Michael Jackson London June 2002

Day 1 June 2002

The rest of 2001 passed in a blur. I took time out from work and moved back with my parents but I was not happy. I found myself spending more and more time with Flea, who was also not happy with her life in Ireland. We decided we needed a big change in our lives so in January 2002, with the help of Fleas friend, who was living there, we moved to Munich Germany.

Around April/ May, I can’t really remember when, I got a phone call from one of the UK fans, to tell me that Michael would be attending MJNI’S fan party. Flea and her friend had also got the news from other UK fans. Then we found out that Michael would be going to Exeter on a train and fans could get tickets. My memories of this time are a bit hazy. I remember Flea being on the phone and getting the Exeter train tickets for us. I remember spending hours after work in an internet café with Fleas friend searching the fan sites for information. I remember a UK fan ringing me to tell me they had got me a ticket for KILLER THRILLER. I remember going to a travel agents and booking a flight to London.  Flea and her friend went to London a few days before me and booked a hotel near Michael’s hotel. My sister was living in London, so I planned to stay with her, to cut the costs.

Day 1 June 12

I arrive in London and head straight to Michael's hotel. Flea and her friend are already there so I made contact with them.  Jenny was in London too and I found her outside the hotel.

This hotel, Renaissance Chancery Court, High Holborn was very different to The Lanesborough at Hyde Park corner. This time the fans were all outside on the main pavement, the hotel had big gates into their property and the fans were not allowed onto the hotel property. The barriers were either side of the main gate.

There were a lot of fans there, from all over Europe. I recognised many faces from New York.

Michael didn't go out during the day so we just spent the day sitting on the pavement outside the hotel.  It was great to be back with the fans again, back in London.

As I was staying with my sister I couldn't stay out late. Jenny was staying with Flea and her friend nearby so they stayed late.

 Day 2 June 13

The next morning I come back and find out that Michael had gone to Hamley’s the night before.  It was total chaos when he left the hotel.  When Michael was in the hotel the main gates were kept closed. The gates opened and the car was surrounded.

It was even worse when he came back to the hotel. The car went through the gates and was immediately closed. This meant that only the fans who were at the gate saw him, about 20 people, even though there was about 200 or more fans there. Fans at the gate were crushed while those at the back didn't even see him.

When I got to the hotel that morning, there was a definite atmosphere. Fans were not happy about what had happened the night before.

In the afternoon Michael went out. Suddenly the gates opened and the car came out. It was insane. One minute I was sitting talking to Jenny and the next it was pandemonium. We had no idea what was going on. We were not getting information from anyone. Jenny decided to stay at the hotel, so I took off with the other fans.  There must have been at least 200 fans, probably more.  We stopped traffic on a very busy road in central London. Hundreds of fans all crowded around 1 car, fans everywhere, running, screaming. I stayed on the edge of the crowd, on the pavement; I knew there was no way I would get anywhere Michael.  Michael had the window down and was talking to fans who had managed to get to the car first.

I managed to keep up with the car, running with other fans on the pavement. I had no idea where he was going so I just wanted to stay with the car as long as I could. Eventually the traffic cleared and the lights changed and I couldn't run any further. I had no idea where Flea was, I had no idea where Michael was going, I had barely even seen him,  just the briefest glimpse as the car went past me.  Hot and out of breath I decided to go back to the hotel and find Jenny.

Back at the hotel, I saw Jenny sitting in the same spot. Bit by bit fans came back to the hotel as most people didn't know where he was going.  After about an hour we started hearing that he was at HMV but by then it was too late to get there.

We decided to stay where we were, as we knew he would eventually come back to the hotel.

When Michael came back to the hotel, it was just the same as the night before. The car went into the hotel and the gates were closed. Only the fans at the front saw him. Jenny and  I stayed at the back, out of the crush, but this meant that we did not see him.

The atmosphere that night was very tense. Fans were not happy that it seemed to be the same people all the time with Michael. There was defiantly a division in the fans, with some fans meeting Michael every time he left or entered the hotel, while many many fans could not even see him.

I didn't stay late this night as I had to get back to my sister’s house. 

Day 3 June 14

This morning I got to the hotel early. It was a big day today, the event in Exeter and I knew that I would finally get to see Michael.

Suddenly the gates opened and the car went out. There were not that many fans at the hotel as everyone had to be at Paddington train station at 12.30pm.

Like the other times, fans surrounded the car, and I ran with the crowd as far as I could. Somehow I ended up beside some French fans who knew that Michael was going to The Houses of Parliament in Westminster. They hailed a cab and I found myself in a taxi with 3 French fans heading to Westminster!!  Once we got there, there were about 50 fans, all trying to get into the building. Of course we knew that we wouldn't get in, but that’s not the point.

We knew Michael was there, so we were there too. I lost the French fans; everyone was just trying to figure out how to find Michael. In the end, I just gave up. I was watching the time and decided to just get to Paddington train station.

At Paddington, I found Flea and Jenny. It was crazy, all the fans were there but we didn't have our tickets. We had the confirmation emails which said to collect the event tickets from an Exeter Football Representative, but no one knew where this person would be.  Michael wasn't there and we had no idea where we were supposed to go. Eventually we found the Exeter Football people, who were just standing beside the train. The fans all tried to get the tickets at once; it was madness, no proper organisation, just 2 people trying to deal with 200 crazy fans. We knew Michael was on his way and we just wanted to get the tickets NOW, before he arrived.

Tickets in hand, we went to the platform. The Exeter football people and the train station staff tried to get the fans on the train but as Michael wasn't there, no one would get on the train. There was no organization, it was total bedlam. Then Michael turned up and all hell broke loose. He had to walk up the platform to the special carriage at the top of the train. 200 fans, paparazzi and god knows how many randoms who just happened to be at Paddington station, all on a train platform. There was a few Police and Michael’s security team, but it was totally out of control.

It was getting scary, I thought I would get pushed onto the tracks, so I just went onto the train and walked up inside, watching all the chaos out on the platform.   I couldn't even see Michael, just the crowd of people around him.  I just gave up and found a seat. I knew Jenny would find me eventually.

Once Michael got on the train, all the fans got on the train and found seats and at last we were off.  It was a special train just for the event. It was really surreal, knowing that Michael was on the train. We had to stop at a few train stations due to the normal trains stopping. We could see people at the stations looking at our train and we wondered what they would say if we told them that Michael Jackson was in the carriage at the front.

It was nice just to chill for a few hours and relax after the madness at Paddington. Uri Geller walked through the train, collecting gifts for Michael. And of course many fans tried to get to the front carriage to see Michael.

As we got nearer to Exeter, the atmosphere changed on the train. No one knew where the stadium was but we knew a bus would bring us there.  Once the train stopped we all ran out and up to the top of the train. Of course we only wanted to see Michael!! The Exeter football people tried to get us onto the bus, but of course we all went to Michael’s car. They had no clue how to manage us, 200 crazy Michael Jackson fans. As Michael’s car went out of the station, our automatic reaction was to run after it but we were in an unfamiliar town so we had to get on the bus. Many fans were not happy, but there was nothing we could do. We wanted to follow Michael but we were taken to the stadium.  

