SOUTH Essex street dance troupe Diversity have unveiled a memorial to Michael Jackson in the West End.

The special plaque to the singer was revealed at the opening of Thriller Live, at the Lyric Theatre.

The show pays homage to the music of the King of Pop, who died a year ago today.

Diversity were asked to perform the honour as they had been due to perform with Jackson in what would have been his last tour. Meanwhile, the group have stressed they would never just pull out of a booked appearance, after it was wrongly advertised they were to perform at the Barking and Dagenham Town Show next month.

The boys even went to the effort of posting a message on their official website to clear up the issue.

In a joint statement on the web, the dancers, led by Ashley Banjo, 21, of London Road, Wickford, said: “The appearance was advertised without any authority whatsoever from us.

“We are extremely upset by any disappointment caused to our fans however, the situation has been caused by factors beyond our control or knowledge. We have reacted as soon as this matter was brought to our attention and we urge all fans to check our official website for all future dates, to avoid any further confusion.”