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Pop star Michael Jackson died today (26th June 2009) in his home in Los Angeles. Emergency medical teams were called to the troubled singers Beverly Hills home at midday Thursday after staff found him not breathing.

Despite all efforts to resuscitate him, the singer succumbed and doctors at the UCLA Medical Center pronounced him dead two hours later. He is believed to have suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. Jackson had a widely publicized history of health problems and issues throughout his life.

Television footage followed the body as it was flown from the UCLA Medical Center to the LA County Coroner’s office. A post-mortem is expected to be undertaken on Friday.

Despite having been out of the charts for many years, Jackson had a fanatical fan base that were still loyal to him. He was planning a series of comeback concerts beginning on 13 July in the UK, then moving over to the US. There were some concerns over his health when four of those dates were postponed, but the promoters insisted the dates were changed merely so the staging would work out better.

Friends of Michael were quick to offer words. Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: “I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.

“I’m wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.

“It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again.”

Uri Geller, a close friend of the star, told the BBC it was “very, very sad”.

Tributes from the world of movies and music have started coming in from a wide spectrum of celebrities including Lisa Marie Presley, Madonna and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Fans are already gathered in increasing numbers outside Jackson Berverly Hills home and at the Medical Center where his body was first pronounced dead. A candlelight vigil is planned to mourn the passing of the star.

Born Michael Joseph Jackson in 1958 he began his singing career with the Jackson Five. He then went on to huge fame as a solo artist with iconic numbers such as Thriller, Bad and Billie Jean. The album Thriller, released in 1982 is still the biggest selling album of all time, having sold over 65 million copies worldwide.

Although seemingly attracting controversy since leaving the mainstream, Jackson has always maintained a looming presence in the pop world. Arrested in 2003 for allegedly molesting a young teenage boy and found not guilty, then all of the widely publicized money troubles, and we won’t even mention the balcony incident in Germany.

Despite this Jackson commanded a fanbase like no other and his comeback tour sold out in no time at all. It is with sincere hope that history is kinder to Michael Jackson that life was.