At the stadium, we were brought to our seats. Again we were not happy. Our seats were in the regular stadium seats, while the stage was in the centre of the pitch. We wanted to be at the stage, but we were told by stadium staff we had to stay in our seats.  Michael would not even know we were there, he would not even see us. 

When we got to our seats, there was a local radio DJ playing music to get the crowd going. Other than our section, the whole stadium was just local people on a day out. The DJ wasn't even playing Michael music, just current chart music. We were fuming. We were stuck in a stadium, nowhere near the stage, Michael was somewhere in the town and there was nothing we could do. The DJ was doing some crowd participation stuff. Our section was the only one who didn't take part. Michael wasn't there, he wasn't playing Michael music so we couldn't be bothered joining in. We just wanted to see Michael. The DJ made fun of us as we sat there in stony silence!!

After the DJ we then had to sit through a random show of singers and dancers, all who had some connection to Uri Geller. 

Finally they announced that Michael was here. We were told that we had to stay in our seats!! Really, I don’t think so. Of course as soon as we spotted the car, our section ran onto the pitch. The stadium staff didn't know what to do!! It was crazy. All of us on the pitch, Michael enjoying the normality of the chaos and the local townspeople wondering what the hell was going on. Once Michael got to the stage, we were rounded up and made go back to our seats. 

This was the first time on this trip I could see him properly. Of course our section was now the loudest and craziest. We had to make sure he knew it was us, even though we were so far away from him.

At the end of the event, when it was time for him to leave, we again invaded the pitch. Again we surrounded the car as it left the stadium.  We were not allowed to follow the car but were told to go back to our seats and we were then escorted to the bus. We had no choice we had to get on the bus as we did not want to be stranded in Exeter.

At the train station, we arrived just as Michael did. Of course we did not go straight to the train like we were told to, we went to Michael’s car!! I think by now our chaperones from Exeter football had had enough of us and just let us do our own thing. As soon as Michael got on the train, we got on the train.

On the way back we were exhausted. It was such an amazing feeling though, to be on a train surrounded by fans, and knowing that Michael was on the same train.

About halfway back to London, the train stopped at a station. We were not expecting to stop so everyone wondered what was going on. A rumour went round that Michael had got off. Many fans wanted to get off the train too, but as we didn't know where we were or how to get back to London, most fans stayed on the train.

Once the train arrived in Paddington, we found out that the rumour was true; Michael had got off the train. Even though we were all very tired, it had been a long day, we all still went back to Michael’s hotel. We didn't know if he was coming back to London that night but we didn't want to miss seeing him if he did.

Back at the hotel, we found out that he had gone to Blenheim Castle. Some fans had got off the train and had met up with fans that were driving back to London and they had followed him.

When we heard this we decided to leave. We were exhausted and needed sleep and we knew that Michael would probably not be back until very late.

That night I stayed with Jenny at her hotel. We didn't know what time we would get back to London, so I had told my sister I would stay with Jenny that night.

Day 4 June 15

As Jenny’s hotel was near Michael’s hotel, we went there early in the morning. We were not expecting to see Michael, but we wanted to meet up with other fans.

After a while we started making our way to the Sony buildings on Great Marlbough Street. Fans were gathering there from 12 pm. Michael was not expected to be there, but all the fans wanted to make a statement to SONY about Invincible album.  Fans had traveled from all over Europe and there must have been about 500 fans there, on the street outside the SONY building. There was a great atmosphere, fans chanting and singing, and some fans dancing. The demo was organised by UK fan club MJNI with the support of many European fan clubs like ANGEL and THE MAGICAL CHILD.

The plan was just to hang out at the demo for a while and then head over to Leicester Square at around 1.30 pm for Killer Thriller Party. The tickets said 2.00 pm.

At around 1 pm a rumour went round that Michael was coming to the demo. OMG really??? This we did not expect. We knew he was going to Killer Thriller, so we did not think that he would come to the demo too.

Some people were going to leave to go to Leicester Square but once word spread that Michael was on the way, the atmosphere changed and no one wanted to leave.

Suddenly at the far end of the street, we heard screaming and we saw a bus coming up the street. OMG, Michael on an open top bus!! It got really really crazy very quickly. Fans surrounded the bus, Michael was just there, outside the Sony building, with us, chanting SONY SUCKS!!  Jenny and I decided to stay where we were. We were at the front of the barrier and we knew the bus had to drive past us.  It was sooo insane, the screaming, the chanting, fans running everywhere.

Eventually the bus made it up the street to where we were. OMG!!! Michael was right in front of us, the bus stopped and he was just there, it was amazing, to be sooo close to him, and to be part of the something so crazy. The bus moved again and we got carried along with the crowd. Everyone just followed the bus along the street. I have never experienced anything like it. Michael was loving every minute of it. It got really insane when he made a dive over the side to get a banner. I was near the bus, and I just couldn't believe what he was doing.

Eventually the bus turned off the side street we were on and onto Oxford Street, the main shopping street in London. Well we just continued on after it. It was the most insane thing ever. Michael Jackson, on an open top bus, surrounded by about 500 screaming fans on Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon!!!  We ran up Oxford Street after the bus but we couldn't keep up.  Somehow Jenny and I managed not to lose each other. I just remember seeing the bus disappear up the street, realizing that we were on Oxford Street, and thinking, omg, what the hell just happened!!

We had lost track of time and totally forgotten about getting to Leister Square! It was now nearly 2pm so we had to run down Tottenham Court Road. Some European fans had no idea how to get to the venue, so they followed us.

When we got to Leicester Square it was chaos. There was a huge queue all the way down the Square.  It seemed that most fans had heard about Michael being at the demo and everyone had been there, instead of taking their seats at The Equinox. As a result, everyone from the demo was now queuing to get into the show.

2 pm came and went and we were still queuing. They couldn't start the show as half the audience was still not in the venue. It was total chaos. Jenny and I had to collect our tickets at the door as we were not from UK.  It was very disorganised, and we just made it into the venue as the show started, 1 hour behind schedule.  Some fans were not so lucky and were not let in as the show had started.

I must say though, we had great seats, row 9 on the ground floor , on the right side of the stage, thanks to one of the UK fans I knew who worked for MJNI.

Killer Thriller Fan party was just like the other fan parties MJNI had organised, except that Michael was there. He sat in the balcony on the same side of the stage as our section. . Unfortunately our seats were just a bit too near the stage to see him.

The show was a typical MJNI show. Robin Melzer was host, and the majority of the performers at performed at previous fan events.

