Unsurprisingly, the death of Michael Jackson has dominated the international press over the past week, with many musicians weighing in with their opinions on the King of Pop.
Paul McCartney, who worked with Jackson on several songs, remembered the singer as “a massively talented boy-man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.”
Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Madonna and Sheryl Crow were among those who released statements proclaiming the impact that Jackson had on their careers. Many others expressed their thoughts through the social networking site Twitter, including musicians as diverse as Patrick Wolf and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy.
In Dublin, a group of fans has laid flowers and set up a makeshift shrine to the star outside HMV on Grafton Street.
HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said that sales of Jackson’s albums have rocketed. Radioplay of his songs has reportedly increased by 1,735 per cent.
Meanwhile, concert promoters AEG Live are giving fans who had bought tickets for Jackson’s London shows the choice between a full refund or keeping the ticket as a souvenir, claiming that they were “designed” by Jackson himself.
The singers funeral is expected to take place on Sunday.
