Michael Jackson was celebrated yesterday on hastily produced T-shirts, irreverent shrines and in spontaneous moonwalks through the mud as Glastonbury festivalgoers paid tribute to the singer.

Although Jackson never played at the festival, his music is so influential that even people too young to remember his heyday in the 1980s continued to chatter about his death as Thursday night’s rumours were confirmed in the morning newspapers.

One T-shirt maker experienced a rush of sales after he created two designs with the messages “Michael Jackson RIP 1958-2005” and “A legend never dies”. Uygar Turantekin, 32, said: “I heard the rumour at midnight, so I made up these designs in about an hour. I’m pretty sure we will sell hundreds this weekend.”

A makeshift shrine was erected at an art workshop near the Cabaret Tent. None of the drawings was sympathetic. A sketch of the singer was accompanied by a caption that read: “RIP Michael Jackson. PS: Your tour is going to be rotten.”

Visitors to the Greenpeace area of the site were invited to imitate Jackson’s moonwalk dance. Andy Fitch, 34, an actor who works in the Greenpeace section, said that he was still in shock. “It hasn’t hit me yet. Regardless of all the negative stuff said about him in the past, I think he was a huge talent.”

Mr Fitch said that he had heard scores of people singing Jackson’s songs yesterday and had performed to ABC and Beat It in a singalong session. One shop, Loud Festival Store, committed itself to playing nothing but Jackson’s songs for the afternoon.

John Shearlove, a spokesman for the festival, said that people were sceptical when they first heard the news. “For years we’ve had rumours going around the site — usually about Cliff Richard dying — and it turns out not to be true,” he said.

“I did hear the rumour at around midnight,” Ian, one of the stewards in the Welfare Tent, said. “You could hear people saying, ‘Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson’ as they walked past. Then someone said that, actually, it was Michael Eavis [the farmer who runs Glastonbury] that had died. It got a bit Chinese whispers.”

And had anyone been so upset by the news that they had recourse to call upon the welfare centre? “No, I have to admit, no,” Ian replied.

Yesterday morning all conversations were about which bands would be the first to mention Jackson onstage, and who would cover one of his songs first. In the event, it was the Whip, at midday, who shouted “This one’s for Michael Jackson!” — and then played one of their own songs. Because, as many bands were swiftly realising, Jackson’s songs are actually quite difficult to play.

But some performers, including Gabriella Cilmi, worked Jackson’s songs into their sets, to roars of approval from the crowds. Others were Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D., whose cry of “RIP Michael Jackson” provoked an excited response. Lily Allen wore a white glove on one hand, one of Jackson’s trademarks.

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