From Bad to Worse

CONTROVERSY has dogged the career of Michael Jackson, the self-styled King of Pop.

Even at the height of his extraordinary success in the 1980s, his bizarre and eccentric behaviour earned him the nickname Wacko Jacko.

But when a 14-year-old friend of the singer made allegations of sexual abuse against him in 1993, his career began to collapse.

Jackson reached an out-of-court settlement paying the teenager up to $25 million, but since then he has rarely been out of the newspapers.

Most recently he was criticised for dangling his baby out of a hotel window in Germany and admitting to sleeping in the same room as children at his Neverland ranch.

Now 45, Jackson has repeatedly blamed his stern upbringing for his troubles in later life.

He shot to fame as a child. He was the lead vocalist and youngest member of the hugely successful family band, the Jackson Five, originally from Gary, Indiana.

But Jackson has often described how he received beatings from his father Joe an allegation his father has denied.

The talented singer has spent his life in the public eye, topping the charts with the Jackson Five with hits like I Want You Back and I'll Be There.

And Jackson's phenomenal success continued as he made a seamless transition to solo stardom, with the

disco-inspired album Off The Wall.

Professionally, Jackson was going from strength to strength.

In 1982, he released his album Thriller, the most successful album of all time, selling more than 47 million copies.

It produced a run of hits such as The Girl Is Mine a duet with Paul McCartney and the legendary tracks Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller.

His groundbreaking dance routines and pioneering pop videos further fuelled his success, while his sponsorship from Pepsi and 1984 Victory tour confirmed his status as the world's biggest star. But even at the height of his powers there were concerns about the price the icon was paying for fame.

Jackson seemed to be trying to recapture the youth he himself was denied.

He surrounded himself with children, animals and toys and built his Neverland mansion, named in honour of Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up.

His mask-wearing also fuelled rumours of health obsessions. And by the time of the release of his album Bad in 1987, his physical appearance had changed drastically.

He always denied having plastic surgery and blamed his changing appearance on a skin pigmentation deficiency, but the stories about his

ever-changing face continued.

Jackson carried on regardless. Bad was another huge success, while the album Dangerous, released in 1992, spawned a string of hits including Heal the World.

But then the biggest crisis of his career began with allegations of sexual abuse made by a 13-year-old friend of Jackson's, Jordan Chandler. Jackson has always categorically denied any wrongdoing to children.

He married Lisa Marie Presley daughter of Elvis in May 1994 but the couple separated within 18 months. And there were more family squabbles as he fell out publicly with his brothers, sisters and father.

Jackson launched a greatest hits album HIStory and a world tour in 1995 But his live performance at the 1996 Brit Awards, involving a Christ-like Jackson posing with children, ended in shambles as Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker invaded the stage in protest.

The same year Jackson married his second wife, 37-year-old Debbie Rowe, a nurse, and 1997 saw the birth of their first child, Prince Michael Jr.

Their daughter, Paris Michael Katherine was born in 1998 but Rowe filed for a divorce in 1999, leaving Jackson with the children.

Bizarrely when they are out in public Jackson covers the faces of his children to protect their identity and stop kidnap attempts, he said.

In May 2003, Jackson was said to be on the verge of bankruptcy In early 2003, his third child, Prince Michael II, was born to a mystery mother.

Then last November Jackson came out on the balcony at a Berlin hotel and dangled his eight-month-old son over the 50ft drop to show fans The controversy featured heavily in a documentary fronted by Martin Bashir, which caused an international stir and bitter criticism from Jackson himself who claimed he had been "betrayed".

Broadcast last February, Jackson admitted to sleeping in the same room as children at his Neverland ranch. This year Jackson has again tried to relaunch his career with the announcement of the reforming of the Jackson Five for special concerts and the release of a number ones album.

That was tipped as a possible Christmas number one in the album charts before Jackson's private life again intruded on the star's career.