In another public appearance, this time back in his home country, Michael Jackson has paid tribute to the late great James Brown who, as you all surely know, died on Christmas Day. Jackson appeared at a large public funeral for the singer, held at an arena that bears his name in his hometown of Augusta. Speaking to the packed arena, Jackson said: "Ever since I was a small child, no more than like six years old, my mother would wake me no matter what time it was, if I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing, to watch the television to see the master at work. And when I saw him move, I was mesmerised. I had never seen a performer perform like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that that was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown".
Reverend Al Sharpton, who delivered the main eulogy at the service, said that Brown had asked for Jackson to speak at his funeral. In his speech, Sharpton said that: "The whole world, he said, changed its beat because of James Brown". Following the speeches, films of Brown's last ever performance in Augusta, and his last ever performance altogether, at the BBC's Electric Proms in London, were screened.
The public funeral on Saturday followed a private gathering from family and close friends on Friday, and a public tribute at New York's Apollo Theatre on Thursday. Always the king of the costume change, Brown's body, visible to the public in his coffin, was reportedly clothed in a different outfit for each of the three memorial events.
Brown, the always prolific, often controversial, singer, songwriter, band leader and record producer, often referred to as the 'hardest working man in show business' or, more often, the 'Godfather Of Soul', died in the early hours of Christmas morning, having been admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve suffering from pneumonia. He was 73.