Louis, Martin & Michael

This programme contains strong language.

I've always been fascinated by the pop star Michael Jackson.

I've made approaches to see if he'd be interested in collaborating on a documentary. I never heard back.

But in the summer of 2002, I decided to make a start without him,

hoping he'd want to get involved.

It was worth the risk, for a chance to learn about this eccentric star.

It was June and Michael Jackson was in England for a short visit.

He stayed in London and was ferried around by Uri Geller to the sights.

What are you hoping to see? I don't know, I haven't been in yet!

Uri also took Michael to Devon for the day to visit his football club,

Exeter City.

When I called Michael and I said to him,

"Michael, will you come to Exeter City football club?"

He said, "Will there be children from hospitals?" I said "Yes."

His first words were, "See it as done."

Michael Jackson!

Hello to you wonderful people of Exeter.

CHEERING

I wasn't in Exeter that day, I was in London checking into his hotel

in an effort to get close to him.

I'd made several calls to Uri Geller to see if he'd arrange a meeting.

At first, he seemed keen to let us film some of the trip.

Now Michael was in the country, I was having trouble getting through.

'Hi, we're on the phone or out of range.

'Please leave your name and number and we'll call you back.

'Alternatively you can text message us on the same number. Bye.'

Well, what do you think? Does he usually answer?

Yeah. I'll try back in a bit.

Fans were gathered outside Michael's hotel.

Knowing that he's in that building, you can just feel it.

So much atmosphere - everyone from all over the world,

different nationalities, giving back some of that love he gives us in his music.

Louis? Yeah. See, I told you it was. Mark Lester.

I recognised the name. Mark Lester was Oliver Twist in the 1968 film.

Are you staying in the hotel? No. No, we've just been in. To see Michael? Yeah. You're joking!

I've known Michael for years. Really? Yes. How about that.

Lovely chap. How did you meet him?

Well, we share a common interest,

well, a common thing in that we were both child stars.

We've sort of known each other since we were kids really.

How amazing. We've had the most wonderful evening.

What were you doing? Watching some sort of video, Beadle's or...

Yes, he likes watching Lisa Riley. Lisa Riley? Yes.

The You've Been Framed? Yes. He loved that programme.

Said he was rolling on the floor laughing.

What do you do now, Mark? Are you still an actor? I'm an osteopath.

I still hadn't heard back from Uri so I wrote Michael a letter.

What are you writing? Dear Michael, I'm making a documentary

for BBC Television about you and what you mean...

..to your fans.

I would...love...to...speak to you.

Smiley face?

Yeah. Do you think so?

Well, yeah. Seems like the kind of guy who'd appreciate it.

Am I plugged in? Can you hear me?

OK.

'Michael was staying on the same floor as me. A security guard was outside his room all night.'

Got a message. Go to security and they'll take it from there.

OK, thanks very much. Thanks a lot.

I couldn't be sure Michael would ever receive my letter or read it

or if he'd appreciate it, let alone respond to it. I tried to remain positive.

CROWD CHANTS

There was a second reason why Michael Jackson was in the UK.

A demonstration had been organised against Michael's label - Sony.

Sales of Invincible were disappointing. He blamed Sony for lack of promotion.

Fans had come to lend support.

It seems odd to protest against a record label for not promoting it.

It's not just about that. It's about destroying music.

It's about art in general.

By not promoting the album, they don't let people hear the music.

It's like business against art.

That is brilliant. Michael's coming. He's coming here? He's coming.

Are you lying? Wicked! Are you serious?

Don't leave, please don't leave, he wants you here. Please don't leave.

Please stay.

LOUD SCREAMING

God, he is on there. He's actually on there!

It's quite exciting!

CROWD SHOUTS AND SCREAMS

Sony sucks! Sony sucks! Sony sucks! Sony sucks! Sony sucks!

PEOPLE CONTINUE TO SCREAM

'It was my first encounter with Michael.

'Even I hadn't been immune to the excitement.

'The number of fans wasn't huge but the devotion was undeniable.'

Are you all right?

Michael flew back to America. I'd had no word from the Jackson camp

and what's worse,

I'd heard a troubling rumour.

Martin Bashir had been seen going for a meeting with Michael.

Would this have implications for my documentary?

Without Michael, the next best thing might be meeting his friends.

Many have been child stars, former child stars and children.

We arranged an interview with Terry George, who'd been friends with Michael as a teenager.

We got an e-mail saying he'd pulled out.

Strangely, the e-mail was also sent to Uri Geller. Time to meet Uri.

Hello! Hello, Uri, how are you doing?

Come in.

You are kind of an unofficial spokesperson for...

People who want to speak to Michael, they come to you, don't they?

They come to see me because it's known that we are friends.

Michael's been here, hasn't he? Yes.

Many times? I don't want to comment on that... Why not?

It's no-one's business how many times he's been here.

