I would like to briefly share some recollections observed while growing up as a child of the Eighties in different parts of the world during the reign of the self-proclaimed King of pop.

Ever since Jacko hit the pop stratosphere with infectious, monstrously popular tunes like Thriller, Billie Jean and Beat It in the early '80s, the tabloids that make up the seedy underbelly of the western press had a field day splashing his real and imagined controversies across their front pages. But while the album sales were brisk, it didn't seem to faze the Smooth Criminal.

However, Jackson's magic in the recording studio seemed to wane after the release of his last truly great album, 1991's Dangerous. After that, Jacko did not have the cushion of astronomical record sales to fall back on when pushed to the wall by the multiple controversies. Allegations of child abuse didn't help much and repulsed many fans that were willing to overlook his eccentricities.

But though he might have been reduced to a grotesque caricature by sections of the western press, with the tabs starting to salivate at even the slightest whiff of a Jacko scandal, in many parts of the Third Word Jackson remained an idol even beyond his halcyon days.

As an adolescent I remember fishing for Michael Jackson records in Jeddah's flashy malls. Back in the early '90s the conservative desert kingdom was much more rigid. I recall once asking a record store clerk for the collection of Jacko CDs. He quietly led me to a corner and showed me the contraband. It seems the authorities of the time had no problem with the store selling albums of hair metal bands and Eurodisco nymphs, but Jacko seemed to be a much more corrupting influence on the youth.

The vigilance didn't seem to work as young Saudi men gobbled up Jacko's records and copied his fashions with reckless abandon.

The situation was no different in Pakistan during the time as in the age before cable TV and YouTube, even lower-middle class lads with only a very loose command over English could mouth the latest Jacko tunes and do the Moonwalk at the drop of a hat. There was even a somewhat popular Michael Jackson impersonator in these parts by the name of Tariq Jackson who did a pretty neat job of imitating Jacko's slick moves.

In other parts of the Third World, Jackson was known if not idolised. For a while, he seemed to be the face of globalised pop culture that we now take for granted. He was as big a brand as MTV, McDonalds and Coca-Cola (even though Music Television was initially hesitant about playing his videos as it had a policy of musical apartheid in the early days, due to which only pretty young white boys and girls could appear on the channel).

There were even rumours a few years ago that Jackson had embraced Islam, fuelled no doubt by his stay in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain.

Love him or hate him, one must acknowledge that Jackson helped bridge the gap between western pop culture and the Third World, bringing global brands — with perhaps himself as the biggest — to the streets of Caracas, Karachi and Cairo. — QAM