The Rabbi who brought pop legend Michael Jackson to the Oxford Union in 2001 said today he was “stunned” by the King of Pop’s death aged 50.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, then an Oxford-based Rabbi, was a personal friend of the former Motown child star and persuaded him to give a talk at the world-famous debating chamber.

Following the singer’s death in a Los Angeles hospital last night after a suspected cardiac arrest, Rabbi Boteach told the BBC how he tried to encourage Michael Jackson to think about spirituality and the family.

Video: Fans flock to the Apollo, in Harlem, to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson

He said: “I brought him over to England to the Oxford Union where he gave a much-publicised and much praised speech.

“That the story ends with his tragic death aged 50, and the story ends with three young children being orphaned, is shocking beyond belief.”

When Michael Jackson visited the Oxford Union in March, 2001, hundreds of fans flocked to St Michael’s Street to get a glimpse of the pop star — and spent hours chanting his name.

The singer did not speak to fans, but went straight into the grounds of the Oxford Union to give his speech on child welfare, where he told students that every child had the right to hear a bedtime story.

Fans waited for hours in the rain for a glimpse of the singer they hailed the King of Pop, and there were screams of joy when he arrived at 8.45pm, nearly three hours behind schedule.

The singer turned up for the engagement with his friends Rabbi Boteach and Uri Geller to give his first ever public talk on child welfare.

Oxford Mail reporter Andrew Ffrench, who covered Jackson’s appearance in Oxford that night, said: “On the day of the singer’s visit, the crowds in Cornmarket Street and St Michael’s Street built up until there were hundreds of fans waiting for his arrival, chanting his name.

“Some of the fans were hysterical — it was a surreal moment when Jackson finally walked into the Oxford Union grounds after keeping people waiting for almost three hours.”

The singer and songwriter, whose total album sales by 2005 had passed 130 million, was due to start a record-breaking comeback tour with a series of dates at London’s O2 Arena next month.

The first concert was due to take place at the arena on July 13.