I can tell you there was one occasion... So not that many?

No, not that many. Really? How many times did he come to England overall? Not many.

There's a picture of Michael over here.

May I pick that up? Absolutely.

Yeah, this was an amazing event when I became the joint chairman of Exeter City Football Club,

I rang Michael

and David Blaine and asked them if they'd become honorary directors.

To come all the way from Los Angeles and give that unbelievable speech where you were,

you attended... Where? Exeter City Football Club. No. You weren't there?

No, we weren't allowed to. I thought you were in the background.

No, we wanted to be in the stadium but we weren't allowed.

I thought you were there. We called to interview you in the run-up to the event, do you remember?

I... You said no. I said to you no? Do you want to know why I said no?

With you, there's always that suspicion

that you'll turn this into something to ridicule Michael.

I think he's been hurt so much by the press, by television,

that he's very reluctant to open up

and inviting a crew into his own home.

Although I have arranged an interview with him for ITV.

Because a certain journalist in ITV,

I believed that he had credibility and was honest in what he was saying.

I'm not saying you're not honest. Mm.

Is it the Martin Bashir interview? Mm-hm. So...

They've started interviewing Michael. That's a fantastic scoop for ITV.

Not a lot of camera crew is going to Neverland. Have they been there?

I think so.

I contacted you in early June? Mm.

About hoping to meet Michael. Yeah.

And, um, maybe being part of the Exeter City football event. Yes.

And, um, at that time, not only did you not help me,

you helped Martin Bashir get an interview with Michael Jackson.

I'm sorry!

Please forgive me.

Forgive me if I was wrong.

We all make mistakes. I could've been wrong. The good news is...

You're... ..We're still here. Exactly. If you wanna fix it up now,

or tomorrow or next week that would be brilliant. Tell you what.

I will try. I will ask Michael if he'll be interviewed by you.

But again, having said that,

while you prepared for this documentary

you approached a few people who had negative material about Michael.

That gets to me. How...what...who...? I'm not, I won't mention names.

But you were trying to extract negativity from people about Michael.

I think I know what you're talking about. OK.

Do you mean Terry George? I won't mention names. Why? Cos I just don't wanna mention names. Mm-hm?

I know you got an e-mail from Terry.

I think you know that I know cos the e-mail was CC'd to you.

We did intend to interview Terry and hoped to do it on Monday.

Terry, having been in contact with you, has withdrawn his interview.

I don't wanna mention names... I don't expect you to. I have so you don't have to.

I won't mention anything.

But I did get e-mails from different sources you have approached

that led me to believe the flavour of this programme will be anti.

It'll be derogatory towards Michael.

This is Michael in 2002. This is an approved photograph.

I think Michael looks great here.

It could be, even, a lookalike.

I'm not doing a stunt. This is Michael Jackson.

And the reason I'm pulling it out is just because it's easy to talk about Michael Jackson.

He's not here in person, so it's nice to have something to refer to

to remind us who we're talking about...

These are exactly the lines that make your programme

the, the suspicious programme that I'm talking about. Why?

Because of your, your - the way you react

and the sort of, er, snakey manner you bring up things.

This was a very good example.

I don't follow you. We're not in kindergarten here, are we, Louis?

I honestly don't know what you mean. Do you consider me a four-year-old?

Do you mean that I have photos? No. I refer to the manner of questioning.

"I'm holding a picture just to remind you. Michael is not here."

That's unnecessary. This is what makes your programme,

um, in my opinion, not the right one to interview Michael Jackson.

Do you believe that I have no idea what you're talking about? Good. It means you believe in yourself.

It was getting tense so I asked Uri about his wedding the year before.

Why did you think Michael would be a good best man? He's a friend.

He was in England. I thought it'd be a wonderful angle.

Best men conventionally give a speech where they reveal secrets about the groom, don't they?

Not in Jewish weddings. What do they do in Jewish weddings? Lift you up.

Do they? On a chair and dance to klezmer. They don't do the speech?

They don't do, "I'll never forget the time Uri..." What?

"..bent that spoon."

Are you gonna help us, Uri?

We'll see. What does that mean?

To me that means no. What? To me... No. I promised you.

Well, say yes, then. I gave you my word I'd bring up your name.

Bringing it up isn't - you don't just bring it... You might bring it up and go, "Avoid this man." No.

I'd say...I'll, I'll tell Michael you're doing a major documentary.

And, erm... And don't go near it.

He will say, "Who is Louis?" I'll say, "He's a nice young man.

"He does all these interesting programmes."

Then I'll tell him... Ha-ha! "But I advise you not to do it."

Big mistake. Big mistake.

'It seemed pretty clear that Uri was not on our side.

'He was on ITV's side.

'To learn more about Michael, I'd have to go where he was, Las Vegas.'

Human Nature by Miles Davis

Michael was on holiday, but was seen shopping at the Luxor Hotel,