Michael Jackson Promoter Withdraws Insurance Claim Over Singer's Death

September 12, 2012 10:40 AM ET Chief Executive Randy Phillips of AEG.

AEG Live, the concert promoters for Michael Jackson's planned 2009 comback tour, have dropped a $17.5 million insurance claim stemming from Jackson's death after leaked e-mails showed that AEG executives were concerned about Jackson's health and worried about his stability shortly before his death that June, Reuters reports.

When Jackson died before he could begin a run of concerts in London, AEG filed an insurance claim with Lloyd's of London, citing losses in up-front costs for Jackson's "This Is It" tour. Lloyd's later filed suit against AEG Live, contending that it didn't owe the money.

AEG executives had long been skeptical about whether Jackson was capable of performing, according to e-mails obtained by the Los Angeles Times that openly discussed the matter. CEO Randy Phillips sent one particularly revealing message in March 2009 while he was in London with Jackson to announce the shows. "MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," wrote Phillips. "I [am] trying to sober him up." Despite the suggestion that AEG Live was aware of Jackson's troubles while negotiating its insurance policy with Lloyd's, AEG attorneys maintain the company's withdrawal has "nothing to do with the recent leak" of the emails.

"We are standing by AEG's lawyers comments that the withdrawal of the claim was not related to the leaked emails, said Paul Schriffer, an attorney for Lloyd's. An attorney for AEG, Marvin Putnam, said the company informed Lloyd's in June that it was dropping the claim, citing reimbursement from the Jackson estate that covered the company's losses.

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Fans Claim Van Halen's New Song 'Tattoo' Sounds Like a 1977 Outtake

Van Halen perform at Cafe Wha? in New York City.

When Rolling Stone spoke with Sammy Hagar in November, he told us that he heard the new Van Halen record was largely comprised of old music. "I mean stuff from before I even joined the band," Hagar said. "Ed and Dave didn't actually write new songs. They took old stuff from previous sessions, and then maybe Dave had to go in and add vocals because they just had scat vocals, or even no vocal part at all."

It was impossible to know at the time if his claims were true, but at Van Halen's Café Wha? gig last week the one "new" song they released, "She's The Woman," dates back to a demo tape the group made in 1976. This morning they debuted their new single and video "Tattoo," and hardcore fans immediately noticed that it sounded strikingly similar to "Down in Flames," a song they played live in 1977 but never actually put on an album. We're going to let you guys make up your mind on this one. How similar do you think the two songs are? Videos for each are below.

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