For Bad or good, he was unique.

Byline: Rick Fulton

WE were waiting for something bad to happen. Michael Jackson was back with 50 concert dates at London's O2 but would he show?

Could he handle it after so many years away? That's what we were waiting for. Not the news Jacko is dead.

Love him or loathe him, in the music world Michael Jackson was a legend.

For nearly four decades, he created tunes which will always be classics. A child star who never stopped being famous.

With his brothers in the Jackson Five, he sang I Want You Back, ABC, Ben and Can You Feel It.

As a solo artist, he produced the biggest-selling album of all time in Thriller, which spawned Beat It and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin.

Jacko is up there with Elvis, James Brown, Frank Sinatra and John Lennon as a global musical icon who brought cultures and countries together in a love of their music.

His concerts were full of energy and drama. And his stage showmanship spilled out into his private life.

His legendary weirdness - from monkey pal Bubbles, to sleeping in an oxygen tent, to his changing skin colour and face masks - made Jacko an endless source of fascination.

But while other stars had their problems, Jacko's were careerdestroying. He was twice accused of child abuse - and that weirdness which had made him a figure of fun suddenly seemed more sinister.

So what now? What do we remember as the world digests the loss of a legend? The music or the man? One thing's for sure - there will never be another like Jacko.

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ICONS: Jacko and James Brown TRIBUTE: At Motown museum in Detroit