Pearl Jam Cover Michael Jackson

08/19/09 1:07pm

by Kate Harper (CHARTattack)

Pearl Jam covered Michael Jackson's "Ben" during their show at London, England's O2 Arena on Tuesday night.

Singer/guitarist Eddie Vedder, guitarists Mike McCready and Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron played a three-hour set at the arena, and integrated Jackson's "Ben" to their own "Rats," from 1993's Vs. Vedder dedicated the track "to a man who was supposed to take to this stage and do what he did," according to BBC's 6 Music.

Jackson was to play 50 comeback shows at the O2 Arena this summer, but he passed away on June 25 after going into cardiac arrest.

In other Jacko news, according to MTV, Jackson was in talks to build a giant 50-foot robot to roam the Nevada desert in 2007. It's unclear if the robot was ever built or will be built, since Jackson was not able to raise enough money for it.

The robot would have been visible to tourists arriving at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport and would have been an advertisement for a comeback show Jackson was planning in the city. He had been living in Las Vegas at the time.

"The idea came up as a proposal to build a giant robotic hotel," artist Timothy Patterson told MTV News. "The face would move, shooting laser-beam-looking lights. The whole building would be covered in spotlights."

It's not known whether the Jackson estate will build robot as part of the promotional events it is organizing.

This isn't really that surprising, considering Jackson had statues of himself erected at Neverland Ranch and was known for being a little... over-the-top, we'll say.

Meanwhile, it was recently announced that Jackson will be buried in the Great Mausoleum at Los Angeles' Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Aug. 29. The Mausoleum, which is not open to the public, is also the resting place of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and jazz musician Nat King Cole.

Pearl Jam will play these dates in support of the upcoming Backspacer:

Aug. 21 Toronto, ON @ Molson Amphitheatre
Aug. 23-24 Chicago, IL @ United Center
Aug. 28 San Francisco, CA @ Golden Gate Park (Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival)
Sept. 21-22 Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
Sept. 25 Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
Sept. 26 Portland, OR @ The Amphitheatre at Clark County
Sept. 28 Salt Lake City, UT @ E Center
Sept. 30-Oct. 1 Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheater
Oct. 4 Austin, Texas @ Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Music Festival)
Oct. 6-7 Universal City, CA @ Gibson Amphitheater
Oct. 9 San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
Oct. 27-28, 30-31 Philadelphia, PA @ Spectrum
Nov. 14 Perth, Australia @ Members Equity Stadium
Nov. 17 Adelaide, Australia @ Adelaide Oval
Nov. 20 Melbourne, Australia @ Etihad Stadium
Nov. 22 Sydney, Australa @ Sydney Football Stadium
Nov. 25 Brisbane, Australia @ Queensland Sports & Athletic Centre
Nov. 27 Auckland, New Zealand @ Mt. Smart Super Top
Nov. 29 Christchurch, New Zealand @ AMI Stadium