What was to be a grand tribute to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, on the eve of his 51st birthday turned out to be a damp squib, with the event finally cancelled after the chosen bands opted out following a row over payment.

The Gone Too Soon remembrance concert, organised by entertainment company The Address, was to feature the bands Bandish, Aryans and Groove Adda at the event in Siri Fort Auditorium on Friday — Jackson would have turned 51 on Saturday (August 29).

But the artistes decided to call it quits after the cheques they received from the organisers bounced for the second time on Thursday, Subir Malik, manager of Bandish and Groove Adda, said. “The organisers had called us about a month ago and we had struck the deal. We received a signing amount of Rs 50,000, with an assurance that the final money would be paid three days before the show. But the cheque bounced last Monday; we put it in again and it bounced again on Thursday.”

Having publicised the event with these three bands, the organisers sold tickets to many — they were priced at Rs 500, Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500.

Amit Kalkhandey, chairman of The Address, said they have had no differences with the band. The confusion was triggered by differences with another entertainment company, the Faridabad-based GM Entertainment Pvt Ltd, which was coordinating with the bands, he said. “We paid Rs 4.5 lakh cash to Vikas Mehra of GM Entertainment. But he asked for more money to pay the bands on Thursday. When we refused, he suggested we cancel the show.”

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