July 3, 2009 14:14

Jarvis Cocker speaks about Michael Jackson on 'Question Time'

He appears alongside various politicians on the programme

Photo Gallery: Jarvis Cocker
Photo: Danny North

Jarvis Cocker has used his appearance on BBC political panel show 'Question Time' to pay tribute to Michael Jackson, who died last week (June 25).

Despite being known for his onstage 'attack' on Jackson during the 1996 BRIT Awards (where Cocker jumped onstage and wiggled his bum in protest at the pomposity of the self-styled king of pop's performance) the former Pulp frontman said he was a fan of Jackson as a musician.

"If there's a tragedy about the whole thing, I would say that's that if he'd have kept making great records - like he did in the mid-'80s - up to now that would have been great. But for some reason, for the last 20 years he didn't do that, and for me that's the tragic part of it," he explained.

Cocker also chastised host David Dimbleby for saying he "mooned" Jackson at the BRIT Awards.

"You described it incorrectly earlier," he said, pointing at Dimbleby. "I never mooned anybody in my whole life!"

When asked if they considered Jackson to be a genius by Dimbleby, Cocker paused before giving his answer.

"Yeah. He invented the moonwalk!" he said, garnering laughter from the studio audience.

Cocker was joined on the programme by Labour Party Deputy Leader Harriet Harman, former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson David Lawes and Daily Mail columnist Peter Hitchins.

The five answered questions from the audience on subjects including ID cards, the economy, the state of British politics, schools, the privatisation of UK railways, jail terms for murderers and great train robber Ronnie Biggs.

The programme is available to watch on BBC iPlayer for a limited time.

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