009
The Times

Fans desperate to see Michael Jackson’s comeback performances could have to pay more than ten times the face value of the tickets after the shows’ promoters struck a secret deal to sell the best seats at vastly inflated prices, The Times has learnt.

AEG Live, the company behind the concerts, has agreed with Viagogo, an online ticket reseller, to sell hundreds of so-called premium tickets for each performance at the 17,000-capacity O2 arena, in East London, at about £500 each, compared with their face value of between £50 and £75.

The move means that both AEG Live and Viagogo stand to make huge extra financial returns, while reducing the availability and standard of seats to those fans trying to buy seats through the official, “primary” route, via the Ticketmaster website.

About 10,000 tickets for each of the ten concerts announced last week went on sale yesterday morning on Ticketmaster to fans who had registered their interest on Jackson’s website.

However, demand was so high that the website crashed, leading the promoters to announce another 20 dates — which also quickly sold out. It is thought that nearly 300,000 seats have been sold so far. The remaining tickets for each show will go on sale tomorrow.

But The Times understands that outside the official sale of the tickets, AEG Live approached secondary ticketing companies — which allow people to resell tickets to sporting and music events — offering to provide them directly with between 500 and 1,000 tickets for each performance.

It is thought that AEG Live offered the tickets on the understanding that they were sold at about £500 each, with 80 per cent of the revenue returning to AEG Live and the secondary ticketing company taking the remaining 20 per cent.

Last night tickets for seats closest to the stage were on sale on Viagogo for thousands of pounds. Other seats in prime locations seemed to be on sale at surprisingly uniform rates, with many priced at £418 and £659.

AEG Live did not deny its links to Viagogo. The company previously said in a statement: “In an effort to ensure fans are able to purchase premium tickets and exchange tickets directly with other fans, AEG Live has entered into an agreement with Viagogo. The online site allows people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe and guaranteed way.”

A source close to AEG Live said: “This is the hottest ticket of the decade. To suggest that there won’t be a premium market is unrealistic. We want to make sure it is done properly and fans are not buying the tickets in some dodgy back alley."

“This is only a small minority of tickets. The aim all along has been to make sure that the majority of the arena is filled with real fans. There are systems in place to make sure people cannot buy multiple tickets and sell them on.”

Concert promoters have previously been steadfastly against the secondary ticketing companies, which they accuse of promoting touting and depriving the live music industry of income.

AEG Live could face censure from the Concert Promoters Association, of which it is a member, if it is judged to have brought the organisation into disrepute through its actions.

Last month the Government announced a consultation into ticket touting and urged concert organisers to be innovative and come up with new ways of preventing touts from making money from selling on tickets.

One leading concert promoter said: “Selling tickets straight on to the secondary marketplace will sadly become more commonplace. The promoters are saying, if you can’t beat them, join them.”

£500 for Michael Jackson comeback show tickets as promoter in secret deal - Times Online

-> Folgende Nachricht bitte mit höchster Vorsicht genießen. Die genaue Setlist steht sicherlich noch nicht vollkommen fest, und selbst wenn würde der Mirror sie wohl nicht als erstes erfahren. Zudem fehlen auch neue Songs, von welchen Randy Phillips ja eindeutig sprach:

Michael Jackson's set list revealed here

Exclusive by Tom Bryant 12/03/2009

Michael Jackson is planning a Thriller of a show to mark his amazing comeback this summer.

The Daily Mirror has seen the setlist the King of Pop has handed to AEG Live, who run London’s O2 Arena where he will play a residency in July.

Jackson pledged to sing all his “classics” during lengthy contract talks last week.

A source said: “Bosses were concerned Michael might veer away from his greatest hits. He wanted to guarantee that this would not be the case and produced this list to reassure them."

“He’s toying with the idea of doing a Jackson 5 medley as well, and he’ll open with a four minute long intro to Billie Jean.”

The secret list, printed below, includes Smooth Criminal, Man in the Mirror and Beat It.

Pre-sale tickets for Jackson’s first 10 shows at The O2 sold out in minutes yesterday. At one point all the interest crashed the Ticketmaster website. Demand is so great there are 30 shows scheduled – but this could rise.

Tickets for all shows go on sale to the general public tomorrow at 7am, priced £75 from Jackson’s website or Ticketmaster. Some are selling on eBay for up to £10,000.

Set list verdict from BBC Radio 1 DJ Scott Mills.

Setlist:

Billie Jean

- This has one of the best base lines I've ever heard in my life.

Wanna be startin' somethin

- Excellent opening of the classic Thriller album. Wicked choice.

Rock with you

- Slow funky classic that rates among his best.

The way you make me feel

- Best intro to a Jackson song (apart from Thriller!) Top one Michael.

Don't stop till you get enough

- The ultimate disco anthem. I can never get enough of this one.

I just can't stop loving you

- One for the ladies and romantics in the audience

Human Nature

- One of Thriller's slower moments but well worth including in the list

Smooth criminal

- One of my favourite Jackson videos and songs too

Girlfriend

- Very much a filler from Off The Wall. Not for me.

Man in the Mirror

- Loving it when the gospel kicks in. Lets hope he gets a full choir involved.

Beat it

- What an incredible guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen. Get him over to the UK!

One day in your life

- Early Jackson that was a bigger hit here than in the UK. Good one to get in.

Heal the World

- Michael's one-man Band Aid.

Remember the time

- Not his finest hour but will appeal to some I reckon.

You are not alone

- Written for Jackson by R Kelly but don't let that put you off. Still a popular one to have.

Thriller

- Possibly the best group dance routine ever. Let's see if he can do it all on stage again in the summer

Michael Jackson's set list revealed here - mirror.co.uk

Michael Jackson mania returns as fans scramble for London concert tickets

Pop fans of a certain age reverted to their teenage selves as Michael Jackson mania gripped the world yesterday for the first time in 12 years.

By Louise Armitstead
Last Updated: 12:04AM GMT 12 Mar 2009

Nearly 350,000 tickets to see the "past-it" King of Pop perform in London this summer were sold after presale window opened yesterday at 7am.

