A couple of former buskers from Croydon have taken on King of Pop Michael Jackson.

The Dualers, Si and Tyber Cranstoun, booked the IndigO2 arena at the O2 in London for a gig on July 16 months ago.

Then Michael Jackson announced his mammoth comeback gigs at the venue and wanted the pair to reschedule so he could hold an aftershow party there.

But the two lads, who are unsigned, refused to move as they did not want to let their fans down.

They have already sold a chunk of tickets for the 2,400-capacity show and said they do not want the Grammy winner ruining their big night.

Tyber, 32, said: “This is a very special gig. We only play gigs once or twice a year.

“We have people coming from Italy and France. I did not want to disappoint the fans. This was our chance to showcase our talent on a big stage in front of many music professionals.”

Tyber explained they had booked the arena in February but discovered in April Michael Jackson wanted to hold his aftershow party. The next thing he knew tickets were on sale.

He added: “That’s when the battle began.

“They thought the Americans could come in and flex their muscles. But we dug our heels in.”

Tyber and his brother Si, who busked on the streets of Bromley, Canterbury and Woolwich, have now reached a compromise by cutting short their set by an hour-and-a-half to give Michael Jackson time to prepare for his first show at the O2 Arena.

They are also being treated to a free aftershow party courtesy of the venue to make up for the inconvenience.

The Dualers were the world’s first street performers to enter the UK charts, reaching number 21 in October 2004 with Kiss On The Lips. They still hit the streets to showcase their music.

Tickets are still available for the show and details are on their website thedualers.com.

Michael Jackson starts his O2 residency on July 13.

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