Birthday boy Michael and pal David Gest turn poems to pop

Having marked his half century on Friday with the release of The King Of Pop, a new collection of his chart toppers, Michael Jackson is taking a radically new tack with his next venture. The singer has teamed up with close pal David Gest to record tracks based on the work of 18th-century Scottish poet Robbie Burns.

David, a former I'm A Celebrity… contestant and Liza Minnelli's ex-husband, has revealed he and the Thriller star have given a 21st-century spin to some of the celebrated bard's verses, putting the likes of We Did Ae Fond Kiss and Tom O'Shanter to contemporary music .

"Our favourite poet in the world is Robbie Burns," he explains. "We turned his work into show tunes; it's beautiful."

Although they've already laid down the tracks it's not known whether the pair plan on releasing the result.