Tickets for 10 shows announced for the tour that Mr Jackson, 50, said would be his final in Britain sold-out within minutes.

More dates were rapidly offered and by the end of the day a total of 27 shows had been sold prompting organisers, who put up half the tickets in the presale window, to claim a record despite the tickets not being officially on sale until tomorrow.

A total of 30 shows are being planned, which, at the 22,000-capacity venue and at about £70 a ticket, will gross over £2m.

Mr Jackson also stands to make further millions from spin-off merchandise, television syndication and DVD sales.

Randy Phillips, the president and chief executive of AEG Live, the tour promoter, has said that the singer will receive around £50m for the London shows.

The website for the O2, the venue for the shows, crashed in the scramble that gripped fans across the world including North Korea, Afganistan, Congo and Sri Lanka and Australia.

The technical breakdown sparked anger among fans who accused the organisers for wildly underestimating the level of demand.

"These types of problems usually only occur when the appropriate levels of planning and testing were omitted," said Martin Stern, of Keynote Systems, an online expert. "Flash crowds should have been anticipated for a Michael Jackson event."

Chris Edmonds, managing director of Ticketmaster, the site selling official tickets said: "We have witnessed an unprecedented level of demand for the Michael Jackson concerts at The O2."

"Unfortunately due to a technical issue, we were unable to facilitate all immediate ticket requests. Apologies to those fans who were unable to log on."

Hopeful fans had already been through a protracted process before the presale tickets went on offer yesterday.

After the press conference held at the O2 last Thursday, in which Jackson repeatedly declared "this is it", fans had to register online and wait for a text or an email last night that then delivered a password for the presale window.

Millions of fans are said to have registered with just a few thousand managing to snap up tickets.

Jackson's 10-date UK residency at the O2 will be his first live shows for 12 years. The day after his press conference, tickets that had not even been printed were selling on eBay for more than £300. The Michael Jackson official website was being bombarded with 16,000 hits a second.

Michael Jackson mania returns as fans scramble for London concert tickets - Telegraph

That's it for Michael Jackson advance tickets

Published Date: 12 March 2009

PRESALE tickets to Michael Jackson's summer residency at London's O2 Arena have already sold out, despite eleven more dates being added yesterday.

Organisers said demand for his This Is It shows, which Jackson, below, announced last week, had been overwhelming.

Organisers said half the number of seats to each show have been held back until the official sale starts tomorrow at 7am.

That's it for Michael Jackson advance tickets - Scotsman.com News

Further information:

Outside Organisation – PR Agency for AEG Live
Tel: 020 7436 3633

Celena Aponte
Celena.aponte@outside-org.co.uk

Natalie Whorms
Natalie.whorms@outside-org.co.uk

Adam Cotton
Adam.cotton@outside-org.co.uk

The Outside Organisation - Clients - events - AEG Live - “THIS IS IT” MICHAEL JACKSON THE KING OF POP’S UNPRECEDENTED RETURN TO LONDON

Michael Jackson extends residency

2 hours 33 mins ago

Michael Jackson has extended his London residency to 30 nights.

The pop superstar initially agreed to perform 10 concerts at The 02 arena but is prolonging his stay due to overwhelming demand when a percentage of tickets went on pre-sale yesterday (11.03.09).

His extended 'This Is It' residency, dubbed his final UK concerts, is now nine nights longer than his one-time chart rival Prince, who performed 21 sold-out shows at the venue in 2007.

Over 1.5 million people registered from over 220 countries to get their hands on tickets before they officially go on sale on Friday (13.03.09) and websites crashed as they struggled to cope with the volume of people trying to access them.

Promoters AEG Live are rumoured to be considering extending the mammoth run by another 20 shows.

Tickets, which are priced at £50, £65 and £75, have already started appearing on internet auction website eBay for over £700 a pair, while some front row seats are listed for up to £10,000 for two.

One fan, who couldn't get tickets in the pre-sale, said: "I knew demand would be high, but nothing prepared me for this. I tried to get tickets all morning but it was impossible. If this really is it for Michael then everyone will want to be part of it. Michael could do 100 shows and it still wouldn't be enough!"

Initial reports suggested cash-strapped Jackson could earn up to £5 million per show - made up from a share of ticket sales and a sizeable percentage of profits from merchandise sales - when his live comeback was first announced.

The 50-year-old singer could rake in a staggering £150 million from the run of concerts.

Michael Jackson extends residency - Yahoo! News UK

Jackson dates stretch into 2010

Page last updated at 10:12 GMT, Thursday, 12 March 2009

Michael Jackson's residency at London's O2 arena will continue well into 2010 after the singer added more dates to his farewell tour.

The veteran pop star will now play 45 nights at the venue, with seven shows planned for January and February.

Pre-sale tickets for Jackson's first ten dates sold out on Tuesday but some fans complained of "technical problems" trying to register online.

Ticketmaster director Chris Edmonds said demand was "unprecedented".

He added: "Unfortunately due to a technical issue, we were unable to facilitate all immediate ticket requests. Apologies to those fans who were unable to log on, but fans should keep on trying to purchase tickets."

Additional codes are being issued, the organisers said, with registration being dealt with on a first come, first served basis.

The pre-ticket sale will close later with the rest of the tickets going on sale to the general public from 0700 GMT on Friday.

Tickets for the Jackson shows are already being sold on the online auction website eBay.

Prices on the site range from £170 to £10,000, but tickets bought directly from the singer's website or Ticketmaster cost up to £75.

The final date listed on the singer's website is 18 February 2010.

Jackson, who has won 13 Grammy awards, has said this will be the last time he will perform in the UK.

In August and September 2007, Prince played 21 concerts at the O2 arena together with a number of aftershows at its club venue, Indigo.

