Joe Jackson, who organised, trained and managed the Jackson 5, has often been portrayed as a controversial figure during Michael’s upbringing.

In his 1988 autobiography Moonwalk, Jackson called his father “a mystery man to me”.

He also noted his father was incredibly strict and sometimes beat him if he missed a step or note during rehearsals.

But Joe Jackson disputed his son’s claims of abuse, saying in 2003: “I whipped him with a switch and a belt… I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick.”