What is Gary Glitter's Net Worth?
Gary Glitter is a English musician who has a net worth of $8 million. Gary Glitter rose to fame in the 70s with such hit songs as "Rock and Roll," "I Love You Love Me Love," and "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again." His career mostly came to an end in the late 90s when he was imprisoned for downloading child pornography. In 2015, following a number of other charges related to child sexual abuse, Glitter was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Over the years Glitter has released seven studio albums and over 15 live or greatest hits albums. He has had three #1 hits on the UK Top 100 charts.
Early Life
Gary Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, was born on May 8, 1944 in Banbury, England to a single mother. Growing up, he was known to be highly unruly, and was handed over to the childcare system along with his brother. Gadd often ran away to London, where he went to clubs.
Career Beginnings
When he was still a teenager, Gadd began his career performing at clubs in London. At such venues as the Two I's and the Laconda, he played both ballads and early rock standards. Gadd got his big break when he was spotted by film producer Robert Hartford-Davis, who secured him a recording session with Decca Records. Using the stage name Paul Raven, he released his debut single, "Alone in the Night," in January of 1960.
In 1961, Gadd signed to Parlophone Records and worked with record producer George Martin. However, Gadd's career recording as Paul Raven hit a rough patch, and by 1964, he was working as an assistant while doing television commercials. Eventually, he met record producer Mike Leander, who helped Gadd make a comeback. Continuing to use the name Paul Raven, he joined the Mike Leander Show Band; following this, he formed the band Boston International with saxophonist John Rossall. Over the latter half of the 60s, Boston International toured throughout the UK and West Germany.
Success as Gary Glitter
Due to the growing popularity of the glam rock movement in the early 70s, Gadd took on the stage name Gary Glitter. He went on to release a self-titled debut album that spawned his breakthrough hit, the single "Rock and Roll." The song made it to number two on the UK charts and number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Glitter followed this runaway success with numerous other hit songs over the subsequent years, including "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)"; "I Love You Love Me Love"; "Doing Alright with the Boys"; and "I Didn't Know I Loved You (Till I Saw You Rock and Roll)."
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Further Music Career
By the mid 70s, Glitter's career was flagging; he consequently announced his retirement from recording in 1976. However, after going on a self-imposed exile in France and Australia, he returned to the UK to make his musical comeback. Glitter went on to record the album "Silver Star," which launched the hit singles "It Takes All Night Long" and "A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind." In the 80s, he found success with the singles "Dance Me Up" and "Another Rock and Roll Christmas," the latter of which became one of the most popular Christmas hits on the radio in the UK for several years.
In the early 90s, Glitter established his own record label, Attitude Records. The label later merged into the company Machmain, which Glitter owned. Throughout the remainder of the decade, he mostly worked as a live performer. Glitter also released the album "Leader II," appeared in a revival tour of the Who's "Quadrophenia," and recorded a cover of "The House of the Rising Sun." In the early 2000s, Glitter released the album "On."
Rock and Roll, Part 2 Royalties
Gary is probably best-known for creating the song "Rock and Roll, Part 2." Despite Gary's controversies, the song is still heard at many American sporting events and in popular movies. The song's continued use in the US at sporting events is a byproduct of of the fact that Glitter is less well-known in the United States. The song is not used regularly in European sporting events.
The song was used prominently in a 2-minute scene in 2019's "Joker" when Joaquin Phoenix's character walked down a long set of stairs between two buildings.
Does Gary still make money from "Rock and Roll, Part 2"?
According to a 2014 Billboard report, Gary and is co-writer were splitting roughly $250,000 per year in royalties from the song.
On the other hand, a report from the LA Times claimed that Gary sold his share of the song's rights in 1997 to a publishing company called Snapper Music in 1997. When the LA Times reached out to Snapper, a representative claimed:
"Gary Glitter does not get paid…We've had no contact with him."
Sex Offenses and Imprisonment
In late 1997, Glitter was arrested when child pornography was discovered on the hard drive of his laptop, which had been taken to a computer retailer for repairs. Subsequent police searches of his homes in London and Somerset turned up more images of child pornography. In 1999, Glitter was sentenced to four months in prison. Amid the scandal, he fled on his yacht to Spain; he then fled to Cuba before settling in Cambodia. After being detained there over his prior sex offenses, he was deported in early 2003. Glitter went on to settle in Vietnam, where he rented a luxury seaside villa. However, he came to the attention of the authorities when he allegedly assaulted a teen waitress at a nightclub. Glitter was arrested in Vietnam in late 2005, and was detained during a criminal investigation. Subsequently, in 2006, he was found guilty of child sexual abuse, and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by a mandatory deportation from Vietnam.
Following his early release from prison in the summer of 2008, Glitter returned to the UK, where he was added to the Violent and Sex Offender Register. Later, in 2012, he was arrested once again on charges of child sexual assault; two years after that, he was charged with eight counts of sexual offenses that occurred between 1977 and 1980. More charges were handed down in 2015, including attempted rape and indecent assault. Glitter was consequently sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Relationships
In 1963, Glitter wed Ann Murton. Together, they had a son named Paul and a daughter named Sarah. The couple divorced in 1972. Later, when he was a fugitive in Cuba in 2001, Glitter had a son named Gary with Yudenia Sosa Martínez.
