Gary Glitter became famous in the 1970s as an over-the-top glam rock singer wearing outrageous glitter suits and platform boots. Born as Paul Gadd, Glitter had been around for a decade before his first hit, working as Paul Raven and releasing several unsuccessful singles. But in the early 1970s his songwriting partnership with Mike Leander saw him rake up numerous hits. His first hit was 'Rock and Roll (Part 1 and 2)' in 1972 with his second 'I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)' in 1972.
'Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)' and 'Hello Hello! I'm Back Again' kept the hits coming while his first two albums 'Glitter' and 'Touch Me' (both 1973) also scored massive sales among his mainly teenage fans. That year he also sold out a show at the London Palladium.
His two biggest hits came with the 1973 numbers ones and memorable choruses of 'I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am!)' and 'I Love You Love Me Love'. He followed these up with an unlikely hit ballad, 'Remember Me This Way'. In 1974 he had further hits with the number one single 'Always Yours', 'Oh Yes! You're Beautiful' and 'Doin' Alright With the Boys'. But by 1975 the hits started to dry up and Glitter claimed he was retiring in 1976. He returned in 1977 with a minor hit, 'If It Takes All Night Long'.
After that Glitter seemed to have faded into obscurity until financial problems forced him into an unlikely comeback. In 1980 he started playing the college circuit and became a nostalgic cult among the post-punk generation who remembered his glam rock hits. His Gangshows became regular Christmas sell-outs and he even had another hit with 'Another Rock and Roll Christmas' in 1984. Joan Jett covered 'Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah)' in 1984, while rockers Girlschool recorded a version 'I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am!)' with Glitter in 1986. In 1988 the Timelords had a number one hit sampling Glitter's 'Rock and Roll' on 'Doctorin' the Tardis'.
Glitter appeared as the Godfather in the New York stage version of the Who's 'Quadrophenia' in 1996 and a segment of 'Hello Hello, I'm Back Again' was used by Oasis on their song 'Hello' on the 1995 album '(What's The Story) Morning Glory'. While 'Rock and Roll Part 2' had became a favoured anthem at American sporting events.
But in 1997, just as Glitter's celebrity status seemed assured, he was sentenced to four months in jail for downloading child pornography on to his home computer. An appearance in the Spice Girls' movie 'Spice World' was hastily cut and Glitter became a reviled figure in the media. In 2006 he was sentenced to three years in prison for further child sex offences in Vietnam, where he was now living. In 2015 Glitter was jailed in the UK for 16 years for sexual offences against underage girls between 1977-1980.
Glitter's name returned to the headlines in 2019 when 'Rock and Roll Part 2' was used in a scene in the movie 'The Joker'. It was claimed that Glitter could earn large sums from royalties, though the publishing group that own Glitter's royalties stated he would not be paid.