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Jackson dates stretch into 2010

A Michael Jackson fan shows off her homemade t-shirt while camping outside the O2 arena before tickets for his forthcoming concerts at the venue go on sale on Friday morning, in London March 12, 2009. Jackson has extended his run of comeback concerts in London to 44, starting on July 8 and ending on February 12, 2010, the official website for the shows said on Thursday. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
(BRITAIN ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY IMAGE OF THE DAY TOP PICTURE)

People camp outside the O2 arena before tickets for Michael Jackson's forthcoming concerts at the venue go on sale on Friday morning, in London March 12, 2009. Jackson has extended his run of comeback concerts in London to 44, starting on July 8 and ending on February 12, 2010, the official website for the shows said on Thursday.
REUTERS/Andrew Winning (BRITAIN ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY)

Michael Jackson fans face huge price rises for London concert tickets

Fans who want to see Michael Jackson's final British shows face paying up to 10 times the original price despite extra dates laid on to satisfy "unprecedented" demand.

By Alastair Jamieson
Last Updated: 8:00AM GMT 12 Mar 2009

Higher priced tickets which also include special packages featuring VIP access, cost £1,500 each and are available on the Viagogo website.

As many as 350,000 tickets were presold yesterday, prompting organisers to claim a record even before the concerts officially open for business tomorrow.

Promoters added at least 15 extra shows after the pre-sale tickets for the 10 planned dates were snapped up within minutes, leaving fans frustrated as websites crashed because of demand.

Half the tickets for the original 10 concerts at London's O2 arena were put on pre-sale through Ticketmaster at a face value of between £50 and £75.

However AEG Live, the company behind the comeback performances, has agreed a deal with online reseller Viagogo to trade thousands of 'premium ' tickets at between £170 and £700. It is feared many fans unable to secure the tickets through primary sales website Ticketmaster will end up paying the high prices for remaining tickets, which are considered premium because of their proximity to the stage.

The higher priced tickets, which also include special packages featuring VIP access costing £1,500 each, are currently available on the Viagogo website for many of the sought-after dates.

Touts were yesterday demanding up to £1,000 for tickets through online auction site eBay in a bid to cash in on demand.

Fans excited by last week's announcement of the concerts had to register their interest online and wait for a text or an email that delivered a password for the pre-sale. Millions of fans are said to have registered but only a few thousand managed to get tickets.

TicketMaster's managing director, Chris Edmonds, said the pre-sale website crash was the result of "an unprecedented level of demand".

The London concerts are highly anticipated, in light of the King of Pop's withdrawal from public life since being acquitted of child molestation charges in California in 2005. There are also doubts about his ability to sing for an extended time.

His last live performance in Britain was at the 2006 World Music Awards, when he whispered a few lines of We Are the World before leaving the stage.

The singer has also struggled to pay debts and was forced to give up the deed to Neverland, his ranch and miniature amusement park in California, last year.

Jackson has sold more 750 million albums and won 13 Grammys, but he has not staged a major tour since 1997 or released an album of new material since 2001.

Michael Jackson fans face huge price rises for London concert tickets - Telegraph

Michael Jackson extends residency

Updated: 2009-03-12 19:30

Michael Jackson has extended his London residency to 30 (37) nights.

The pop superstar initially agreed to perform 10 concerts at The 02 arena but is prolonging his stay due to overwhelming demand when a percentage of tickets went on pre-sale yesterday (11.03.09).

His extended 'This Is It' residency, dubbed his final UK concerts, is now nine nights longer than his one-time chart rival Prince, who performed 21 sold-out shows at the venue in 2007.

Over 1.5 million people registered from over 220 countries to get their hands on tickets before they officially go on sale on Friday (13.03.09) and websites crashed as they struggled to cope with the volume of people trying to access them.

Promoters AEG Live are rumoured to be considering extending the mammoth run by another 20 shows.

Tickets, which are priced at £50, £65 and £75, have already started appearing on internet auction website eBay for over £700 a pair, while some front row seats are listed for up to £10,000 for two.

One fan, who couldn?t get tickets in the pre-sale, said: "I knew demand would be high, but nothing prepared me for this. I tried to get tickets all morning but it was impossible. If this really is it for Michael then everyone will want to be part of it. Michael could do 100 shows and it still wouldn't be enough!"

Initial reports suggested cash-strapped Jackson could earn up to £5 million per show - made up from a share of ticket sales and a sizeable percentage of profits from merchandise sales - when his live comeback was first announced.

The 50-year-old singer could rake in a staggering £50 million (£62 million) from the run of concerts.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/s…0221917dec40b23367b37.jpg

Record-breaking 45 shows sell out presale allocation!

Final 5 shows available for on sale 7am [GMT] Friday!

The ticket allotment for the presale has been sold. Michael Jackson has added five more concerts to his historic return to the stage at London’s O2 Arena, making this a half-century of shows. Tickets are available across all 50 shows for the general sale at 7am, Friday 13th March 2009.

Records have tumbled:

- The biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city.
- The most amount of people to attend a series of arena shows.
- The fastest ticket sales in history.

By the end of the 50 concerts, 1 million fans will have witnessed one of the greatest musical events in history. The figures speak for themselves - 360,000 tickets sold in 18 hours during the pre sale so far, that is 20,000 tickets per hour, 33 tickets per minute!

Michael is said to be ‘thrilled’ by the response and wanted as many fans to share the experience with him as possible. This will be the last chance to see the King of Pop in London, this really is it!

Michael Jackson Live!

Michael Jackson fans thrilled as King of Pop extends his comeback tour to 50 dates at O2

By Simon Cable
Last updated at 8:13 PM on 12th March 2009

Michael Jackson today extended his comeback tour to an astonishing 50 nights.

The 50-year-old singer will begin his residency at London's O2 Arena in July and continue for eight months until February.

He had initially announced just ten dates at a press conference last week.
However, due to an overwhelming demand from fans for tickets, promoters have added 40 more shows over the past two days.

He will not be performing on consecutive nights at any point during the lucrative tour and will have a three-month break between October and December.

Organisers AEG Live have been forced to take out a huge insurance policy on the star - which is worth almost £100million - in case he falls ill at any point and is unable to complete the tour.

He was also forced to undergo a four-hour medical by promoters, which they say he 'passed with flying colours'.

Jackson's biographer, Ian Halperin, has also said he doesn't believe the singer is ready to perform. In December he claimed the star was battling a disease that had left him partially blind and in need of a lung transplant. This was vehemently denied by Jackson's spokesman.

