Gary Glitter

Paul Francis Gadd was born on the 8th of May 1944, known by the stage name Gary Glitter, an English former glam rock singer-songwriter and musician who achieved great popular success between the early 1970s and mid 1980s.

From 1997 he gained dishonor for sex offence allegations and convictions, being jailed in 1999 for possession of child pornography and, in 2006 and 2015, for child sexual abuse and attempted rape.

A slight decline in the late 1970s was followed by a successful comeback as a solo artist again from the 1980s.

Between 1972 and 1995, Glitter had 26 hit singles which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Top 100; twelve of those reached the Top 10, with three charting at number 1.

He continued to record in the 1980s and 1990s, with his 1984 song “Another Rock n’ Roll Christmas” becoming one of the most played Christmas hits of all time. He released seven studio albums, and at least 15 greatest hits collections or live albums.

In 1998, his recording of “Rock and Roll” was listed as one of the top 1,001 songs in music history.

The mostly instrumental “Rock and Roll, Part 2” has been played as a popular cheering song at American sporting events for several decades.

The late 1990s saw his image become irreparably tarnished, following his 1997 arrest and 1999 conviction in the United Kingdom for possession of thousands of items of child pornography.

Later, Glitter faced criminal charges and deportation from several countries including Vietnam and Cambodia connected with actual and suspected child sexual abuse, after a Vietnamese court found him guilty of obscene acts with minors in 2006.

He had been living in Vietnam since deportation from Cambodia on suspected child sexual abuse charges in 2002.

Glitter was deported from Vietnam back to Britain at the end of his sentence, where he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

These convictions turned Glitter, formerly one of the best-loved entertainers in British music history, into a national hate figure.

In 2005 Remember Me This Way, the documentary filmed at Glitter’s career peak in 1973 (and originally released in 1974), was issued for the first time on DVD.

Glitter’s music itself still had an audience, further demonstrated by three new album releases, although all of them contained past recordings from the vaults, rather than new product.

The first two new albums were issued at the same time, The Remixes and Live in Concert (the latter of which was a 1981 recording).

These were only for sale on the Internet.

A new collection of Glitter’s chart hit singles followed, The Best of Gary Glitter. In 2006 his back catalogue was made available via the Internet from sites such as iTunes and eMusic.

Towards the end of 2005 however an expat living in the area became concerned about Glitter’s activities and tipped off the British media.

Attempting to flee the country, Glitter was detained at Ho Chi Minh airport and was eventually charged with committing obscene acts with two girls aged 10 and 11.

Following a two day closed trial, he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison with the judge describing his actions as “disgusting and sick”.