List of performers

• Angelina
• Alex Burgos
• Scott Clarke
• Remy Chambers
• Manojj
• Miguel Deforo & MJ Prod
• Mikki Jay
• Bryton McClure
• Danny Oliver
• Russell Robinson
• Ryan Saklofski
• Jessica Towers
• Earnest Valentino

The last performer as always was a professional tribute artist. At previous shows it was Navi but for Killer Thriller it was Earnest Valentino.  Michael watched ever performance. The atmosphere was amazing. I had been to other MJNI fan parties but this one was just on another level. The dancers and singers, knowing that Michael was watching them, had a new energy and precision to their performances.  

At the end of the show, Michael came onstage. He was presented with flowers and then something unbelievable happened. I think he just originally meant to thank the performers and MJNI but then he just started speaking about SONY. We couldn't believe what he was saying. It was totally incredible that he felt comfortable enough to just talk to us like that.

It was a totally private event, there was no media there. The tickets were not even on sale to the general public, you had to be a member of MJNI to buy tickets.

At the end of the show Jenny and I had left our seats and were heading toward the front of the building when we heard screams coming from where we had just left. Yes THOSE screams, omg, Michael was still in the building!! We tried to get back into the main area but by the time we reached the stage, he had gone.

We knew that we would not get to see him at the hotel, so we went and got some food and took our time going back to the hotel.

Again I couldn’t stay late as I had to go back to my sister’s house.

 Day 5 June 16

Today was a rest day, ie a day when Michael didn't do anything. It was nice to just sit and chill with all the fans after the madness of the last 2 days.  I had brought my sleeping bag today as Jenny and I a few other fans decided to sleep out.

Sleeping outside Michael’s hotel is one of my most favorite things on Michael trips. This was a bit different to usual, we were actually just on the pavement, not on hotel grounds, but we were behind the barrier and there were about 10 of us. As well as me and Jenny, there were some Dutch fans and a Scottish fan.

As the evening turned into night, fans started leaving.  After a few hours it was just us left at the barriers so we got ourselves ready for the night.  We all had sleeping bags so we made our little area as comfortable as possible. 

The weather that night was very warm, a typical early summer’s night in London. As the hours went by the traffic eased and the very busy Holborn Road became quiet.  Little by little the chatter faded as we started to fall asleep. 

At about 3 am, when we were all quiet and most were asleep, we heard someone calling us and lights shining on us. Who was this disturbing us, didn't they know we needed rest!!!   OMG, its Hamid, Michael’s cameraman. Michael had heard fans were sleeping outside the hotel and he sent Hamid out to video us!!  Really Michael, couldn't it wait until morning.

Half asleep, we all sat up and “talked” to Michael, explaining where we were from and what we were doing and lots of other random things.  Well all except 1 girl, who wouldn't sit up and told Hamid she didn't want to be filmed as she had taken her makeup off, which of course he was recording.  Those messages we taped to Michael must have been soo funny, a group of half-asleep girls at 3am.

Hamid eventually leaves and we try to go back asleep. It’s strange, I never feel afraid sleeping out, even though we are on a street in the middle of London. It’s like Michael protects us and keeps us safe.

Waking up as dawn breaks, hearing the birds and the early morning sounds of London is one of my favorite memories. Knowing that Michael is just in the building beside us is such an amazing way to wake up.

One by one we all wake up and start moving.  We tidy up and put our sleeping bags away as other fans start to arrive.

Day 6 June 17

As the morning goes by, the heat starts to rise. There are a lot of fans around today. At about 2 pm the gates open. Michael is on the move. As on other days, its total chaos. Fans are everywhere, in the middle of the street surrounding the car. There is very little information about where Michael is going being shared among the fans.

I try to run with the car but as I don’t know where he is going, I lose him at the end of the street.  I make my way back to the hotel and sit down beside Jenny. It’s really hot now, and I don’t feel so good. I tell Jenny I am going across the street to McDonalds for a while, out of the sun.  I get a cold drink and just sit in McDonalds but I really don’t feel well. I feel dizzy and have a headache. Exhaustion, not eating or sleeping properly and all the craziness of being at the hotel have finally caught up with me. 

I go back to the hotel and tell Jenny I have to go, I can’t stay at the hotel any longer today. She is surprised, as Michael hasn't come back yet, but she could see that I wasn't feeling well. I leave my sleeping bag with some fans who want to sleep out tonight. I tell them I will be back in the morning.

Luckily I knew my sister would be at her house and I just went straight there. She couldn't believe I was home so early. After talking to her for a while I fell into bed, totally exhausted.

 Day 7 June 18 

I arrive at hotel around 10 am and as I walk up the street I see hardly any fans and that the barriers have been moved. Michael had left about an hour before and I had missed him.

 I find Jenny and collect my sleeping bag from the fans that had slept out. It had rained last night and they had got soaked.

As usual when Michael leaves, all the fans leave too. Suddenly being at the hotel feels totally different, like something is missing. There is a different feeling in the air, emptiness and silence.

Since the last time Michael was in London, in March 2001, things had changed a lot in the fan community.  There was a lot more cliques and small groups, fans were not as friendly and were not sharing information as much.  I didn't enjoy this trip as much as the previous times.  We found out afterwards that some fans had booked rooms in the hotel. This meant that they were allowed on hotel property while the rest of us were not. It was the fans who were staying in the hotel who met Michael every time he left or came back, while those of us at the barrier could not even get to see him.  It was the fans who were staying in the hotel who knew where Michael was going, i.e. to Harrods or to Hamley’s, while those of us outside the hotel, at the barriers did not know anything.

This caused a lot of hostility between the fans outside the hotel and the fans who were inside the hotel.  Like the majority of fans, the only time on this trip that I actually saw Michael was at Exeter Football Stadium, the Sony demo and at Killer Thriller. Things just didn't go right for me on this trip, a combination of the heat, the fan situation and not being able to see Michael just made me very unhappy.  I decided I would have one more go, that if I felt the same after the next trip, then I wouldn't travel any more to see Michael. 

Michael Jackson New York September 2001

Part 1 The Concerts At Madison Square Gardens

After a crazy summer of excitement we are ready to go to New York. Jenny and I have managed to get tickets for both the concerts. We decided to just go for it and get as close as we could to the stage.  This is a seated concert, very different to concerts in Europe. The front section, where we wanted to get was VIP only, so we manage to get the next best, the side sections by the stage.  The last few months have been spent saving every bit of money we can. For me this means doing as much overtime at work as I can and really economizing every part of my life, from my social life to the food I buy and everything in between. This basically means, other than essential bills I save every penny I earn.

Wednesday 5 September

To try to bring down the costs, Jenny and I share the hotel room with a Scottish fan B. We meet at the airport and get a taxi to our hotel. We are staying at The Pennsylvania Hotel, which is opposite Madison Square Gardens. We choose that hotel as it the closest to the concert venue and 2 blocks from Times Square, the centre of Manhattan Island.

We have arrived in the afternoon and after checking into our hotel we head straight back out to find Michael's hotel. As our European mobile phones don’t work in America, we find a payphone in Times Square to ring Flea.

