Jackson joins Madonna and Prince in 50s club

MICHAEL Jackson celebrates his 50th birthday today hot on the heels of Madonna and Prince, who have already struck the half century note.

While his career has never recovered from high-profile allegations of child molestation, the colour-customised California dweller has left an indelible mark in the annals of modern music.

More reviled than revered, the once monikered Peter Pan of Pop has become more recognised latterly for errant and erratic behaviour.

Jackson underwent millions of dollars worth of cosmetic surgery to resemble a white, ageless fantasy figure; spent millions more on protecting his children from the public’s gaze only to dangle one of them from the balcony of a multi-storey hotel in Germany.

Nonetheless, his 1982 album Thriller is regarded as a milestone and the biggest selling album of all time, with estimates exceeding 104 million copies. In the United States alone, the album is second only to The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 on the Recording Industry Association of America’s list of the best-selling albums.

He was, in the ’80s, the biggest thing in pop music and was the first black artist to find stardom on MTV.

The snowballing, bizarre eccentricities, best-illustrated by his Californian Neverland home/wildlife reserve/amusement park and his constant chimpanzee companion, reached full velocity in 1993 when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy whom he often invited to Neverland for sleep-overs.

Jackson vehemently denied the charges, but made an out-of-court settlement, said to be worth $20 million (€13m), with the boy’s parents.

His slide into ugly notoriety had begun despite his 19-month marriage to Lisa Marie Presley in 1994.

In January 2005 Jackson commanded the world media, again for all the wrong reasons. His child molestation trial, which resulted in his acquittal on all counts, effectively laid the slab on a dead career.

He has been planning a comeback studio album to coincide with his 50th year, a fact that few, other than his die-hard disciples, are thrilled to hear.