Earlier this month, Halperin said: 'Arguably he is one of the greatest performers ever, but he hasn't performed in years and the jury's still out.

'If he gets up on stage and gives a stellar performance, I'll be the first guy clapping on my feet. All I'm saying is beware.'

Tickets went on sale on Wednesday morning, many of which were immediately snapped up by touts who then demanded up to £3,000 on auction sites such as eBay and Seatwave.

Face value had been set by AEG Live at between £50 and £75 on Jackson's official website.

Initially, online retailer Ticketmaster had been the only company officially distributing tickets. However, AEG Live then secured a deal with Viagogo with seats being sold at vastly inflated prices.

Viagogo allows buyers to re-sell tickets with a cut of the profit going to the event's organisers. Premium tickets on the site were being sold for almost £700 yesterday.

It is believed that AEG Live directly supplied the website with up to 1,000 tickets.

A spokesman said: 'In an effort to ensure fans are able to purchase premium tickets and exchange tickets directly with other fans, AEG Live has entered into an agreement with Viagogo.

'The online site allows people to buy and sell live event tickets in a safe and guaranteed way.'

Phone lines have been constantly jammed while the singer's official website crashed due to the huge amount of fans scrambling to get tickets.

A second batch of tickets go on sale tomorrow with the remaining tickets for all 50 shows expected to sell out within hours.

Almost 500,000 tickets have already been bought by fans across the world, including those as far away as Congo, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Korea.

Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live, said: 'Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records will never be broken! We knew this was showbusiness history, but this is a cultural phenomenon.'

News that the star is extending his tour means he will shatter the previous record for the number of shows performed by an artist at a single venue which was set by Prince, who hosted a 21-date residency at the O2 in 2007.

Man in demand: Fans wait outside the O2 Arena for the tickets, which go on sale tomorrow morning.

Making a night of it: Eager ticket-buyers are camping outside the venue.

In for the long haul: Fan try to stay warm in tents as they wait for tickets to go on sale.

Desperate: These friends snuggle up together for the long wait ahead.

Michael Jackson fans thrilled as King of Pop extends his comeback tour to 50 dates | Mail Online

Michael Jackson's most dedicated fans

As tickets go on sale for the King of Pop's string of 45 London shows, we mingle with the most faithful of his subjects

by Tom Whipple
March 13, 2009

Mark was wearing a single white glove. His T-shirt was 20 years old - you could tell because Michael Jackson was still black. In his hands was a model of Pinocchio, 2ft high and constructed from fabric and wood. “He's taken me a long time to make. Ten years, roughly - on and off,” Mark said, matter-of-factly. It is a gift for Jackson. He looked at me, cautiously. “It's not because it's a little boy or anything.”

When I first met Mark, he was standing by a barrier, watching the windows of the Lanesborough Hotel at Hyde Park Corner. Together, we were waiting for Jackson.

Mark, a Welsh photographer in his late twenties, was one of 200 people outside the singer's hotel. Jackson was in the country to announce his last ever UK gigs. A week later, and 18 hours before the box office opens, many of those 200 are already part of a small tent village outside the O2 centre - queuing to guarantee the best seats

It is a mixed time to be a Jackson fan. Tickets go on general sale today for these - his first UK concert dates in 12 years - and interest has already been so high that the promoters have twice added extra gigs. The original plan was for ten, but there are now 45, each seating 17,000. Jackson commands as much support as any artist in the world and, preparing for a chilly, and possibly wet, night of Jackson fandom outside the O2, there is a festival atmosphere. But after decades of allegations and scandals - not to mention the plastic surgery and, well, plain weirdness - when they return to the real world many of those will treat the concert as their dirty secret.

Leo King, 27, , admits that some of the more hardcore fans - many of whom waited outside the Lanesborough all week - are “a little obsessive, a little scary” He, however, is just visiting after work. “At school I got a lot of stick for liking Michael,” he says. “I had stick for it at work today when I said I was going to the concert. But for every person who's said ‘Why do you want to see him?', five others have quietly asked how to get tickets.”

King is part of the second generation of Jackson fans - or, if you count those who followed the Jackson 5, the third. “You couldn't really miss him in the Eighties, but I didn't get into his music until the early Nineties,” he explains. “I heard Will You Be There on Dangerous and I was hooked.” This makes King in some ways one of Jackson's purer fans - his time following the King of Pop coincides exactly with the period when the king was close to losing his crown.

“Look, Michael is not your regular guy,” King says. “He couldn't make the music he does if he was completely normal - we'd have got a Bruce Springsteen album instead.” Pause. “No offence to Bruce Springsteen.” But there are issues beyond being just an oddball: the baby son that he dangled over a balcony in Berlin, the bankruptcy, the child-abuse allegations. Yes, most of all those allegations.

“The baby-dangling was a mistake - no question. I know it looks bad. Some would say: ‘So what about the bad stuff? It's all about the music.' After all, I like music by rap artists, but I don't condone what they do. Jackson is different though, and it matters to me. The child abuse? Well, he was acquitted. The tabloids really are looking for a scandal - I'm not saying he's a saint, but he's not as bad as they make out.”

Among the distillation of fans who follow Jackson around the world, many would disagree even with that statement. Danny Oliver has seen Jackson on three continents, even going to his trial in Santa Barbara. On occasions he has performed for him; he has a Michael Jackson tribute act. Describing himself as a “superfan, but not in a freaky way”, he was one of the lucky - or persistent - few who saw Jackson at his window in the Lanesborough, waving through the rain.

“His aura, being in his presence is so overwhelming,” Oliver Daniels says. “If he just so much as stands there - scratches or turns his head - it's unbelievable. Let alone if he moonwalks or sings a song. He is the most genuine person you would meet, the most beautiful person in the world.”

This is a sentiment I hear from others. While much of the world sees a man made of plastic, upon whom so much mud has been thrown that an inch-thick layer has stuck, these fans see someone almost - it is impossible to avoid the word - messianic. For them, Jackson's troubles are not an issue. Bankruptcy rumours are lies - just another conspiracy by a hostile media. A cynical world does not appreciate Jackson's love.

