3/10/2023 0 Comments My gang gary glitterThe group consisted of John Rossall (trombone and musical director), Gerry Shephard (lead guitar and vocals), Pete Phipps (drums and keyboards), Tony Leonard (drums), John Springate (bass and vocals), and Harvey Ellison (saxophone). The Boston Showband became known as The Glittermen and soon after settled on The Glitter Band. Debut album Glitter went top 10, and another track from it, I Didn’t Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll) reached number four.Īfter the success of Rock and Roll, Parts 1 and 2, Glitter and Leander knew they would need a regular backing band for live shows. After years of missing out, his simple, direct glam rock was a case of right place, right time. With his flamboyant outfits, bouffant wigs and demented stare, Glitter became an instant glam icon, who loved to mythologise himself in a string of hit singles. It was also the version in Joker, and in 1988, was reworked by Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond, aka, The KLF, aka in this instance The Timelords, as Doctorin’ the Tardis, where it shot to number 1 and gave Glitter his umpteenth comeback.īut I’m getting ahead of myself. This was his only US hit and became used extensively in sport there, where it became known as ‘The Hey Song’. It was instrumental, save for Glitter’s ‘Hey’. ![]() Rock and Roll, Part 1 paid tribute to the music of Glitter’s past, but Rock and Roll, Part 2 was most popular worldwide. With a stomping, deep beat, filthy guitar sound and echoey, double-tracked vocals to hide a poor singing voice, the trademark Glitter sound was there from the start. Splitting the jam into Rock and Roll, Parts 1 and 2 became Glitter’s first single release in 1972, reaching number two in the UK. Glitter and Leander went into the studio and worked on a 15-minute jam session that was to finally catapult him into stardom. Working backward through the alphabet, he tried to find an alliterative name… Vicky Vomit, Terry Tinsel and Stanley Sparkle were among those considered, before he settled on Gary Glitter. Raven must have felt fame would never be his, until he watched on from the sidelines as glam rock began to rise thanks to T. Several singles were also released, sometimes under the name Paul Monday, including a cover of Here Comes the Sun. When the band split, Raven helped form Boston International and toured the UK and Germany. In early 1965 he joined The Mike Leander Show Band, and soon was helping as a deputy on some of Leander’s production sessions. Raven starred in TV adverts and auditioned for films, and around this time he first met producer Mike Leander. He was also wearing a wig, as he had gone bald at 18. A further two singles, Walk On Boy and Tower of Strength (a number 1 for Frankie Vaughan that year) also tanked.įast-forward to 1964 and Raven was struggling, serving as the warm-up man on ITV’s Ready Steady Go!. A year later, Raven signed with Parlophone and worked with future Beatles producer George Martin. It got him nowhere, but he did well performing in nightclubs in and around Soho. In 1960, aged 15, Gadd released his first record with Decca Records under the name Paul Raven, Alone in the Night. ![]() He would frequently run away and head for London, and he became determined he would one day be a star there. Gadd was a troublesome child, and he was 10 when he and his brother were taken into local authority care. His mother, a cleaner, raised him with the help of her mother. Paul Francis Gadd was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire. I’ve already reviewed number 1s by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. In the world of cancelled culture, musicians have mostly escaped unscathed. ![]() His music is rarely heard anywhere, and made the headlines recently for its use in the Todd Haynes’ acclaimed Joker (2019). At best, he’s ammunition for cheap jokes. Gary Glitter was one of the most popular glam rockers of the 70s, and through several comebacks in the 80s or 90s, was a national treasure (and yes, I thought he was great), until his ill-fated trip to PC World and the discovery of child pornography on his computer in 1997. How to review the music of one of the, if not the first pop star to be effectively erased from modern times. I’ve been dreading this ever since I started this blog.
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