The late superstar befriended the Ramirez family during his Australian tour. Amid all the bizarre claims about the singer, Billy Ramirez tells Jacqui Lang of the real man he knew as a friend.
From the moment his idol Michael Jackson slid down a hotel banister to greet him, Billy Ramirez was in awe. Little did the 11-year-old know it would be the start of a lifelong friendship.
“It is an incredible tale. To think that I, a kid from Darwin, got to know and befriend Michael Jackson …” Billy, now a 32-year-old pharmacist, shakes his head.
Devastated at the death of his famous friend, he remembers his remarkable association with the star.
Michael – in Australia for his Bad tour – saw a TV news report about his young fans, including Billy and his sisters, Tammy, 15, and Lana, 14.
The singer got a minder to track down the trio, inviting them to meet him at his hotel after the show.
“We waited in the suite – then suddenly, Michael Jackson was sliding down towards us like Mary Poppins!” Billy recalls.
“We were so nervous, we couldn’t look him in the eye. But he came right up and said, ‘Talk to me,’ asking what we thought of the show. We said we loved it and were going again. We began chatting, then he invited us to say hello again after the next show.”
The Ramirez clan again caught up with their hero, and it was then that the superstar delivered them a jaw-dropping invitation. “After asking us if we’d ever been to America – we hadn’t – he said, ‘Would you like to come and spend some time with me?’ ” Billy rolls his eyes at the memory.
“We couldn’t believe it!”
Four months later, Billy and his sisters flew to LA, at Michael’s expense, to stay at his luxurious Encino mansion.
