His first performances came at a local club's open-mike night, and though still a teen was easily hired for singing engagements in nightclubs. Born in 1944-or, by some accounts, 1940-Gadd grew up in Croydon, a South London suburb, and as a young teen became enamored with the music of early rock pioneers like Elvis Presley and Ray Charles. 'Gary Glitter' was one of several aliases Paul Gadd used during his long recording career. Rex sparkle and David Bowie sashay, through Slade's patent stomp and Sweet's candied pop,' wrote Dave Thompson in Goldmine, 'and though it didn't quite make #1, it hung around the chart so long there's not another song on earth that recaptures the moment like one.' 'Instantly nostalgic, but like nothing else on earth, `Rock and Roll' cut though everything that was around that English summer, through the T. But it may be for the wildly successful 'Rock and Roll (Part II),' released in 1972, by which Glitter will be remembered. His recording career began in the early days of rock and roll, and morphed through a hippie phase, glam rock, bad Seventies rock, finally, Eighties revivalism. Though best known for a rousing rock anthem that has become a trademark sound at American sporting events, Gary Glitter was far from a one-hit wonder. Addresses: Record company-Rhino Records, 10635 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025. Born Paul Gadd, (some sources say 1940), in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England.

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