THE King is dead, long live Papy Elungu - the new Michael Jackson.

The electrical engineer, singer-songwriter, illusionist and peace activist, of Chingford, has changed his name by deed poll and believes he is the rightful heir to the King of Pop, who died almost one year ago.

The 33-year-old says was visited by a “spiritual vision” of his superstar namesake, who pledged support for his quest for pop fame.

He is convinced he is the next big thing in the world of music and has as much talent as the original moonwalker.

He said: “I have been making music for twenty years now and my sound is very similar to that of Michael Jackson. All my friends, family and fans think I look like him and have been calling me Michael for years. I get stopped in the street by people asking to have their photos taken with me.

“I truly believe that I will be Michael’s successor as I have just as much talent as he did. I am just waiting for a producer at present.”

“I can confirm that the king of pop is not dead but has just changed from the physical world to a spiritual world. He visits me spiritually in visions and I am proud of what I am doing because I have his support. It is a challenge for me that he has nominated me to be the prince of pop.”

“I am definitely going to stick with my new name. It seems like a natural change for me. I have spent the last year fundraising around the world in countries like Germany and France for peace promotion in the respect of children and wherever I go people call me Michael.”

Jamie Jackson, chief executive of The Legal Deed Poll Service, said: “We get so many crazy name change applications and I really like this one.

“We’ve had other people changing their names to Michael Jackson and even some who have changed their given name from Michael Jackson. But we’ve never had anyone before who feels they have a spiritual bond with the star, and certainly no-one who looks like him.”