Memoir reveals Michael Jackson's favourite pastime was laughing at videos of Prince messing up

The King of Pop was 'cold as ice' according to producer LA Reid

Michael Jackson enjoyed watching footage of his rival 'falling as flat as he could' (AP)

Laughing at Prince messing up was one of Michael Jackson’s dark favourite pastimes, according to a new memoir by producer LA Reid.

The King of Pop, who died in 2009, would enjoy watching videos of his rival “falling as flat as he could” and even showed his favourite clips to Neverland visitors.

Reid alleges in his new book Sing to Me that Jackson once gave him a tour of the famous ranch before taking him to a screening room to chuckle at footage from a 1983 James Brown concert.

Jackson was called on stage as a guest, where he “danced a few steps” in his trademark, much-adored fashion, before Prince, who was also present in the audience, was invited up too.

Unfortunately for the “Purple Rain” singer, his moment in the spotlight flopped as he “couldn’t make his guitar work, frantically stripping off his shirt and trying tricks with the microphone stand and making all these poses”.

Reid remembers Jackson “enjoying laughing at the video” before putting on a scene from Prince’s much-maligned black-and-white film Under the Cherry Moon to “laugh some more”.

So there you have it, Jackson was “cold as ice” with an avid passion for schadenfreude.

Sing to Me is available to buy online from today, 2 February.