Gary Glitter groomed 12-year-old sister of biographer Lesley-Ann Jones for a year before being exposed as a pedophile
Infamous English glam rock star Gary Glitter was a very popular musician back in the 1970s and '80s. The man was known across the country for his extreme glam rock image complete with glitter suits, daring make-up, platform boots, and his spirited live performances.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has sold more than 20 million records and has also had 21 hit singles that placed him in the Top 100 UK as a successful chart act. He was on top of the world for many years and then, his fall from grace began.
From 1997 onwards, Glitter was back in the media but it was for committing sex offenses, receiving jail time for downloading child pornography in 1999, and being imprisoned for child sexual abuse and attempted rape in 2006 and again in 2015. The BBC previously described Glitter's decline in public view as "dramatic" and "spectacular".
By the time the latter part of the 90s came around, Glitter's image was tarnished beyond repair. This came after his first arrest in 1997 and then his 1999 conviction in the UK for downloading thousands of items of child porn. He had also been charged with sexual activity with a minor in the 1970s but was acquitted of the crime.
Acclaimed biographer Lesley-Ann Jones recalled in an interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) how she met and befriended Glitter. The glam rock star had kept in touch with her for a year with the intention of grooming her young sister. LAJ told us: "I was presenting a television program for Channel Four in 1984 on Fridays. We were at the stadium one day when we recorded the program as live with all the interviews and performances. It was quite a social day."
"And my sister, who was 12 at the time, during school holidays, she likes to come down to the studio with me and meet the stars. That was a treat for her. And she met Gary Glitter in the green room at the studios and he was very attentive towards her and he was quite sweet to her actually. He looked after her and he made jokes and he got her drinks and things. Everybody just thought he was being, you know, uncle Gary. And after this day he started phoning me and asking me to go out for dinner and meet him for a drink."