Gary Glitter

Flamboyant glam-rock singer whose over-the-top performances made him one of the most successful UK acts of the 1970s. Born May 8, 1940, he started his recording career as Paul Raven in 1960, but a succession of singles under this name (and later as Paul Monday) made little impact. In 1971 he jumped on the glam bandwagon, releasing the single "Rock N Roll" under the name Gary Glitter. It reached the top ten in both the UK and USA, and although it was to be his only major hit state side, in the UK it was only the first of many. His records were, for the most part, fairly basic and lacking either subtlety or originality, but were made successful by Glitter's sheer showmanship. The hits dried up in the mid-70s, though he remained in the public eye via live performances and a 1984 comeback "Another Rock N Roll Christmas", as well as being sampled by (and appearing on TV with) The Timelords for their 1988 chart-topper "Doctorin' The Tardis". He went into semi-retirement in the 1990s, putting most of his musical energy into his annual Christmas gigs. However, having fallen from grace in 1999 when convicted of child pornography and sexual offences, it now seems that his musical career is finally over.