by Justine Southwick

Created on: June 28, 2009

Like anyone born in the late seventies, I grew up with Michael Jackson's music.

At age six I was terrified the first time I saw the Thriller music video. I was fascinated by the story of Billie Jean, even if I didn't fully understand it, and I was glued to the TV whenever Michael showed his tough side in Beat it. His music was the soundtrack of my childhood.

As I grew up and my music tastes changed, Michael faded into the background. But, at 16 when I became a regular at the local nightclub frequented by the underage, Billie Jean and Don't Stop Till You Get Enough made a brief comeback.

But then the accusations about his child molestation came out and everything changed. The nickname Wacko Jacko spread like wildfire, everyone agreed he'd ruined his once-handsome looks, and crude jokes were doing the rounds. I laughed at all of them.

I regret all the times I laughed at those jokes now. Only he and the children involved really knew the truth about what happened. He was undeniably troubled but don't they say every superstar has their quirks? And isn't it those quirks that make them superstars? If they were normal, they'd be just like the rest of us. Love him or hate him, you have to admit Michael was a musical genius, and genius never comes without its downsides.

It's this genius we must remember Michael for. I saw him in concert in 1995, and was blown away. He held the sell-out crowd in thrall, enchanting us with boyish antics and seemingly impossible dance moves. No one could have said he didn't give us our money's worth. Judging it purely on special effects, it's the best concert I've been to.

The concerts in London he would have been doing in a couple of weeks were sold out in a matter of hours. As one of the concert organisers said in one news bulletin, there are very few performers who could do that, particuarly one who has had several years of bad press. We should remember Michael for that.

I feel sad that his last few years were so plagued with misery. He, through his songs, made people care. He'd given the world so much, and we couldn't do him the courtesy of leaving him to sort his problems out away from the spotlight. With news of his latest act of weirdness filtering through one after the other, I think we forgot what he was originally famous for. We forgot how talented he was.

I don't ever want to do that again. I want to remember the boy and young man he was, not the recluse he became. We all should. He deserves that much, doesn't he?

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