JACKSON BENEFIT ACTUALLY HAPPENING SHOCK

Rather happily, Michael Jackson discovered that he wouldn't need quite so many people to appear on his Katrina benefit after he spent some time reworking it and apparently it's being recorded as we speak. It's lucky that he turned out not to need lots of people - because although his people say that there are big names involved, nobody seems to want to go on the record and say who they might be. But certainly the big hitters promised at first - the James Browns and Mary Blige seem to have been replaced with, erm, Ciara and, perhaps, Shirley Caeser.

Probably not ex-Busted bloke James, though. He reports that since it came out he's been having sleepovers with Micko, he's been having a bad time of it:

"I have been spat at and pelted with bottles at gigs. It would seem people think there is something wrong with being Michael's friend."

"Some of the band think it's bad for our image, but I think he's a hugely influential man in music."

And it never did Paul McCartney any harm, working with him. Except for, um, him releasing a couple of stinking singles and taking nearly a decade to find his way back to any sort of form.

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