Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50 after suffering a suspected heart attack.

Paramedics were called to the singer's Holmby Hills home in Los Angeles and he was taken to the UCLA medical centre.

The king of pop was pronounced dead at 2.26pm Pacific time (10.26pm BST) on Thursday and a post-mortem examination is expected to take place later on Friday, Los Angeles Coroner's Office spokesman Fred Corral said.

See audition footage from 1968 - Michael Jackson perfoming James Brown's I've got the Feeling.

Jackson was about to embark on a comeback tour, including 50 dates in London, which aimed to resurrect his fortunes.

Close friend Uri Geller told the Press Association that it may have been the "stress" of Jackson's London comeback that killed him.

Speaking from his home in Sonning, Berkshire, he said: "I guess the stress, the anticipation and the passion he was emitting from his heart, wanting to do this comeback so badly, maybe that got to him. That is all I can think, that maybe the stress killed him."

Fears were sparked for Jackson's health last month when four of his This Is It concert dates were pushed back, but organisers insisted the dates were moved due to the sheer magnitude of the spectacle.

Jackson last toured 12 years ago when he played 82 shows in 58 cities for the HIStory tour. At the World Music Awards in London in November 2006 he performed just a few lines from We Are The World.

He has spent time living outside the United States since his 2005 acquittal on child molestation charges.

Jackson has three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Junior, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

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