Steve McGeachin said London was becoming gripped with Jackson fever as his first concert was just three weeks away.

“With 750,000 tickets sold, a lot of people were getting excited and there was a genuine buzz and talk around the city,” he said.

“Actually, there are still posters for the concert on the tube and on the side of buildings here.”

Mr McGeachin said he walked past the Michael Jackson West End Tribute show on the way to work yesterday morning and said it had been turned into a shrine with flowers, candles, pictures and a lot of people gathering there.

“Like the rest of the world I was shocked at the news, but then that quickly faded to sorrow and grief,” he said.

“Especially because originally my girlfriend and I had tickets to his 4th concert, but after the rescheduling, our new tickets were for Jackson’s 50th and final show.

“It was quite exciting that I could have possibly been seeing him moonwalk at his final concert, not just for the This Is It tour, but maybe forever.

“But this excitement over the past few months has added a little extra sting.”

Mr McGeachin saw Jackson at the HIStory tour in 1996 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“I was 10 rows from the front and Molly Meldrum and Red Symons were only a few seats away from me,” he said.