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Jacksons v AEG Timeline Top Stories
Jackson senior: Michael could never have done fifty shows
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 14 July 2009
Back to Jackson’s family, and his father, Joe Jackson, has told ABC News that his son wasn’t fit enough to do the fifty night residency promoters AEG Live had planned for him in London. He again repeated claims that his son never agreed to such a long run, backing up tabloid stories before Jacko’s death that said the singer had told fans he agreed to only ten shows, but woke up one day to find AEG had sold tickets for fifty.
Speaking on the day the Jacko mega-residency should have begun, Jackson Senior told ABC: “I was worried about his health, because all the shows that I’m seeing, no artist can do that many shows back to back like that. So I knew Michael couldn’t do all those shows without some rests in between”.
AEG have again insisted that Jackson was consulted on the length of the O2 residency. The promoter’s top man told the press: “Our original agreement with Michael Jackson called for 31 shows. When the response to the initial announcement of 10 shows was so overwhelming, we went to Jackson’s advisor, Dr Tohme Tohme, and asked if the singer would be willing to do more. Tohme told us that Jackson would perform fifty. Michael himself said he was motivated to embark on a record-setting run of concerts”.
In related news, yesterday some 600 Jacko fans amassed outside the O2 in London in recognition of the fact last night should have been the night of the very first Jackson comeback show. At 6.30pm, when doors would have opened, they observed a minute’s silence. BBC reporter Michael Osborn said there was a “light-hearted, celebratory” mood outside the complex.
