Money man: The king of pop lives on

I'M not a fan of Doctor Who. Never really understood the appeal. Not even when Russell T Davies injected new life into the old Doc was I interested.

So it is a complete coincidence that I happened to recently watch the episode written by Richard Curtis, in which the Doctor transports Vincent Van Gogh in his time machine (apologies to fans, it was literally the first episode I have ever watched) to the present day.

Bill Nighy, not camping it up for possibly the first time in his career, plays a guide at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, home to many of Van Gogh's works. The Doctor gets him to explain, while Van Gogh stands within earshot, how important the artist became following his death. Nighy's beautifully-delivered speech tells the artist that he was "not only one of the greatest artists of all time, but one of the greatest human beings".

If only the Tardis were real and Michael Jackson could similarly be shown the effect of his legacy.

Jackson, who died a year ago today, is following a now well-worn path of earning more in death than he had recently earned in life.

However, unlike Elvis, John Lennon and Johnny Cash, who earned buckets more cash after death than before it, were the Tardis available, Jackson would also find that in the year since his death, a public re-appraisal of his work has taken place.

Figures released yesterday show that Jackson's songs have been played and his music bought at a rate not seen since the height of his solo career, his estate earning $250m in the 12 months since his death.

Prior to his death last year, Billie Jean was the most played of his songs.

This week the Performing Rights Society released a chart of the top 20 songs bought and played since Jackson's death – and Billie Jean doesn't feature.

In the last decade of his life Jackson was better known for the controversies surrounding his life than the quality of his music.

In death the controversies have faded and people have remembered the music.

Billie Jean hasn't made it into the top 20 because, following his death, people have gone through the back catalogue of Jackson's songs and realised that his reputation was not built on that one song but on the most extraordinary back catalogue in popular music.

Playing songs like Rock With You, Human Nature, Liberian Girl and Smooth Criminal has reminded people of the genius of Jackson, who wrote or co-wrote much of the work he recorded.

The most performed of Jackson's songs in the last 12 months, according the PRS chart, is Man in the Mirror, which has seen an increase in play of 1039 percent. Jam, taken from the Dangerous album is up 1037 percent and They Don't Care About Us, from the History album up 874 percent. PRS Chairman Ellis Rich said: "These figures are a tribute and a testament to the lasting iconic quality of the songs Michael recorded and will no doubt ensure he will go down in history as one of the greatest artists of all time.

"It's fantastic that we can continue to listen and enjoy his music."

With the music industry in decline, selling 31 million albums in the year since his death is an extraordinary feat. It is the most albums sold by a single artist since 2004. Marty Bandier, chief executive of Sony/ATV says: "In the year that Michael has gone, we realise how incredibly talented he was. The guy was the King of Pop and more."

A tribute night to Michael Jackson is being held at Brewery Wharf Leeds tonight from 5pm to 9.30pm.

Tribute show Man in the Mirror is at Leeds Grand Theatre July 27 to 31 and Thriller Live at Bradford Alhambra Sept 20 to 25.