Flea and her friend arrived 2 days before us, on the Monday and by the time we arrive in New York, they and the other fans have found Michael. He is at The Palace Hotel, beside St Patrick's Cathedral When we got there as usual; there were all the regular Hotel fans from Europe and many other countries.

Everyone was gathered across the street from the side door of the hotel, on 55th Street. A few hours after we arrived, Michael left to go to rehearsals with NSNYC. As usual, it was total chaos when Michael came out of the hotel; the police had no clue what we were like. I remember running down the street through traffic onto Park Avenue, a very busy road. When the car was stopped at the traffic lights, someone opened a window and all the fans "posted" letters and gifts into the car to Michael. The lights changed and we found ourselves in the middle of New York Traffic!! OOOOPPPS !!!  As it was our first day, me and my friends decided to stay at the hotel to wait for him to come back, as we hadn't got our bearings yet and were unsure of directions and locations. We guessed he went to Madison Square Gardens but we were not sure of the way there yet.

While we were waiting for Michael to come back, we somehow managed to meet a TV crew from the UK, BBC LIQUID NEWS. and yep I was interviewed. I've never seen that interview, although other fans have told me over the years that they remember seeing me.

After a while fans starting drifting back and we knew Michael was returning. When he came back again it was chaos. The car just went straight into the hotel garage. Fans were all over the street, stopping traffic, everyone screaming MICHAEL, MICHAEL, trying to see him.

Once he was in the hotel, we all went back across the street, opposite the door of the hotel.  It was mainly European fans there and once things had calmed down a bit everyone just sat down on the ground, catching up with old friends and making new ones. We did some exploring, found out where the nearest food shops were, found out where Times Square was in relation to where Michael was staying.  Some fans had found out that the rest of the Jackson family were staying at The Plaza Hotel a few streets away and they spent some time there to try to see other Jackson family members.

We stayed out quiet late but Michael didn't leave the hotel again. As it got later and later fans started drifting away and we decided to go back to our hotel too. It had been a very long day, travelling from Europe and seeing Michael and being with the fans again.

Thursday 6 September

Another hot sunny day in New York. We wake early and head back out to The Palace hotel.  The whole city seems to have a MICHAEL MANIA buzz.  At the hotel, we see all the fans again. Even though we are in New York, we  to settle into the same routines as on previous Michael trips. Our European mobile phones don’t work here, so it’s harder to find information. Fans come and go from the hotel all day but I mostly just stay in the same spot. 

Sometime in the afternoon, word suddenly round that Michael was going to the MTV Awards being held that night. We knew they were taking place but none of us took much interest as we were only there to see Michael, not random other celebs!!

One minute we were sunbathing outside The Palace Hotel, waiting for him to do something, the next we were trying to get uptown to see him at the Award show. I decided to stay at the hotel to see him leave, as I knew there was no way I would get to see him at the Award show.

When he left, we went back to our hotel to try to see if it was on TV, but we didn't have MTV! We went back down to Michael’s hotel but we missed him arriving back.

Everyone was so shocked when we found out that he did a surprise guest performance with NYSNC. The day before we knew he was rehearsing with them but we all thought it was for the MSG concerts!!

Friday 7 September

OMG the day of the first concert

Michael Mania has taken over New York!! We go down to The Palace Hotel as usual but we know we probably won’t see Michael until the concert. It’s just so amazing to be with all the fans, knowing that in a few short hours we will see Michael performing.

On the ticket it says 7.40 pm sharp. So in the afternoon we decide to leave The Palace Hotel, get something to eat and go back to our hotel to get ready. As we are across the street from the concert venue we know we won’t get to see Michael leave.

About 6.30 pm we head across the street to Madison Square Gardens. We know we are early but we wanted to experience all the excitement, and see if we can get some merchandise. The atmosphere as we enter the venue is amazing. We manage to get a t-shirt and concert program and decide to go into the arena and find our seats. We know there is a VIP red carpet but we know there would be so many people there , mostly those not going to the concert that we would probably not get anywhere near the front to see Michael arrive.

As we find our seats we cannot believe where we are being directed to. We knew we had good seats but this we were not expecting. We are in the middle tier right at the stage, section 210. As we take our seats, we recognise other fans around us, and we remember that we got these tickets from one of the fan sites.

We try to take everything in, how near we are to the stage, the size of the arena. Suddenly we see a commotion, and hear some screams, and lots of people gathering in one section of the arena. We take a closer look through our binoculars and realize its Navi in full costume going to his seat!!  People think its Michael, and we just watch all the commotions until people realize it’s not. All part of the fun and excitement.

Eventually the lights go down. My heart starts racing, here we go.

OOOOHHHHMMMMYYYGGGOOODDDD

Michael has finally arrived with Elizabeth and they are directly in front of us!!!

They are in a box at the other side of the stage and even when the lights go down we can see them.

We spend most of the first part of the show just watching Michael through our binoculars. We do crazy things to try to get his attention, waving our flags, jumping up and down and screaming so much. We don’t care about watching what’s on stage as Michael is sitting directly across from us. As a result we miss most of the performances but we don’t care. We didn't travel half way across the world to see Usher or Whitney or Destiny’s Child!!

Then comes the part we are waiting for Michael’s performance.

The noise, the atmosphere, there’s no way to describe it. It resonates through you, leaving you breathless, and you just can’t take it all in. We are so used to seeing Michael in day to day life, in a car, at a hotel, etc. that we sometimes forget that he is Michael Jackson the performer.  To us he is just Michael, but seeing him onstage, he is transformed into this magical being.  Time stands still and even though there are many breaks between songs and things which don’t seem right, just being able to see Michael onstage, is spellbinding.

Eventually the show ends and we make our way out of the building.

The after party is at Tavern On The Green, near central park. Traffic is crazy around Madison Square Gardens and Times Square, so we decide to walk there. We walk as fast as we can but it takes us along time. By the time we get to Tavern On The Green Michael has arrived. Most of the fans from The Palace Hotel are there and some of them saw Michael arrive.

This party at Tavern On The Green was part of the VIP concert package.  We had decided not to get the VIP concert ticket and dinner package so that we could go to the second concert. But some fans did and they were able to go into Tavern On The Green.

The rest of us stayed at the entrance, waiting for Michael to leave. He stayed about an hour and then suddenly the car came out of the VIP entrance and we were off, running after the car, through the streets, back down to The Palace Hotel. We were not fast enough though and by the time we reached the hotel, Michael had arrived back. Some fans who had not stayed at Tavern On The Green saw him return.

By now it was very late, actually early morning and we decided it was time to go back to our hotel.

Saturday 8 September

As soon as we wake we head straight back to The Palace Hotel. It’s such a perfect time, the warm glow of happiness, sitting in the sun, knowing that Michael is the hotel, surrounded by fans who have all shared the most magical few hours of the concert the night before and knowing that in 2 days’ time we will experience it all again.

