Comeback artists

"This is it." No, it certainly wasn't the end of something, but perhaps the beginning as Michael Jackson, complete in Swarovski-studded military jacket, dark aviator glasses, and looking painfully pale, emerged from behind the heavy brocaded curtains of London's O2 arena. Announcing a final comeback tour - a series of nine dates originally, but after 1.5 million people tried to sign up for the pre-sale, a further eight dates were added - Jackson managed to kick off a media frenzy over his upcoming concert performances this summer. At the same time, he joined the ranks of a number of newly-resurrected bands.

On the trail

Over the past two years several prominent musical groups have announced their return, whether for a one-off concert or to mark the release of a new record, in some cases marking their first appearances since before the millennium! And lest we jump to conclusions, these aren't all crusty old dinosaurs either. While Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page hadn't exactly benefited with age, relatively recent bands such as Limp Bizkit led by Fred Durst - infamous for a supposed fling with Britney Spears - as well as famed 1980s rock group Guns N' Roses, Britney Spears, even 'The Boss' - Bruce Springsteen - have all announced or embarked on tours or released new records.

Origins

Perhaps the true culprits are Pink Floyd. The iconic band, who so famously sang that they needed no education in direct confrontation with the British establishment, made a one-off comeback in July 2005 during the Live 8 concert held in London's Hyde Park. The band declared it a once-in-a-lifetime comeback, and was impervious to fans' requests for an encore. Their show encouraged other musicians to attempt to replicate their monumental success. Led Zeppelin, which according to some recorded the finest song of them all with Stairway to Heaven, launched a one-off concert in November 2007 in London's O2 arena. Coincidentally it is the same location where Michael Jackson is planning his residency this summer, and the same location where Prince spent an unheard-of 30 dates performing while promoting his then newly released record, Planet Earth. A mind-boggling 20 million people registered in a vain attempt to get their hands on some of the 20,000 tickets on sale for the Led Zeppelin concert. An incredible 80,000 fans registered for tickets every minute. If only every group could sell out London's biggest musical venue in 20 seconds, one would imagine that long-retired and long-forgotten musicians would also emerge from the woodwork to capitalise on the musical resurgence trend.

Odd ones out

Guns N' Roses were the odd ones out, because their comeback wasn't through a lucrative concert but through the release of their long-awaited album Chinese Democracy, their first since 1993's The Spaghetti Incident. Unfortunately the album went by with little fanfare, both of a commercial and critical nature, and Guns N' Roses weren't catapulted to the forefront of today's musical scene as perhaps their frontman, the legendary Axl Rose, may have anticipated.

But the group did generate a media frenzy the likes of which was previously exclusively reserved for earth-shattering events. With Britney Spears on the comeback trail, Limp Bizkit deciding the world had become far too quiet without their distinctive brand of nu metal, and Michael Jackson seeking to avert impending bankruptcy, today's comeback artists may have a variety of reasons for going on tour. But the fact is this is the best time to listen live to those bands you heard once upon a time.

The writer is a freelancer based in Dubai.