..Beatle?

I would have thought that would be a big one.

when Dylan goes the world will stop.

definitely

I don't think the Queen will get this reaction. She's in her eighties and her closet, although possibly containing the odd surprise, is unlikely to be packed with skeletons quite as, er, exotic as Michael Jackson's. For one thing, the media reaction won't be as spontaneous. All the major news media must have had their special tribute editions on file for years now.

And as for Obama, that'd just be JFK: The New Generation. Again, lots of worthy tributes but none of the immediate muckraking about black Muslim enablers, garbage sacks full of cash, wigs and needle marks that have kept the media busy these last few days.

As Mr H says, Madonna is the only other one I can think of who'd get a similar reaction, inasmuch as she could reasonably lay claim to the title of Queen of Pop.

Philip, who's surely next, won't. She's got lots of secrets.

What about Springsteen?

To make an impact, you've got to come as a complete surprise. Like Diana. Only because it was such a shock did the nation have a funny turn.

did he? Poor chap!

Joe Strummer hit me hard because it was so unexpected, when I saw the Evening Standard board saying Punk Rock Legend dies - I was thinking Iggy, Lou Reed but never Joe Strummer, that was a shock.

Macca and Jagger I could see having a big impact worldwide but in this country given the public reaction to Jade Goody then there could be a state funeral if a member of Emmerdale pops their clogs.

I can't help wondering whether the Michael Jackson hysteria would have been quite so pronounced if we hadn't had the last 5 months of hype surrounding the O2 gigs...

Macca, Jagger & Madonna are the most likely next recipients, but they might all have decades left in them yet, and former pop stars dying peacefully in their sleep in their nineties isn't as good a story as a "top-of-their-game" artist collapsing just before a major tour, is it? If Macca turns out to be the last surviving Beatle that'll add a extra layer to his passing though...

PS I'm a bit of a closet Monarchist, but I have a feeling that when the Queen goes, it'll be surprisingly subdued...

will trigger much of a constitutional debate. Charles ascends to the throne, and I think that's pretty much it constitutionally.

As for an equivalent internet-age sudden death...I dunno. Clive Tyldesley?

amongst a certain breed of rock n' roll fan, the passing of the Human Riff would be bloody awful. But seeing as he will outlive us all we needn't worry too much.

There was more coverage in the UK about Jade Goody.

The nation might actually close down when the Queen of Silicone pops off. As opposed to popping out.

As custodian of the office cd player I was asked by three different people on Friday "Do we have any Michael Jackson?"
I didn't have any at the time but over the weekend I made a disc and I asked all three people on Monday "Do you want to hear it?"

The first said, "No, I heard quite enough Michael Jackson over the weekend." The second said, "Ah, no thanks." The third said "Please, anything but."

We played it eventually and the biggest reaction went to the Weird Al Yankovic tracks at the end and this little beauty...