Today, one of the UK fan clubs MJNI (Michael Jackson News International) have organised a fan event at Webster Hall. We had bought tickets to it, but in the end decided not to go. While we really enjoy MJNI’s events, it doesn't feel right to be anywhere other than at Michael's hotel.

In the afternoon, many fans leave to go to the event but I decide to stay at The Palace Hotel.

Nothing much happens, Michael does not go out and eventually the fans that went to the fan club event come back to The Palace Hotel.

Sunday 9 September

Another quiet day, much the same as Saturday. Again we spend the day sitting in the sun with the other fans outside The Palace Hotel. Even though we are in New York, it’s not a time for touristy sightseeing. The only place we want to be is at Michael’s hotel. As our phones don’t work, the only way of staying in contact with the other fans is to be at the hotel. Just like in London we only leave for food runs and toilet breaks.

Monday 10 September

The day of the second concert and our last full day in New York. Like many European fans we had decided to fly home on soon after the second concert.

Like on the other concert day, we spend most of the day with the other fans at The Palace Hotel and in the afternoon go back to our hotel to get ready for the concert.

If it is possible we are even more excited than on Friday, as we know what we are about to experience.

There is no red carpet for the Monday concert so people are just going straight into the arena.

We check our tickets and go to find our seats. This time we are on the other side of the arena. OH MY GOOODDDNESSSSS Just like at the Friday concert we are at the side of the stage, and oh can we really believe it, we look down and see the VIP box, where Michael sat with Elizabeth a few rows in front of us. This time we are almost directly BEHIND Michael. This is insane; we can’t believe we can be this lucky

Now we are soo glad we decided to get the second concert ticket instead of the VIP concert and dinner package for the Friday concert.

We watch more of the first part of the show this time, but we can still watch Michael too. The sparkles on his jacket make him very easy to find, even when the lights are down.

All too soon the concert ends.

Monday’s concert was very different to Friday’s concert. It was shorter and seemed more together.

After the concert we took our time leaving the venue. We meet up with other fans as we leave and we sing Michael;s new song YOU ROCK MY WORLD as we leave the building and make our way back down to The Palace Hotel. We know we have missed Michael arriving back but that’s OK, we just have to be with the other fans.

Many fans, including us are due to fly home tomorrow so we stay out very late, not wanting the concert happiness to go, not wanting the magic times to end.

Eventually we leave, as we know we have a long day ahead of us. We say goodbye to the fans who are still there and wish everyone a safe trip home. We wonder when we will all meet again.

Part 2 Stranded In A City Attacked by Terrorists 

Tuesday 11 September

Even though it was late when we got back to our hotel, we decide to get up early. During our time here we have seen the huge queue at the checkout desk every morning and we don’t want to waste any of the short time we have left in a hotel queue.  Our flights back to Ireland and Scotland are in the evening, so we decide to check out of the hotel around 8 am and go straight to The Palace Hotel. Our plan is to spend most of the day with the other fans and then go to the airport in the afternoon.

We eventually get to The Palace Hotel around 8.30 am. We find a spot to put our luggage and spread out our flags and banners on top of the cases.  There are a few fans around, who are lying on the ground, looking up at the sky but as many were here late last night, most fans are in bed in their hotels.

Around 9 am, I decide to do a breakfast run. As we had our luggage with us this morning, we didn't stop for our usual breakfast on the way to The Palace Hotel.  I decide to go to the deli on Madison Avenue, around the corner from The Palace Hotel.

As I walk down the street there’s a strange atmosphere, people are running. Suddenly I look up, down Madison Avenue and in the distance, way at the end of the island where The Statue of Liberty is I see a huge mushroom of smoke. My brain takes a few minutes to register what I am seeing. All around me, people are screaming, running down the street pointing to the smoke in the sky.

Something in me recognizes something very bad has happened and I run back to my friends at The Palace Hotel, all thoughts of food forgotten.

All the fans know something has happened but we don’t know what. Some fans have Walkman’s and turn on the radio, we try to ask people in the streets and shops but we don’t fully understand what is going on. All around us people are running and screaming.

Finally I decide to go into The Palace Hotel and ask the hotel reception.  At last someone tells me the horrible truth, that terrorists have attacked New York and flown planes into The World Trade Centre.  When I tell her that many of us were due to fly home to Europe today, she tells me that the airports are closed and that we will not be going home today. Her advice was to go back to the hotel we had just left and make sure we have somewhere safe for tonight and that we can work out what to do tomorrow.

In shock I go back out to my friends who have also found out the horrible truth. I kick into survival mode and tell my friends to stay at The Palace Hotel with our luggage. We have to have somewhere safe tonight, that’s the most important thing right now.  So about 10 am I leave the Palace Hotel and make my way back to our hotel. As I walk through the streets of Manhattan, through Times Square and back to Madison Square Gardens, I don’t really take in what I’m seeing and experiencing. All around me, people are screaming, running, pointing to the sky.  As I pass Grand Central Station, people are pouring out, the trains have been stopped, streams of people heading to the bridges, trying to get off the island, and all the while a never ending scream of emergency vehicles and police car sirens.

When I get to the hotel, there’s a huge queue of people. It seems many people have realized that they need somewhere to stay tonight. The hotel staff keep going up and down the queue, telling people if they don’t have a reservation than they won’t get a room.  Every time a staff member comes near me, I explain my situation, that I just checked out this morning, that we are from Europe, due to fly home today but now cant as the airports are closed.  All that’s in my mind is that I have to get a room, I have to make sure me and my friends are safe tonight.  Slowly, slowly the line moves. I don’t even notice that I haven’t eaten today, or the scared chatter of the other people in the queue or even think about how we are going to get home. Nothing else matters, I just have to get a room and be safe. All else can be sorted later.

Eventually I get to the top of the queue and I’m at last talking to the desk staff.  Again I repeat my story, how we have to have a room, that we have been staying for the last week and we only checked out this morning.  A few minutes later, I leave the hotel with 3 room keys.  I did it; I got us somewhere to stay tonight and not just tonight but for as long as we need to stay. The lady behind the desk even managed to put us back into the same room we had left that morning. 

As I leave the hotel, I look at my watch. I can’t believe it, it’s nearly 3 pm!! It’s taken me over 4 hours to to reach the top of the queue.  I still haven’t eaten but I know I have to go back to The Palace Hotel as quick as I can. I’m sure everyone must be worried as I have been gone so long. I didn't think it would take this long to get a room for us.

As I race back to The Palace Hotel, the streets are not as crowded but there is a very strong smell of smoke in the air and the sirens have not stopped.

When I get to The Palace Hotel, all the fans are there. My friends have been worried about me but they are so relived that I managed to get somewhere for us to stay.  Finally I think about ringing my family. Up till now I was in survival mode, had to make sure we were safe and had no time or chance to ring my family. As soon as I can I join the queue of other fans at the payphone on the corner opposite The Palace Hotel. While I’m in the queue, my friends tell me that Michael is leaving soon.  Just as I start to use the phone, I hear the fans scream and run to the hotel.  As I talk to my family and let them know I’m OK  I see Michael's car come out of the hotel garage, and through the back window of the car I see Michael and the children waving as the car goes down the street.

