'He talks very, very tough...' Michael Jackson's real voice was not the high-pitched whimper we all knew

Michael Jackson actually “talked tough” and had a deep voice, his late friend David Gest claimed.

Concert promoter and record producer Gest - who died in April 2016 aged 62 - had been one of the pop superstar's closest friends and was responsible for for producing the television special Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration in 2001, which was the last reunion of Michael and the Jacksons coming almost 17 years after their previous reunion and one of the King of Pop's last ever live shows.

Gest had been adamant that Michael's real voice was heavy and powerful and nothing like the high-pitched affected tone he used when speaking publicly.

That voice is heard being mimicked by the Thriller singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson - the son of Jermaine Jackson - in director Antoine Fuqua's new biopic Michael.

In an interview conducted in September 2009 with Contact Music's Philip Hamilton, David claimed: “Michael talking in his real voice was like, ‘C’mon David, let’s get it done now.'"

He added: "You know - he doesn’t talk all high-pitched, like, ‘Hi, how are you?’ He talks very, very tough. I’m telling you the truth.”

On March 5, 2009 Michael announced his This Is It London concert residency at The O2 in a voice that was deeper than his usual speaking tone - which prompted speculation as to whether an impersonator had appeared instead of the genuine King of Pop.

Tragically, Michael never made it on stage for his sold-out 50 shows at The O2 as on 25 June 2009 - less than three weeks before the first concert was scheduled to take place - he died from cardiac arrest, caused by a Propofol and benzodiazepine overdose. He was 50 years old.

In the wake of Michael's death, Gest was a constant source of support for the Jackson family and went on to release the documentary film Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon in 2011 which told the story of his musical beginnings on Motown with his brothers in the Jackson 5 and his phenomenal solo career.