With floppy blond hair, faded jeans and a retro jacket, Daniels looks like any other twentysomething student; he is training to be an actor. “People tend to generalise and make us out to be psychos - people who don't have much else to do in our lives. But we have jobs, we have lives,” he says. I ask him what his friends and family think of his hobby. “My mum and dad are really supportive,” he says. “They say that anyone who has anything that they are really passionate about is really lucky. So long as it's a good role model, and it's positive, they are behind it.” Of course, he later points out, his parents have been fans “since the Jackson 5”.

On Daniels's website - where you can book his tribute act - he describes the effect that Jackson has had on his life. “I remember being seven years old and asking my mum with a straight face: ‘Mummy, can we fly to Africa and help all the poor people and the hungry children?' I was absolutely serious. Let this be just a small example of how much one man has inspired me ever since I can remember.”

Two years later, when the first allegations of child abuse emerged, Daniels's loyalty was to be tested. “I remember sticking up a lot for Michael in the playground - lots of people teased me. I believed in him so much even then, and he was so much a part of me, that I felt in my heart he was innocent. One kid went too far, and I knocked out his teeth. I'm not violent but, um, sometimes you crack.”

Other fans prove their loyalty in less forceful ways - Mark, with Pinocchio , is not the only one to turn to arts and crafts. Rita Ruggeri, 32, holds a picture she painted of Charlie Chaplin (“I want to give it to a fellow artist,” she says). She has no doubts that the concerts will sell out. “In the Eighties I think the whole world was touched by him. But I think what has gone on since has changed people's views. I think there are a lot of closet fans out there.”

By midday yesterday, outside the O2 centre, some of those closet fans are already queuing for tickets. One is Julie Sullivan. Sitting on a green fold-out chair, beside a floral print picnic bag, she looks as if she would be more at home on Henman Hilll than preparing for a night in the open waiting for Jackson tickets. Near the front of the rapidly growing queue, she is hoping that by being early she will get good seats.

“My friends think we're absolutely mad, but there's a lot of people here, and it sort of makes for a good evening,” she says. Sullivan is the same age as Jackson and has been a fan since she was nine. “He's just an incredible performer,” she says. “I've seen him grow up, watched him develop from the beginning. I'm not one of those who follow him around the world, but now he's here - especially on his last tour - I'll certainly come along. I saw him in Thriller in the Eighties; I doubt he'll be as good now, mind.”

She initially misinterprets when I ask if it was harder being a fan in the Nineties than the Eighties. “It was easier then, there weren't all these queues,” she says, before realising I am referring to the scandals. “I know, I've thought about that. He wasn't proved guilty.” She doesn't sound convinced. “I suppose he's just a child in a man's body - I like the music, I don't like what he sometimes stands for. But then, who am I to judge? If I knew for certain it was true, I wouldn't be sitting here. I wouldn't be queuing for Gary Glitter.”

Before leaving the O2, Daniels spots me - he will, naturally, be here all night. He has a request. “Please don't use my real name, I don't want my classmates or teachers to find out,” he says. I promise to change it: even Peter denied Jesus.

But what became of Pinocchio? It's 7pm on Friday at the Lanesborough Hotel, and a minibus had pulled into the drive. A doorman opened the door, but we had had many false alarms. And then...

He was there. Almost obscured by security guards, Jackson had left the building. For the briefest of moments there was silence - like the aftermath of a bomb - before the screaming started: the shoving, the pushing, the swearing (at other fans) and the adulation (at Jackson).

In less than two minutes it was over. He worked the line and left - with a final vigorous wave from behind the curtains of his minibus. Most of his fans followed. They shared taxis, one shouting, gloriously: “Follow that bus.”

And there, amid the broken flowerpots, angry hotel doormen and detritus of 200 people, Mark's girlfriend remained, alone. They were leaving that day and Mark - he never would tell me his surname - had chosen that moment to retrieve their luggage from their hotel. He arrived minutes later to find an empty road. “There's always next time,” he shrugged. Will he wait for Jackson's return? “No, I have to get back to Wales.”

They left down a side street, Mark trundling a suitcase behind him. His girlfriend was holding a bundle, 2ft high and wrapped in a bag: Pinocchio, unclaimed.

Michael Jackson starts a run of 45 dates at the O2 on July 8

Michael Jackson's most dedicated fans - Times Online

Press Release from AEG:

This Really Is It - 50 Shows at the O2 Arena

"THIS IS IT"

LONDON, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Michael Jackson has added five more concerts to his historic return to the stage at London's O2 Arena, making this a half-century of shows. Tickets are available across all 50 shows for the general sale at 7am, Friday 13th March 2009.

Records have tumbled:

The biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city.

The most amount of people to attend a series of arena shows.

The fastest ticket sales in history.

The gigs have even caused controversy amongst the UK political establishment, with a cartoon in The Sun newspaper this morning depicting Prime Minister Gordon Brown stealing Michael Jackson tickets to sell on and boost the British economy. But with fans traveling from over 200 countries to see the shows, a genuine boost to tourist industry is a reality. After all, the world has always flocked to London to see royalty, The King Of Pop is continuing in a great tradition. Three-quarters of a million people in the UK alone have bought their tickets and fans have been camped out at The O2 Arena since last night, stopping at nothing in their quest to see Michael Jackson.

New shows are - 30th July, 1st August, 3rd August, 10th August, 12th August, 17th August, 19th August, 24th August, 26th August, 28th August, 30th August, 1st September, 3rd September, 6th September, 8th September, 10th September, 21st September, 23rd September, 27th September, 29th September, 7th January, 9th January, 12th January, 14th January, 16th January, 18th January, 23rd January, 25th January 27th January, 29th January, 1st February, 3rd February, 8th February, 10th February, 12th February, 16th February, 18th February, 20th February, 22nd February and 24th February.

By the end of the 50 concerts, 1 million fans will have witnessed one of the greatest musical events in history. The figures speak for themselves - 360,000 tickets sold in 18 hours during the pre sale so far, that is 20,000 tickets per hour, 33 tickets per minute!

Michael is said to be 'thrilled' by the response and wanted as many fans to share the experience with him as possible. This will be the last chance to see the King of Pop in London, this really is it!

