Michael Jackson fans get tattoo memorials

YBOR CITY, Fla., June 29 (UPI) -- Michael Jackson fans in Florida say they are getting tattoos as tributes to the late "King of Pop."

One of them is of Vangie Goldwire, 40, of Ybor City, Fla., who received a colorful "J5" between his shoulders from tattoo artist Buck Parks, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Monday.

"I used to wonder: 'Why all the fuss about Elvis and John Lennon's deaths?' But now I understand," Goldwire told the newspaper.

Parks said the first two customers through the door of his Blue Devil Tattoo Gallery in Ybor City on Saturday wanted Michael Jackson-themed tattoos.

"I was like, ohhhh, yeah. I grew up with Michael," Parks told the Times, adding he "had a Jackson 5 lunch box" and hopes to draw a lifelike portrait of the singer this week.

The greater part of Jillian Serra's left thigh was decorated with a large tattoo of Jackson as a zombie from the "Thriller" music video. Serra, 26, told the newspaper, "If you can't find a groove in his music, then you're no good."