Songwriting Sheikh Sues Michael Jackson for £4.7m

An Arab sheik suing Michael Jackson for £4.7m set up the singer with a studio in his ranch so he could record the sheikh's own songs, the high court heard yesterday.

Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the second son of the king of Bahrain, is claiming Jackson reneged on a "payback" agreement on money he said he advanced Jackson when the singer faced financial difficulties.

Jackson is contesting the claim, insisting there was no valid agreement of repayment and arguing that the sheikh's case is based on "mistake, misrepresentation and undue influence". Bankim Thanki QC, representing the sheikh, told the court that his client set up a recording studio at the singer's Neverland ranch and sent him compositions he had written himself.

Jackson recorded one of the sheikh's songs the day after the pop star's criminal trial ended over child molestation charges in California, Thanki said. The song, which was to have been released as a charity single to help victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, will be played in court during the trial. "It shows the quality of Sheik Abdulla's songwriting skills and that of Mr Jackson's voice," Thanki told the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney.

An application will also be made for Jackson to give evidence by video link from Los Angeles, the court heard.

Thanki said Abdulla had a "close personal relationship" with the star and was intending to help revive his musical career by releasing records through their music label. He said the two discussed the possibility of Jackson leaving his 2,800-acre sprawling ranch in Santa Barbara County, California, for Bahrain to "continue their musical collaboration in a more conducive environment".

"Sheik Abdulla began to support Mr Jackson financially after 2005 when it became clear that Mr Jackson was in very serious financial difficulties, much to Sheik Abdulla's surprise," said Thanki, adding that the sheik was first asked by an assistant of Jackson for $35,000 (£23,300) to pay utility bills at Neverland.

The following month, in April 2005, Jackson asked for $1m through an assistant. "Sheik Abdulla made many more payments on his behalf or to others," said Thanki, including Jackson's $2.2m legal bill for his criminal trial. Abdulla's case rests on the claim that he and Jackson entered into a combined rights agreement under which the star was committed to a recording contract, the production of an autobiography and a musical stage play. His lawyers claim that, under the agreement, the $7m Abdulla advanced the singer would have been returned.

In his pleaded defence, however, Jackson says the payments he received were "gifts" and that no project was ever finalized. He claims that the sheik exercised "undue influence" over him when he was emotionally exhausted after his highly publicized criminal trial. The hearing is expected to last 12 days.