Randy Phillips, President & CEO of AEG Live, commented, "Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records will never be broken! We knew this was show business history, but this is a cultural phenomenon."

Tickets have been priced at pounds sterling 75/65/50 plus booking fees and are available 7am, Friday 13th March. Fans are advised to stay tuned to Michael Jackson Live! for additional show information.

FULL LIST OF DATES:

8TH JULY 2009

10TH JULY 2009

12th JULY 2009

14TH JULY 2009

18TH JULY 2009

22ND JULY 2009

24TH JULY 2009

26TH JULY 2009

28TH JULY 2009

30TH JULY 2009*

1ST AUGUST 2009*

3RD AUGUST 2009*

10TH AUGUST 2009*

12TH AUGUST 2009*

17TH AUGUST 2009*

19TH AUGUST 2009*

24TH AUGUST 2009*

26TH AUGUST 2009*

28TH AUGUST 2009*

30TH AUGUST 2009*

1ST SEPTEMBER 2009*

3RD SEPTEMBER 2009*

6TH SEPTEMBER 2009*

8TH SEPTEMBER 2009*

10TH SEPTEMBER 2009*

21ST SEPTEMBER 2009*

23RD SEPTEMBER 2009*

27TH SEPTEMBER 2009*

29TH SEPTEMBER 2009*

7TH JANUARY 2010*

9TH JANUARY 2010*

12TH JANUARY 2010*

14TH JANUARY 2010*

16TH JANUARY 2010*

18TH JANUARY 2010*

23RD JANUARY 2010*

25TH JANUARY 2010*

27TH JANUARY 2010*

29TH JANUARY 2010*

1ST FEBRUARY 2010*

3RD FEBRUARY 2010*

8TH FEBRUARY 2010*

10TH FEBRUARY 2010*

12TH FEBRUARY 2010*

16TH FEBRUARY 2010*

18TH FEBRUARY 2010*

20TH FEBRUARY 2010*

22ND FEBRUARY 2010*

24TH FEBRUARY 2010*

* Added dates

Note To Editors - One of the world's most popular entertainers, Michael Jackson has sold over 750 million units worldwide and is one of the very few artists to be inducted twice into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised Michael Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and Thriller as The Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award.

SOURCE Anschutz Entertainment Group

This Really Is It - 50 Shows at the O2 Arena

Here's the cartoon in today's Sun newspaper, mentioned in AEG's press release:

Jackson Run At 50, Secondary Market Causes Issues

March 12, 2009 - Touring

By Ray Waddell, Nashville

Five new shows have been added to Michael Jackson's London run, bringing the total to 50, according to Randy Phillips, CEO of AEG Live, promoter of the shows.

"We stopped it at 45 in the pre-sale to save shows for the public on sale, which is tomorrow," Phillips says. Jackson could do 100 shows at the O2 if he wanted, Phillips says, but he has other goals, including film and recording. "He can’t live his life in London, he has a lot of things on his agenda."

Phillips says allotments from each night of the first 45 shows also will be available to the general public, meaning those who did not pre-register for tickets. More than 90% of the tickets have been purchased from the U.K., but "the rest is France, Germany, Poland, everywhere in the world. People bought tickets from Botswana," Phillips says.

The intensity of demand has been a "shot of adrenaline" for Jackson, Phillips says. "He feels great. He feels reborn," Phillips adds. "He's been gone for 12 years, so there was trepidation there."

Secondary market issues

Meanwhile, AEG Live cut a deal with European secondary market ticket seller Viagogo that has led to some issues. "We met and got pitched by Viagogo, (and other secondary sellers) Seat Wave and GetMeIn. We thought Viagogo had the best pitch so we decided to make them our authorized secondary on Michael," said Phillips.

According to Phillips, AEG cut a deal with Viagogo "to give fans access to premium seats and the market would set the price on only a small percentage of the house every night; and, secondly, to give fans a peer-to-peer platform where they know these tickets aren't counterfeited."

"Having said that, Viagogo did something really bad yesterday we had no idea they were doing," Phillips continues. "They sent out e-mails to brokers and touts all over London offering them packages and seats and discounts. We're going into court tomorrow to get an injunction. All we want from them is their platform, their Web site, for fans to buy tickets."

Phillips said AEG lawyers in London will to go to court tomorrow (March 13) to get an injunction against Viagogo actually selling tickets. "They've told us they won't, but I want to make sure it's in the public record." he said. "Even if we don't get the injunction, that's not the point, I want them to be under notice publicly not to do that. It's about them living up to their word and the deal we cut."

Representatives for Viagogo could not be reached for comment.

Jackson Run At 50, Secondary Market Causes Issues

Tickets go on sale for Michael Jackson London concerts

Tickets will go on sale this morning for Michael Jackson's concerts at the O2 in London.

By Jon Swaine
Last Updated: 11:28PM GMT 12 Mar 2009

The "King of Pop" will play a total of 50 dates at the former Millennium Dome in Greenwich, after a further five shows were added to his already-extended run.

The general sale for tickets to all 50 shows opens at 7am this morning at Michael Jackson Live! Tickets are priced at £50, £65 and £75 plus fees.

It follows a frenzied pre-sale on Wednesday, during which the singer's website crashed due to intense demand from fans. Many followers also camped outside the venue in an attempt to buy tickets in person.

Jackson's publicists claim that 360,000 tickets were sold in the 18-hour pre-sale – the equivalent of 20,000 tickets per hour or more than five per second. They said this represented "the fastest ticket sales in history".

They also claimed that one million tickets would be sold in all, a total which they say would set records for "the biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city" and "the most amount of people to attend a series of arena shows".

Randy Phillips, the president and CEO of AEG Live, which is promoting the concerts, said: "We knew this was showbusiness history, but this is a cultural phenomenon... Not only are these concerts unparalleled, these records will never be broken."

Jackson has said the concerts will be his last in Britain.

Tickets go on sale for Michael Jackson London concerts - Telegraph

-> Gerücht: Michael kommt zu X-Factor !

