Sunday, August 30, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
'King of Pop' Michael Jackson is dead
Michael Jackson, shown in 2008, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.
He was 50.
He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.
Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon. 
"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."
Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country. 
For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event. iReport: Share your memories of Michael Jackson
The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.
His next release, 1991's "Dangerous," debuted at No. 1 but "only" produced one top-ranking single -- "Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.
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And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind," an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.
After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory," sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.
A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible," did even worse.
In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.
In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010.
Rise to stardom
Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown. Watch Michael Jackson's life in video
He made his first television appearance at age 11.
Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group's first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," for Rolling Stone, praised Michael's versatile singing and added, "Who is this 'Diana Ross,' anyway?"
The group's first four singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC.
In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song "Ben."
The group's popularity waned as the '70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of "The Wiz," and released the album "Off the Wall" in 1979. Its success paved the way for "Thriller," which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with 50 million copies sold worldwide.
At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous.
Seven of "Thriller's" nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson's videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. ("Weird Al" Yankovic cemented his own stardom by lampooning Jackson's song "Beat It" with a letter-perfect parody video.)
On the Motown Records' 25th-anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show.
Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with "Thriller." But something about his electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level.
People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which -- "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" -- became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news.
It all happened very fast -- within a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the "Motown 25" moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn't even turned 25 himself, but he'd been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the "King of Pop" -- a spin on Elvis Presley's status as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" -- and few questioned the moniker.
Relentless attention
But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you're on top of the world, there's nowhere to go but down. The relentless attention given Jackson started focusing as much on his eccentricities -- some real, some rumored -- as his music.
As the Web site Allmusic.com notes, he was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have purchased the bones of John Merrick, the "Elephant Man." (Neither was true.) He did have a pet chimpanzee, Bubbles; underwent a series of increasingly drastic plastic surgeries; established an estate, Neverland, filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides; and managed to purchase the Beatles catalog from under Paul McCartney's nose, which displeased the ex-Beatle immensely.
In 1990s and 2000s, Jackson found himself pasted across the media for his short-lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie; his 2002 claim that then Sony Records head Tommy Mottola was racist; his behavior and statements during a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir done for a documentary called "Living With Michael Jackson;" his changing physical appearance; and, above all, the accusations that he sexually molested young boys at Neverland.
The first such accusation, in 1993, resulted in a settlement to the 13-year-old accuser (rumored to be as high as $20 million), though no criminal charges were filed, Allmusic.com notes.
He also fell deeply in debt and was forced to sell some of his assets. Neverland was one of many holdings that went on the block. However, an auction of material from Neverland, scheduled for April, was called off and all items returned to Jackson.
Interest in Jackson never faded, however, even if some of it was prurient. In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50.
Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March.
However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer.
At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, "He's as healthy as can be -- no health problems whatsover."
Jackson held open auditions for dancers in April in Los Angeles.
He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Why Rafa will sell Alonso
| 11 May 2009 | |
| I was interacting with some of our members on our VIP website today when someone asked about Xabi Alonso and Carlos Tevez. People want to know if the Alonso exit talk is true and if we really are in for Carlos Tevez. Nobody knows what will happen in the summer. Not me, not Rafa, not even the players concerned. But we can examine the thoughts and possibilities until we see something played out. Alonso and Benitez do not have the best relationship in the world. They have fallen out before but they're fine with each other in the sense that they each know their role and so on. |
Benitez is in rush to sell Alonso but he knows he has a high valuation *if* he can convince someone to spend silly money. Perez has already declared that if (when!) he is elected at Real Madrid that he will sign Alonso because he has all the standards for a Real Madrid player. Rafa knows this and my opinion is that the interest from Man City has been instigated by Rafa to put pressure on Real to pay good, good money.Liverpool close in on defender
16 June 2009
As exclusively revealed to our VIP members earlier this week, Liverpool have agreed a fee with Portsmouth for defender Glen Johnson.
The 24-year-old highly-rated defender looks set to snub Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, Bayern Munich and others to secure a move to Anfield despite the fact that he could earn a lot more elsewhere.
A fee of £17million has been mooted but with Pompey still owing us from the Peter Crouch deal, the actual amount we would have to cough up would be much les.
Snippet from our exclusive members item earlier this week:
A club insider told the KOPTALK editor: "Johnson has been given permission to speak to us.
