Michael Jackson was on the verge of making the most spectacular comeback in pop music history. Tarnished by child abuse allegations in spite of a court acquittal in 2005, he was due to start 50 sell-out shows in London next month, which would have seen him playing to a total of one million fans.

But his hopes of repairing his shattered career were terminated when he reportedly suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at his Los Angeles home on Thursday. His death at the age of 50 robs the entertainment world of a colossus, justly nicknamed the “King of Pop”, and caps a turbulent, complex life with shocking suddenness. The sense of unfolding tragedy that shadowed his rise to fame has prevailed.