Michael Jackson lined up for the X Factor

Exclusive by Mark Jefferies
13/03/2009

Michael Jackson is being lined up for The X Factor.

Jackson will be in London when the live shows of the ITV1 series kick off later this year.

And boss Simon Cowell has made it his priority to get Jackson, who is on his Sony BMG label, on the show.

He wants a big name to rival Britney Spears who made a surprise appearance last year.

A source said: “Britney was a massive coup for Cowell. But he’s determined to raise the bar even higher and secure Jackson’s services."

“He is perhaps one of the few artists who could outshine Britney. The only sticking point is that while Britney had her new album to promote, Jackson’s shows have sold out in minutes and don’t necessarily need the publicity. But Cowell won’t let that stop him. He is determined to get his man.”

Britney’s appearance on The X Factor pulled in millions of viewers but she was slated for miming.

The source added: “Jackson has nothing to prove when it comes to appearing on a show like The X Factor but anything is possible and they are quietly confident.”

Jackson yesterday added more dates to his summer residency at the O2 Arena. He will now perform 45 This Is It shows at the London venue, meaning dates will stretch into 2010.

Jackson initially said he would play 10 concerts.

Organisers said half of seats for each show have been held back until the official sale starts at 7am today.

Jackson, who is in America rehearsing for the tour, is said to be “ecstatic” at the popularity of the shows.

Michael Jackson lined up for the X Factor - mirror.co.uk

Michael Jackson Goes For Broke (And AEG Live Breaks The Bank)

Posted on Thursday March 12, 2009 at 05:23 PM 6

Hey did you hear? Led Zeppelin is getting back together. And Madonna is retiring to teach high school. Oh, and Michael Jackson is going to play 50 shows at London’s O2 Arena. Wait. That last one’s true.

In what just might be the most daring stunt since Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon, concert promoter AEG Live has added another 20 shows to Jackson’s upcoming residency at the venue.

The latest run of dates kicks off January 9 and runs through the end of February. Tickets for all 50 shows go on sale to the general public March 13.

For all of you out there thinking this thing can’t possibly go off without some kind of a hitch (I’ll admit, I’m with you there), you won’t even have to wait until the first show.

A press release from AEG Live says this about ticket sales to date:

The figures speak for themselves – 360,000 tickets sold in 18 hours during the presale so far, that is 20,000 tickets per hour, 333 tickets per minute!

Sounds like things are running smoothly, right? Not exactly. The Times of London reports there was a little bump in the road during the presale that upset some fans.

About 10,000 tickets for each of the ten concerts announced last week went on sale yesterday morning on Ticketmaster to fans who had registered their interest on Jackson’s Web site. However, demand was so high that the Web site crashed, leading the promoters to announce another 20 dates – which also quickly sold out. It is thought that nearly 300,000 seats have been sold so far. The remaining tickets for each show will go on sale tomorrow.

Okay, minor problem. Not a big deal. That kind of thing is to be expected. This is Michael Jackson we’re talking about here and he hasn’t done a full-scale tour in more than a dozen years.

Jackson’s reasons for undertaking this gargantuan effort after so long away from the stage are pretty obvious. He needs to polish up his image in the worst way and he really, really needs the money. And it looks like he’ll walk away from this with a lot of it.

How much? Well The Times helpfully did a little math:

The live music industry is notoriously secretive about how ticket prices are split, but ten nights at the 22,000-capacity London venue at about £70 [roughly $96] a ticket will gross £15,400,00 [$21.2 million]. There will be deductions – venue hire, promotion cost, tax, production and musicians fees – but Jackson could easily walk away with several million pounds.

While noting “the paper’s show accountant doesn’t appear to have bothered about such things as VAT or PRS,” Pollstar’s John Gammon took things one step further and calculated that over the course of 50 shows, “Jackson’s take would come to $106 million.”

The Times also estimates the singer’s paycheck will get bumped up by a few other items.

Songwriter’s royalties will boost this. These are based on three percent of gross ticket sales; this equals £462,000 [around $634,000] to be split between Jackson and his co-writers.

Then there is the merchandise (T-shirts, tour programmes and other branded goods) and the knock-on effect on album sales. If a leading brand steps in as sponsor, Jackson’s pay cheque could double, given the scale of media attention that the shows will attract.

If this all goes according to plan (and that’s a really, really big if), MJ will earn enough dough to keep him in sequined gloves and military jackets into his seventies.

So what is AEG’s motivation for undertaking such a big project with an extremely risky star? After all, Jackson has a reputation for somehow torpedoing big schemes and they’ve already sunk a ton of capital into this plan.

It’s simple really; The company is poised to clean up bigtime. And that’s where things really start to get rocky. If fans were upset about crashing servers, they’re going to love this next little piece of info The Times dug up (new villain alert!).

But The Times understands that outside the official sale of the tickets, AEG Live approached secondary ticketing companies – which allow people to resell tickets to sporting and music events – offering to provide them directly with between 500 and 1,000 tickets for each performance.

It is thought that AEG Live offered the tickets on the understanding that they were sold at about £500 [roughly $687] each, with 80 percent of the revenue returning to AEG Live and the secondary ticketing company taking the remaining 20 percent.

They what?

A lot of you got pretty heated when we learned that choice seats get pulled from general sales to be marked up as platinum or VIP tickets on Ticketmaster. Now here’s concrete proof that AEG Live is doing exactly what some people have been claiming: working hand in hand with a secondary ticketing site to sell tickets at a significant markup.

What does the company have to say about the matter? To quote Dick Cheney, “So what?”

AEG Live did not deny its links to Viagogo. The company previously said in a statement: “In an effort to ensure fans are able to purchase premium tickets and exchange tickets directly with other fans, AEG Live has entered into an agreement with Viagogo. The online site allows people to buy and sell live event tickets in a save and guaranteed way.”

A source close to AEG Live said: “This is the hottest ticket of the decade. To suggest that there won’t be a premium market is unrealistic. We want to make sure it is done properly and fans are not buying the tickets in some dodgy back alley. This is only a small minority of tickets. The aim all along has been to make sure that the majority of the arena is filled with real fans. There are systems in place to make sure people cannot buy multiple tickets and sell them on.”