"His agent claims that the player is more interested in a move to Liverpool than to London or anywhere else and that his decision won't be just about money.
"A condition of any sale would be that Portsmouth don't disclose the transfer fee and conditions of the transaction due to outstanding business between the two clubs."
Asked if Johnson was the player pencilled in for a medical, the source would only say: "If he wants the move to Anfield he could be a player before the end of the working week. It's down to him now."
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
liverpool FC result 2008/2009
| 12.07.08 | Tranmere 0-1 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 16.07.08 | FC Lucerne 1-2 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 19.07.08 | Wisla Krakow 1-1 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 23.07.08 | Hertha Berlin 0-0 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 30.07.08 | Villarreal 0-0 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 2.08.08 | Rangers 0-4 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 5.08.08 | Valerenga 1-4 Liverpool | Pre-Season |
| 8.08.08 | Liverpool 1-0 Lazio | Pre-Season |
| 13.08.08 | Standard Liege 0-0 Liverpool | Champions League Qualifier, First Leg |
| 16.08.08 | Sunderland 0-1 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 23.08.08 | Liverpool 2-1 Middlesbrough | Premier League |
| 28.08.08 | Liverpool 1-0 Standard Liege (1-0agg.) | Champions League Qualifier, Second Leg |
| 31.08.08 | Aston Villa 0-0 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 15.09.08 | Liverpool 2-1 Man United | Premier League |
| 17.09.08 | Marseille 1-2 Liverpool | Champions League Group D, Match 1 |
| 22.09.08 | Liverpool 0-0 Stoke City | Premier League |
| 23.09.08 | Liverpool 2-1 Crewe | League Cup |
| 27.09.08 | Everton 0-2 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 1.10.08 | Liverpool 3-1 PSV | Champions League, Matchday 2 |
| 5.10.08 | Man City 2-3 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 18.10.08 | Liverpool 3-2 Wigan | Premier League |
| 22.10.08 | Atletico 1-1 Liverpool | Champions League Matchday 3 |
| 26.10.08 | Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 29.10.08 | Liverpool 1-0 Portsmouth | Premier League |
| 1.11.08 | Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 5.11.08 | Liverpool 1-1 Atletico | Champions League Matchday 4 |
| 8.11.08 | Liverpool 3-0 West Brom | Premier League |
| 12.11.08 | Tottenham 4-2 Liverpool | League Cup Fourth Round |
| 15.11.08 | Bolton 0-2 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 22.11.08 | Liverpool 0-0 Fulham | Premier League |
| 26.11.08 | Liverpool 1-0 Marseille | Champions League Matchday 5 |
| 1.12.08 | Liverpool 0-0 West Ham | Premier League |
| 6.12.08 | Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 9.12.08 | PSV 1-3 Liverpool | Champions League Group D, Match 6 |
| 13.12.08 | Liverpool 2-2 Hull City | Premier League |
| 21.12.08 | Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 26.12.08 | Liverpool 3-0 Bolton | Premier League |
| 28.12.08 | Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 3.01.09 | Preston 0-2 Liverpool | FA Cup 3rd Round |
| 10.01.09 | Stoke City 0-0 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 19.01.09 | Liverpool 1-1 Everton | Premier League |
| 25.01.09 | Liverpool 1-1 Everton | FA Cup Fourth Round |
| 28.01.09 | Wigan 1-1 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 1.02.09 | Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea | Premier League |
| 5.02.09 | Everton 1-0 Liverpool | FA Cup 4th Round Replay |
| 7.02.09 | Porstmouth 2-3 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 22.02.09 | Liverpool 1-1 Man City | Premier League |
| 25.02.09 | Real Madrid 0-1 Liverpool | Champions League R2 1L |
| 28.02.09 | Middlesbrough 2-0 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 3.03.09 | Liverpool 2-0 Sunderland | Premier League |
| 10.03.09 | Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid | CL 2nd Round, 2nd Leg |
| 14.03.09 | Man Utd 1-4 Liverpool | Premier League |
| 22.03.09 | Liverpool 5-0 Aston Villa | Premier League |
Pepe Reina
With Liverpool’s impressive run of form during March resulting in Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres grabbing the headlines for their goalscoring exploits, one man who has been somewhat overlooked is goalkeeper Pepe Reina.
The Spanish stopper kept clean sheets against Sunderland and Aston Villa during March, with the one against Villa last Sunday his 100th in all competitions.