After I finish talking to my family, all the fans just stay at The Palace Hotel.  It’s now nearly 4 pm.  I tell my friends about my adventure getting our hotel room back. We decide to stay at the Palace Hotel for the rest of the day. Even though Michael has gone, we don’t want to leave. There are about 50 of us from many countries and we don’t know where to go or what to do.  All we know is that we will not be going home today.  Many of us are running out of money as this was supposed to be the end of our trip. We wander off to get food and bring our luggage back to our hotel, but we feel safest all together, in a familiar place, outside The Palace Hotel.

As night falls, we know we have to go back to our hotels. Some fans have not been as lucky as us and don’t have a hotel room.  We all try to make sure everyone has somewhere to stay, those of us with hotel rooms helping out those who don’t.  Just before we leave for the night, we see Michael’s bodyguards walking across the street towards us.  They tell us that Michael has told them to check we are all OK  They tell us he and the children are safe, that they are in New Jersey and that Michael is worried about us. We tell them most of us have a hotel room and that we are looking after those who don’t.  Is this real, is Michael Jackson really making sure we are OK  has he really instructed his staff to check up on us????  This day has been too much, how can all this be happening to us….

The bodyguards stay out with us for a while, getting to know us, asking us where we are from.  Once they go back into the hotel we all agree it’s time to leave.  We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but we all agree to meet back here in our usual place, at The Palace Hotel.  It’s the only way we can stay in contact, the only way we can share information and make sure everyone is OK  and its a good idea to have a central point we all know and feel relatively safe at.

We go back to our hotel, bringing with us one of the fans who had no hotel room. The walk back to our hotel, a walk we have done so many times over the last week feels very different now. The streets are very quiet, too quiet.  This is New York, the city that never sleeps, yet as we walk through Times Square, there are very few people and no cars. The majority of the huge billboards are in not on. Other than the screaming emergency vehicle sirens, Times Square is silent and in darkness.

We go back to our hotel room and try to make sense of the day. We do not know what tomorrow will bring or when we will get home. We try to watch TV, to find out what’s real and what’s not. It very odd to hear the sirens outside being echoed on TV.  Exhausted we try to get some sleep. Before we turn the lights off we make a pile of our clothes, money and passport, just in case the hotel evacuation sirens go off in the middle of the night.

Wednesday 12 September

The first thing we hear as we wake are the never-ending emergency vehicle sirens, a constant reminder that yesterday was real and we are still in New York. Numbly we get dressed and head back out to The Palace Hotel.  We don’t know where else to go. We don’t feel safe in our hotel and we don’t feel safe outside.

When we get to The Palace Hotel, we see most of the fans are there.  We find out that after everyone left last night, some fans were left, who had no hotel room. They tell us that Michael’s bodyguards came back out and when they heard that they had nowhere to go, they rang Michael. Unbelievably Michael told the bodyguards to bring the fans into the hotel and let them stay in his suite.  Is this real, Michael Jackson taking care of us, Michael Jackson making sure fans are safe???

We share information, food, try to make sense of what’s going on. Mostly we just sit around, too scared to go anywhere else.  The pay phone at the corner of the street becomes our only lifeline to the outside world. There is a constant queue of fans using it, ringing airlines, ringing family, trying to get home. A lot of the times the calls don’t even get put through, the phone networks drop out randomly and phones calls get cut off.

In the afternoon Michael's bodyguards come back out to see us. They bring us food from the hotel; try to help us get airline information. They tell us Michael has told them to stay and make sure we are OK  until the airports have opened and  we can go home.

Again we all stay together at The Palace Hotel until it gets dark. Again we try to make sure that everyone has somewhere to stay, and again we bring another fan back with us to our hotel.

Just like the night before we turn on the TV, to see what’s on the news, to see if there is any new information about the airports. Before we turn off the light we make our clothes pile with our money and passports just in case the hotel evacuation sirens go off in the middle of the night. Almost every building in central Manhattan has had hoax bomb threats today and we have heard from other fans that hotel evacuation sirens can happen at any time.

Thursday 13 September

Another day of the same. Waking up to the sirens on the streets, making our way back though a city which has turned into a war zone to meet up with the fans at The Palace Hotel, everyone on the pay phone to airlines and families, trying to get back home.  In the afternoon the bodyguards come out to us.

How much longer can this go on, how much longer will we be stranded in a city under attack??

Thursday turns into Friday…..

Finally a breakthrough, we find out the airports will be opening tomorrow, Saturday 15 September. We ring airlines, our families, make sure that we are re-booked on a flight home.

Unfortunately as the airports have been closed for 4 days there is a huge backlog of stranded people and most fans don’t get flights home the day the airports reopen. Somehow I and Jenny have managed to get on the first flight out of New York back to Ireland.  We are the lucky ones, we are the first of the fans  to make it home.

We arrive back in Ireland Sunday 16 September, 5 days after the life changing events of Tuesday September 11 2001.

November 2001 Virgin Mega-store, New York, Invincible CD Signing

September and October passed in a blur, I barely remember anything from those weeks. We had gone through so much, two very different events. Trying to come to terms with what we had been through was hard, the fan community became our support system, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

We tried to go back to our normal lives but our experiences changed us, in so many different ways. 

Friday 2 November

I get a phone call from Flea. She has found out that Michael is going to do a cd signing in New York. Without any hesitation I decide to go.  She calls me back a few hours later and we start making plans. It’s crazy, it’s mad but we just know we have to go. 

Saturday 3 November

We call Jenny and Fleas and friend, who now lives in Munich, Germany. Both of them for various reasons decide not to go. Flea calls one of her American friends, Sandy, who decides to share the hotel room with us. We book flights and the hotel.

Sunday 4 November 

My parents come back from holiday and I tell them our plans

Monday 5 November

I get the train to Fleas house

Tuesday 6 November

6 pm

We land at JFK, Sandy meets us at the airport and we get a taxi to our hotel which is a few streets down from Times Square. We pass Virgin Mega-store and see the queue outside the shop and start to get a bit nervous.  We check into our hotel, drop out backs and run back down the street to Virgin Mega-store.

8 pm

We finally get to our spot in the queue.  There are barriers along the street, and every so often security come along, and closes an area, creating pens. We get lucky and are in the end of one pen, which means we have something to sit against.  We make ourselves comfortable, with sleeping bags; we are in for a long, cold night.

Once we get settled, we start talking to the people in queue around us. We notice other European fans in the pen ahead of us, fans from Spain and France who we had met on previous Michael trips.

As the hours go by the temperature drops and we take turns to warm up in McDonald's or walk up and down the queue.  Even though it is very cold, we try to get some sleep as we know we have a long day ahead of us.

5 am Wednesday 7 November

As the sun rises we wake up, stiff and sore.  Sandy and I decide to walk back the queue to see how many have joined us over night. We start walking down the block and oh my gosh, there is a huge amount of people, we estimated maybe a thousand!!! We eventually make it back to our pen and report back to everyone.

