83 Minutes: The Doctor, The Damage and The Shocking Death of Michael Jackson by Matt Richards and Mark Langthorne - review

Sordid final days of yet another pop superstar. By William Leith
Unhappy ending: Michael Jackson
AFP/Getty Images
William Leith17 September 2015

You might not want to know the sad and humiliating details of Michael Jackson’s death, or about his relationship with his doctor, Conrad Murray, or about the controversial period of time on the morning of his death, the 83 minutes of the title. But if you do, this book will satisfy your urge.

The authors have created that particular feeling of creepiness you get from forensic accounts of real-life tragedies.

Jackson’s public life was scenery, and here we see behind it. His bedroom: an addict’s den. His face: a battleground of cosmetic surgery which began after he broke his nose in 1979. His hair: a wig (his scalp had been badly burned while filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984.) He was an insomniac. He wore a “condom catheter” to bed.

Financially, too, he was on the edge of collapse. There is a sense of inevitability about Jackson’s demise. To stave off bankruptcy, he needed to perform. So he needed to rehearse. So he needed sleep. So he needed powerful drugs.

Michael Jackson - In pictures

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His drug of choice was Propofol, a surgical anaesthetic “milk of amnesia”. To get Propofol, he needed a doctor. Enter Murray. Exit Jackson. Very sordid too.

Go to standard.co.uk/booksdirect to buy this book for £13.49, or phone 0843 060 0029, free UK p&p

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