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"Come Back" (Collaboration With Jud Mahoney)

Date range confirmed in “The Sun” (“2004”)

Jud Mahoney, producer, “The Sun” (June 2010) (Spanish mirror) (Spanish mirror archived) (“Michael Jackson World Network” Summary/quotes) (Summary/quotes archived) (Below is merged between the two sources; translated quotes are provided when direct ones are unavailable.”)

The future London singer Jud Mahoney will never forget the day Michael Jackson called him, because at that time he was trying to put a thermometer under the tail of a dog that belonged to a friend of his.

Jud, who spent 10 years in the US composing and producing for stars like Usher, Coolio, Tyrese and Dolly Parton, never expected Jackson to call his cell phone, despite the fact that the record company insisted that the King of Pop wanted to work with him.

Meanwhile, he did not stop helping a friend when his dog got sick on a given day in 2004. Jud told The Sun: "Mogwai (referring to the dog) did not feel very well, so I took him to the vet. At some point in the middle of the scene where he was holding Mogwai's tail while they were introducing the thermometer from behind, the phone rang and it was Michael."

"I ran out and talked to him briefly and he told me that he liked a song that I had written entitled 'Man Enough', and he said something like, 'I'm thinking about hiring you for MJJ Records.'” Naturally, Jud took the unique opportunity to meet Jackson, who was going through a "very difficult time" after his second case of abuse.

What surprised Jud the most in his surreal four-day visit to Neverland was how normal the star was. "There was nothing crazy going on. He seemed like a genuinely lovely guy who was just focused on making records. There were a lot of dramas going on his life and he looked kind of frail."

Any fear of the news of Jackson's lifestyle dissipated when he arrived at the singer's ranch. "The new Xbox had just come out and Michael was very involved in his games, especially in Halo (a fighting game)," revealed Jud.

"I did not care, but I sat down to play with him and he obviously kicked my ass, then we ate pizza."

Although the subject he wrote with Jackson never saw the light of day, he says that collaboration was the most special of his career.

He was impacted by the energy and passion that the singer had in the study sessions.

"I was a producer and I was doing well then, so I knocked up this track called ‘Come Back’ with him. We both came up with melodies. He’s very hands-on musically. People get the impression that he just goes in and sings these songs but he’s actually the main part of all these records. He was amazing. His natural energy and passion is far beyond anybody else I’ve worked with. Most people will sing a melody idea low because you’re in a room with just two people trying to come up with a song. When Michael did it, he turned from a softly spoken guy to literally singing at the top of his voice.  It was like a dream."

Inspired by his collaboration with Jackson and his passing, Jud will eventually step out from behind the controls to launch his solo career.