Even though it is now early Wednesday morning, no one knows exactly how many will be let into the cd signing. The overnight security did not know any details and just told us to wait until the Virgin Megastore staff arrived.  By walking up to the top of the queue we guessed we were within the first 200 people, so we really hoped we would make the cut off point. We know hundreds of the people behind us though would not get in.

7 am

The Virgin Mega-store staff arrives and finally something is happening.  Eventually a staff member reaches us and hands each of us a numbered ticket… OMG!!!  We finally know we will get in.

So the plan is

Staff member 1 hands out the numbered tickets. There are 500 tickets, mine is number 155

Then one by one we go into the shop, get an Invincible album from the stand and go to the cash desk.

At the cash desk we give the album, our number ticket and the money to staff member 2.

Staff member 2 passes the ticket and the album to staff member 3 who write the ticket number onto a laminated pass on a chain and onto the till receipt and puts everything into a bag and hands the bag to you.

Once you have been given your pass you then leave the shop and re-queue.

We are told that we won’t be allowed into the shop until 10 am so we decided to go back to our hotel and freshen up and have something to eat. We were a lot calmer now as we knew we were defiantly getting in to see Michael. By now its nearly 9 am so we have about an hour.

10 am

We come back to Virgin Mega-store and rejoin the queue.  We started out on the street again, but this time we knew we were getting in.  The queue moved very slowly, they only let about 10 people inside at a time.

11 am

Finally we get to the shop and are in out of the cold.  Once inside we find ourselves in a single line queue along the inside walls of the shop

1pm

All 500 people are now inside the shop, queuing in a single line all along the walls of the shop on two floors. We are on the ground floor about half way around. They are playing Invincible album in a loop. Suddenly we hear screams from outside but we cant see whats happening. We are behind barriers and the staff don’t let us move.

We find out later that was when Michael did the appearance on the stage outside the shop and all the people who couldn't get in went crazy and the traffic in Times Square stopped. We could hear all the screams and the atmosphere inside changed. Now it was real, now Michael was here.

2 pm

Slowly slowly  the queue moved, bringing us closer to him. The album plays on a loop  and there are screens around the shop where we can watch Michael meeting everyone. The CD signing is being streamed live online and every so often cuts from the live feed of Michael signing and meeting people to video montages. 

3 pm

Finally we make it down to the lower floor, the basement floor when Michael is. OMG… we go down the escalator and he is right there, in front of us, watching us as we come down to that floor. We have no time to wave or get his attention as we are moved along down the shop.

Once down on the basement level, the atmosphere is very different.  As we move along the queue we get little glimpses of him and we try as much as we can to watch him.

After hours and hours queuing, finally it is our turn.

We had brought some gifts for Michael but security told us not to give anything to Michael but we someone managed to give them to him anyway.

When we got to the top of the queue we were told to open the album and take the booklet out. We then had to give the booklet to a security guard and then when it was your turn, the surety guard placed your booklet on the table for Michael to sign.

We could see that people only had a very short time with Michael. Many people did not even speak to him, just watched him sign the album booklet and then just walked away from the table.

When it was my turn I decided to just start talking to him as soon as I got to the table. I just started saying things, babbling really, but for a few short minutes, I was looking into his eyes and having a one on one conversation with him.

All too soon my time was up and I was pulled away from him. I almost walked away without my signed Invincible booklet, getting an autograph wasn't important to me,  being able to talk to Michael was the only reason I was there.  One of the security guards called me back to give me my autograph!!

We found out later from a fan who was watching the live stream online that when we were meeting Michael it cut to a video montage, so our time with Michael was not shown.

Once our time was up the security made us go straight up the escalator and leave the shop.  Once outside I found Flea and Sandy.  While we all had a precious few minutes one on one with Michael we all agreed that it was not as special or as amazing as other times we had met him or been close to him. All 3 of us had a conversation with him but felt that he wanted to say more to us .

We went to the side entrance and waited with everyone to see Michael leave.  By now it was late evening, cold and dark and we needed food and sleep. We stayed until Michael left but we didn't have the energy to follow him. Once Michael left, we went back to our hotel for some much needed rest.

Thursday 8 November

We wake up and decide to find Michael. The day before we heard from people in the queue that he was supposed to be staying at The Four Seasons Hotel. So once we are ready we head across to the Four Seasons.

When we get there we are surprised that there is no one else there.  So the three of us just decide to stay and see what happens. Over the next few hours we are joined by the French and Spanish fans , so now there is about 8 of us.

The hours go by and we get cold but no one wants to leave. Something just feels right, that he is here.  Suddenly we see one of Michael's staff who was with him the day before at the CD signing. Now we know for definite he is here.

Darkness falls; we have been sat outside this hotel for hours in the cold. Suddenly the air changes, we can’t explain, something is about to happen.

We hear noises behind us and a garage door opens. We jump up and OH MY GOSH Michael is in the car in the garage.  He sees us and the car stops and he rolls down the window.

We run into the garage over to the car. There is only about 6 of us so we get to talk to him for a few minutes. 

All too soon the car starts moving and Michael closes the window. The other fans run to get a taxi but me, Flea and Sandy stay walking with the car as it pulls out onto the street.  The traffic lights are red so the car is stopped in the street for a few minutes so we manage to walk into the street beside the car and continue talking to Michael through the windows.

Once the lights change and the traffic move we find an empty taxi two cars behind Michael's car. We jump in, all excited talking at once, trying to explain to the driver to follow that car in front. It takes a few minutes for the driver to fully understand that Michael Jackson is in the car in front, we want to follow him and we have no idea where he is going.  Eventually we convince the taxi driver to pull up alongside Michael’s car, and we roll down the windows. We stick out heads out the windows and scream Michael’s name. He sees us, rolls down the window and starts laughing at us. The taxi driver gets such a shock that we are telling the truth and once the traffic lights change and the cars move again he is right on it, weaving through the traffic  as we keep Michael's car in sight, giving the taxi driver instructions.

We have no idea where we are going but Michael’s driver knew we were following. Eventually we pull up outside FAO SWARTZ the toy shop. It’s around 7.30 pm and the store closes at 8 pm. We pay the taxi driver, shouting thank you to him and jump out of the taxi. We run into the shop and up the stairs trying to find the personal shopper lounge. As we run through the shop we hear an announcement over the loudspeaker that the shop is closing early tonight and that all customer’s need to make their way to the exits. We look at each other, laughing, knowing exactly the reason why the store is closing early.  We find the personal shopper lounge on the upper floor and try to stay in that area. Eventually security come over and escorts us to the lower level as we are the only customer’s on that level. We try to stay in the shop as long as we can, but security eventually figure out we know that there is a VIP in the building and that we know exactly who that VIP is. By now the other fans are there so there are about 8 of us, in little groups trying to dodge security in this toy-shop.

