Letter: Why Jarvis had to do it

From Ms Fenella Davidson

and others

Sir: Those of us who were lucky enough to be at the Brits '96 and witness the incident between Michael Jackson and Jarvis Cocker think some balance should be put into the highly subjective tabloid coverage of the event.

Yes, Jarvis did go on stage while Jackson was performing. Yes, he did bump into one child. In actual fact, he was unbalanced by a security guard who was attempting to remove him from the stage.

What seems to be overlooked is why Jarvis went on stage. Those of us who witnessed the event were surprised and extremely disappointed by the fact that Michael Jackson alone was the only performer not to sing live. We had been led to believe that Michael's performance of his No. 1 hit "Earth Song" was to be the climax of the show.

To compound this sin with the grotesque, melodramatic use of multicultural children was the final straw. Many people left during the performance and many more watched in disbelief as the show reached biblical proportions. Jarvis Cocker reacted by invading the stage. This was obviously a heartfelt remonstration against the entire shallow sham.

Yours faithfully,

Fenella Davidson, Product Manager, Logic Records; Tony Piercy, Managing Director, Logic Records; Biff Worsley, General Manager, M&G Records; Mel Brown, Press Officer, Arista Records; Georgina Capp, Head of Special Projects, Telstar Records; Anthony Cavanagh, A&R Manager, Warner Chappell; Andy Prevezer, Director of Press, A&M Records

London, W1