The King of Pop has died.

I'm sure by now most of you will have heard the news that Michael Jackson has died after a suspected heart attack at his home in Los Angeles.

I first met Michael in 1979 when I interviewed him in my home town of Leeds. We became friends until we lost contact in 1983. So, it was a very poignant moment for me when I added his memorial to GoneTooSoon last night.

http://michael.jackson.gonetoosoon.org

During his unparalleled career, Michael sold an estimated 750 million records, making him one of the most famous people on the planet.

Such was the interest in Michael, that the sheer number of people visiting GoneTooSoon to pay their respects caused the website to be unavailable for a short period. Please accept my apologies for this.

There have also been many additional memorials created for Michael on the site, which we have subsequently merged into the featured memorial on the front page. To keep all of Michael's tributes together, please can I ask you all to share your memories and leave your thoughts to Michael on the memorial linked to below.

http://michael.jackson.gonetoosoon.org

At this sad time, my thoughts are now with his 3 children, his family and his legions of fans worldwide. Rest In Peace Michael.