Munich - A re-launch Wednesday in Germany of Thriller Live, a stage show of 30 of Michael Jackson's greatest hits, has morphed into a memorial tour for the US entertainer, longtime Jackson friend Adrian Grant said.

Thriller Live was first started in London in 2006 and work began months ago, well before Jackson's death, to bring together all the people to tour it through Germany.

Jackson fans have eagerly scooped up tickets for the show, which features more than 20 dancers, singers and instrumentalists and opens in the Deutsches Theater in Munich. Sales soared after Jackson died, the theatre said.

"It's a privilege to carry on Michael's heritage," said Grant before the curtain went up. "I feel as if Michael is still among us." He said no one could have predicted it would evolve into a theatrical memorial to Jackson.

Thriller Live only briefly visited Germany last year. This time round it is touring Munich, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Oberhausen, ending in January in Berlin.

The show includes material from the Jackson Five, songs from the 1982 album Thriller and video backdrops.

The late "King of Pop" died June 25, aged 50, of cardiac arrest. California police believe he died after he was given the hospital anaesthetic Propofol.(dpa)