"I have been coming to [this shrine] most days since I heard the news. It’s the only place I can find peace. Other fans gather here, so we’re brought together and mourn together. I have had to book time off work to be here, but my employers understood how much Michael meant to me. He made me believe I could achieve anything. I met him twice - at his press conference when he announced the O2 arena concerts, and then I waited for seven hours outside his hotel. He came down to meet us. He had an amazing smile, a fantastic aura. His death turned my world upside down and I still cry every day" Photograph: Martin Argles/Martin Argles
"I wanted to come here on the day of the funeral and memorial and dedicate some time to him, light a candle, read the tributes left by the other fans. I have loved him since I was a child, and now my children love him. I dressed my son up as Michael for a dance competition and he won. I loved everything about him, he was a beautiful man" Photograph: Martin Argles
"I like to be here, to meet fans from all over the world. I stay here through the day and night, and only pop home to change. I do get tired, but I feel Michael’s energy and that keeps me going. The fan world is a community and it’s difficult for people to be on their own at the moment. I still feel numb, but for me Michael Jackson doesn’t die. He touched too many people, all ages, all races. So it is impossible for me to think of him as dead" Photograph: Martin Argles
"I wanted to come and pay my respects because I loved him so much. I felt like I knew him, because I read everything about him; I kept a scrapbook. So it is a bit like losing a loved one. Lots of people tormented the life out of him and that upsets me, but to me he was an incredible man. I was lucky enough to see him three times. Once, I camped outside the concert the night before so I could get to the front of the stage" Photograph: Martin Argles
"I come [to this shrine] after work, stay until the early hours, go home to change and eat and then go back to work. After work I’m back here again. It’s all for Michael. Where he’s concerned you don’t get tired, you don’t think, ‘I can’t be bothered to do this.’ I have two older sisters so I grew up listening to his music. He was inspirational and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him - he inspired me to be a performer. It is so hard to believe that he is gone, even though I’m here night and day. I think that watching the concert, seeing his family on that screen and all the tributes to him - that is when it will hit me the most" Photograph: Martin Argles
