Michael Jackson fans ‘hope’ to attend star’s funeral (From York Press)

Michael Jackson fans ‘hope’ to attend star’s funeral

7:50am Monday 29th June 2009 in

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THEY paid out more than £1,000 to see their idol Michael Jackson in concert.

Now two fans from North Yorkshire, Malcolm Bryce and William Fox, are considering flying to America for the King Of Pop’s funeral.

Friends Malcolm, 20, of Selby, and William, 20, of Brayton, are set to be refunded approximately £1,100 which they shelled out to see Jackson’s This Is It gigs at London’s 02 Arena.

They were due to go to the performances on July 13, August 10, August 28, September 27, February 10, February 22 and February 24.

Now, following the singer’s shock death, Malcolm, a graphic designer, told The Press: “I think we both would be up for trying to attend that (the funeral).”

He said that, before the singing legend died last week, he had tried to imagine how happy he would be the moment he saw Jackson singing and dancing on stage.

“But it was not to be and I do not think anything else in my life can take me anywhere close to the happiness I would have felt in that moment,” he said.

His earliest memory of the star was from 1991, when he saw Jackson’s Black Or White music video. “I have been perfecting his moves ever since,” he said. “My parents’ memories of me as a toddler are of me dancing and moonwalking just like Michael Jackson under a lamp post in our cul-de-sac in Brayton.

“For me, it’s just about the music and the live performances – I’ve never delved into his personal life.”

He said that, while the pals were huge fans of the icon, their interest in him was healthy. “We’re not crazy – we understand that Michael Jackson was human,” he said.

“Michael has had so much influence on my life, from not being scared to have my own style, to having similar shy and modest characteristics like MJ and even considering it okay to wear white socks with black shoes.

“Over the past year, a few people in Selby have got to know me as ‘that lad who can dance like Michael Jackson’.”