Eventually we give up and leave the shop, as we do we are joking with the security that we know who is in the building. It’s all in good humour, we don’t cause any trouble, and everyone is having fun.  Once outside we run to the windows and wait to see what happens.

After a few moments we see movement and we see Michael walking around the shop. We watch him for about 30 minutes, every so often we scream his name and he waves to us.

We do laps of the building, from the windows to the delivery entrance and back again.  All of a sudden one of the fans shouts to us that Michael is leaving.

We run to the delivery entrance just in time to see the car move into the traffic. Without any thought we all run after the car though the streets of Manhattan. There is only about 8 of us and we manage to follow the car easily. We turn a corner and find ourselves back at The Four Seasons!! Amazing we were only 2 blocks from the hotel all this time.

The car pulls into the hotel garage and all 8 of us line up on the street in front of the car where Michael can see us. We are careful to not be in the garage as we can see that security is ready to roll down the metal garage door.

The door starts to roll down and we blow kisses, wave and call out goodbye to Michael until the door has fully closed.

By now it’s after 10 pm and we are cold, tired and hungry. We decide to leave as we felt that we would not see Michael again that night.

Friday 9 November

Today is our last day in New York. Our flight leaves in the afternoon. In the morning we go back to the hotel just in case we get to see Michael again. We wait as long as we can but we don’t see him.

Sandy decides to stay in New York another day, as we don’t know for definite that he has left.

When we get back to Ireland we found out from Sandy that Michael had left on the Friday, most likely before we had got there.

Most people think that the CD signing was amazing, and they wished they had gone. In actual fact it wasn't really. The amount of time we spent with Michael was very quick, and very controlled. We were lucky that our time with Michael wasn't filmed and our conversations remain private. Many fans were not as lucky and their meeting and conversation with Michael at the CD signing has been dissected and analysed so much over the years.  Yes I did get an autograph but for us, the second day at the hotel was much more special. The majority of the 500 people at the CD signing were there just to get an autograph; they were dealers and collectors, teenagers and celeb spotters who went regularly to CD signings. Talking to people in the queue the night before so many did not even know about the album Invincible or heard any of the songs before. 

Michael Jackson New York February 2001

After the London trip, I found myself with so many new friends and connections. By now I was a regular member on many fan sites and would spend as much time as I could in internet cafes, keeping up with all the latest Michael news. A whole new world opened up to me, the world I had been for so long isolated from.

The year 2000 went by so fast , I was having so much fun with this new online Michael world, suddenly it was  January 2001.

One day I got a call from Flea. She told me that Michael would be doing something in New York, a speech in Carnegie Hall, would I be interested in going. I called the other fan, Jenny, who I knew might be interested in going too. She was very excited and I called Flea back and she said she would get tickets for us. As we were all travelling from Dublin, we decided that we would all get the same flight and share the hotel in New York.

We started planning and organizing our trip. Unfortunately Fleas friend couldn't make the trip after all, so in the end it was just me, Flea and Jenny who went to New York.

In the weeks leading up to the trip we found out that Michael was launching a new charity and that's why he was giving a speech in Carnegie Hall. We also found out that many American fans would be there and they were holding a fan meet up the day before the event.

It was the first time all 3 of us had traveled to New York and we were so excited on the flight over. Arriving in New York for a Michael trip was very different to the European trips we had been on the previous year.

We had been online checking all the fan sites before we left and we were very surprised that there was no information about where Michael was staying.

Sunday 11 February 2001

When we arrived in New York and went exploring, we couldn't find any other fans.  We tried to get information but all we could find was about the fan meet up in Hard Rock Cafe so, disappointed we couldn't find Michael or other fans; we decide to go sightseeing.

Monday 12 February

We start our day by checking the fan sites. It’s so strange we can’t find any information about Michael being in New York. We leave messages to try to meet up with the other fans we know are in the city.  Disappointed again, we head out to the city and went sightseeing. We decided to try to find Carnegie Hall and found it was very close to our hotel. We couldn't believe that that there was no promotional posters for the Heal The Kids Event.

Tuesday 13 February

We get up and head back to the internet cafe to see if anyone has replied to the messages we left. The only information we find is about the meet up at Hard Rock Cafe.  Today is Princes birthday and we have cards & gifts for him, but again we can’t find information about where Michael is.  We decided to bring them to Carnegie Hall as it looks like now this is the only time we will see Michael on this trip.  Another day sightseeing in cold New York.

Wednesday 14 February

Finally we know we will see Michael today.  We spend the morning checking the fan sites and then about 3 pm we went to the fan meet up at Hard Rock Cafe .The meet up was organised by MJNI and we met fans from both America and Europe who had traveled to New York for the event. While it was great to meet the fans, it felt very strange to be in a restaurant, knowing that Michael was in the city somewhere.  We stayed there most of the afternoon, as it was the only place where most of the fans were gathering.

The hotel we were staying at was very near Carnegie hall so about an hour before the start we walked to the building.

Outside the building finally we found all the fans again. At least we felt we were on a Michael trip and not just some random trip to New York.  Outside the building, there was a great atmosphere, fans chatting and laughing, meeting old friends and making new friends.

There was a press conference before the actual event, so we knew that Michael would be arriving soon. As it was so cold, everyone gathered in the entrance foyer.  Suddenly the atmosphere changed, and everyone started screaming and looking up to the balcony. Oh my goodness, Michael had come out onto the upper balcony to see us.  He was only there a few minutes, but the change in everyone was electric. I really don’t think some people really believed that he would be there but after seeing him waving on the balcony, it became real.

As soon as Michael left the balcony area, they let us into the auditorium. We were on the ground section, about 6 rows from the front on the left hand side.  Looking around, there was mix of MJ fans dressed in Michael t-shirts and regular people there to support the charity.

Everyone took their seats and the lights went down. The atmosphere was electric. On the stage were a table and a podium for the speakers to stand at.

As soon as Michael came on the stage the place went crazy but after a few minutes everyone quietened down.  The other speakers seemed a bit shocked at Michael’s reception.  When Michael walked to the podium everyone started screaming again, but once he started talking there was just one or two screams every so often.  When he finished talking everyone ran to the stage. We put all our gifts and letters on the stage for him, and eventually went back to our seats.

After the event, we all went outside as fast as we could and waited for him to leave. We tried to follow the cars but we did not know where he was going

Thursday 15 February

Our last day in New York. Our flight was in the evening, so we spent the morning in Times Square. It was a very odd feeling, seeing Michael and the fans, knowing he was in the city but not being at the hotel with the other fans. It almost felt like a dream, that last night didn't happen.

After the trip to New York, things started getting very crazy on the fan sites. We knew Michael was working on a new album, and as the weeks went by we started hearing more and more information, from people who were working with him. The excitement in the fan community was building and building, every day some new piece of information became known, song titles, names of artists & producers working with Michael, unconfirmed track listing, leaks of snippets of songs. It was a very exciting time to be part of the fan community and on the fan sites.