Combining the Jacko-friendly warmth of mid-80s-era Smash Hits with the rampant commercial opportunism of late-2000s-era Bauer Media, here's the cover of a special tribute edition of Smash Hits which is due out next Tuesday.
Music Week report that "highlights will include interviews, original Smash Hits reports from Jackson's live tours, as well as posters, songwords and the definitive story of Bubbles" but the really exciting thing is that the editorial team is being headed up by former Smash Hits-when-it-was-good editor Barry McIlheney. IF THIS IS RUBBISH IT WILL BE EVEN MORE TRAGIC THAN MICHAEL JACKSON ACTUALLY POPPING HIS CLOGS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
Music Week have McIlheney saying that the £2.99 one-off special "will be paying tribute to Michael in classic Smash Hits style. Everyone seems to be forgetting in the current tabloid frenzy that this was one of the greatest pop stars of all time".
'One of the greatest popstars of all time' in the sense that Smash Hits was 'one of' the greatest pop magazines of all time, presumably.