Mustn’t have people reselling blocks of tickets at outrageous prices. That’s apparently AEG Live’s job.

Yes, 1,000 tickets out of 22,000 is a small number. However, this is a really slippery slope.

Although I still think its kind of sucks, I can understand the artist or promoter diverting blocks of tickets to sell as VIP or platinum tickets at a premium through a primary ticketing site. But doing it through a secondary site at the very least has the appearance of a shady deal. After all, who’s making sure it’s only 1,000 tickets per show?

Michael Jackson Goes For Broke (And AEG Live Breaks The Bank) - Pollstar -- The Concert Hotwire

Michael Jackson's UK Farewell Extended to 50 Nights in London

Plus: The King of Pop's setlist revealed?
By Melissa Goldstein 03.12.09 10:08 AM

Perhaps they should have called it "The Long Goodbye."

Michael Jackson's string of London shows -- which the singer says will be his last ever in the U.K. -- has been extended from an initial 10-date residency at the O2 Arena to a staggering 50-night run.

The initial demand for tickets was so high that fan traffic actually created technical difficulties on the official website. "Unfortunately due to a technical issue, we were unable to facilitate all immediate ticket requests," Ticketmaster director Chris Edmonds said. "Apologies to those fans who were unable to log on, but fans should keep on trying to purchase tickets." On eBay, tickets to the show have skyrocketed to as much as £10,000 (about $14,000) a ticket.

Meanwhile, UK tabloid The Daily Mirror reports to have secured Jackson's setlist -- a hits-heavy selection including "Smooth Criminal," "Man in the Mirror," "Beat It," and an encore of "Thriller."

"He's toying with the idea of doing a Jackson 5 medley as well and he'll open with a four-minute-long intro to Billie Jean," a source predicts.

There's no word yet on Jackson planning any additional farewell gigs in other countries.

Michael Jackson's UK Farewell Extended to 50 Nights in London | Spin Magazine Online

Jackson’s Mystery Manager Revealed

Friday, March 13, 2009
By Roger Friedman

For about a year, since right before the chaos involving his Neverland Ranch possibly being sold at auction, Michael Jackson has had a mysterious new manager.

The man known as Tohme (pronounced toe-may) called himself a doctor. Different sources said he referred to himself either as an orthopedist or orthopedic surgeon. But there was a discrepancy: who was this man, the latest in a long line of managers who seemed to Svengali the pop star?

Yesterday, after many efforts, I finally pinned the 59-year-old Tohme down. A little. He conceded that he is not a licensed physician. “Not at this time,” he said. He refused, after repeated attempts, to say what kind of doctor he might have been at any time. His associates declined as well.

“If you want to talk about Michael Jackson, fine,” he said. “The story isn’t about me.”

But the story is very much about Tohme, who has not only taken over Jackson’s life but has a certain conflict of interest: he acts as a consultant to Colony Capital LLC, the company now partnered with Jackson in ownership of Neverland. Colony bought Fortress Investment’s $23.5 million note on the ranch last year.

More recently, they changed the name of the property to Sycamore Valley Ranch and became partners in the deed with Jackson. A small fortune changed hands, giving Jackson a much needed cash infusion of several million dollars.

But the pop singer always needs more money — he’s like a vampire when it comes to funds. So Tohme restarted talks with AEG Live begun in 2007 about Jackson performing at the O2 Arena in London. Now a staggering 35 dates have been set beginning July 8th. Another 15 are likely. Jackson hasn’t performed live in a full show since September 10, 2001.

Adding to this, Tohme is also responsible for the coming auction of Jackson’s personal memorabilia. He set up the auction with Julien’s Auction House last fall. Contracts were signed. Now Jackson is suing Julien’s, saying he didn’t know what was going on. Julien has catalogs printed, and is going forward. So far, Jackson’s attorney has not filed for a court order to stop the auction.

Sources around Jackson don’t have a high opinion of Tohme. They worry that he’s just the latest person who’s come into Jackson’s life with a personal agenda.

But Thomas Barrack, head of Colony Capital, says Tohme’s a “great guy,” someone’s he known a long time “in the business world, around L.A.” When I asked him how Tohme knew Jackson, Barrack answered: “You’ll have to ask him.” He did say it was Tohme who introduced him to Jackson.

Tohme is fuzzy on this point. “I knew him a long time,” he said of Jackson. At first he said he knew Jackson’s family, then he backtracked and said his relationship was with Michael. We never really figured that one out.

“I love Michael,” Tohme said. “I want what’s best for him. When the problems with Neverland came, I was approached to see if I could help. I knew him for twenty to thirty years.”

Tohme told me he set up the AEG Live deal, even though he was clearly not around in 2007 when I first reported the story. I asked him if he set up the auction. “I did not set up the auction, the auction is not going through!” This is in direct contrast to my conversation with auctioneer Darrell Julien last winter, who sang Tohme’s praises as the pair worked to put it all together.

“We had a certain period of time to empty Neverland last year,” Tohme said. “I was looking for a place for storage, a place to dump a lot of stuff like cars. I called Julien’s and asked if they could do it, come pick it up.” He says an auction could only go through with Jackson’s approval.

Last week, Darrell Julien told this column: “Michael has plenty of storage facilities. He wouldn’t have called me for storage.” True enough: Jackson at different times has had airport hangers at Santa Monica airport filled with his belongings. He’s also had warehouses closer to home near Neverland.

So what about Tohme Tohme, who’s not a doctor? There were a lot of questions I couldn’t ask him because he kept yelling, and refused to answer. I never got to ask him about a 1996 bankruptcy filing on record in the state of California. In the court filing, vs. Marathon National Bank, he listed himself as “Tohme Tohme, Doctor.”

A search of the Lexis Nexis database shows no mention of “Tohme Tohme,” doctor or otherwise, prior to December 22, 2008 when he issued a statement about Jackson’s health.

He was charming in our conversation. He said, “If you play it right, you will be the first one to know everything about Michael Jackson.” I said, thanks, I already was. He said that Michael is in great shape and could easily do 50 shows. “He could do a hundred.”

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