In keeping his 100th clean sheet in 197 games Reina became the Reds’ faster ever goalkeeper to acheive the milestone, breaking Ray Clemence’s previous record of 200 appearances.
Still only 26 Reina clearly has a massive career ahead of him, with keepers often not reaching their peak until around age 30. “People don’t realise how good Pepe is,” Rafa Benitez told the official LFC website.
His memorable celebrations following Spain’s European Championship win last summer displayed how much of a character he is, as has some of his celebrations this season following a goal down the other end. “He gives the team a lot of confidence,” says Benitez.
With two assists in March too, Reina’s excellent distribution has also been noted; “He is very positive and he is very offensive in his play and that is very important when you talk about a goalkeeper because it means he is always looking to launch a counter attack,” Benitez said.
Last week Rafa hailed Pepe “very complete” and acknowledged his character, it seems the Anfield faithful agree and you can expect to hear his name being sung on the Kop for many years to come.
Steven Gerrard Gerrard is ready to commit himself to a new long-term contract at Liverpool, saying he has never been happier in his career.
| Steven Gerrard Gerrard is ready to commit himself to a new long-term contract at Liverpool, saying he has never been happier in his career. | |
| Captain Gerrard believes Rafa Benitez can restore the Reds to the pinnacle of English football and wants to see out his playing days at the club he has idolised since boyhood. He said yesterday he intends to follow his leader after seeing Benitez sign a new five-year deal last week. "If there was a chance to extend my contract I'm sure I'd do it," said Gerrard. "I've never been happier than I am at the moment. Why? Because I'm playing in a top team, I'm playing with world-class players, I believe in the manager and that we can be successful." Midfielder Gerrard has been the driving force behind Liverpool's re-emergence in the title race, helping to destroy Manchester United 4-1 then plundering a hat-trick in the 5-0 humbling on Aston Villa last Sunday as they moved to within a point of Sir Alex Ferguson's side. He reported for England duty ahead of the friendly with Slovakia on Saturday, and next Wednesday's World Cup qualifier with Ukraine having no doubts that his season is going from strength to strength. "For years and years I've moaned about not being involved in a title race and Liverpool being far away from the other teams," said Gerrard. "Now I'm playing in a team capable of beating anyone in the league. "There's a good feeling around the club at the moment but it's important not to get carried away. Manchester United are still favourites. If they win their game in hand they're four points ahead, which is a decent lead at this stage of the season. "But our confidence is high, the momentum is with us. We have to focus on what we're doing and if United have another slip-up, we have to make sure we capitalise on it." Benitez has already set the ball rolling on building a dynasty at Anfield by initiating contract talks with a host of players. Gerrard claimed Benitez's insistence on resting players at various points during the season is also giving Liverpool an edge in the run-in at a time when United appear to be flagging. "We have a lot of energy at the moment because the manager changes it around and rests players at the right times," said Gerrard. "If we're comfortable in a game, he'll take players off. You see him do it time after time. That's why the Liverpool squad are looking so fresh and powerful at the moment. "When you're young and selfish you do think differently. When you're younger you want to play in every game. "But when you've got that little bit more experience, you realise it is a very long season and you have to accept getting taken off at times or being rested so you're peaking at the right moments of the season." |
HILLSBOROUGH 2008 Hillsborough Memorial
2008 Hillsborough Memorial Service
On April 15 1989 over 25,000 Liverpool fans travelled to Hillsborough to support their team in the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. Ninety six of them never returned. Nineteen years later friends and family of those who lost their lives were joined by thousands of fans at Anfield to pay tribute to 96 Liverpool supporters who will never be forgotten. You can watch the entire service, which features readings from former midfielder Brian Hall and reserve team manager Gary Ablett, online now.
Hillsborough - The Documentary
Click here to see the video clip
'Hillsborough' - a new and powerful documentary describing the events and aftermath of the 1989 tragedy – was first aired on LFC TV to mark the 19th anniversary of the day 96 Liverpool fans lost their lives at a football match. Featuring contributions from the likes of Sheila Coleman, Phil Hammond, Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Carney, Rogan Taylor, John Barnes and John Aldridge amongst others, 'Hillsborough' is essential viewing for not just Liverpool fans, but all football supporters.
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| Click here to watch a moving tribute to the Hillsborough 96 ›› |
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