Gary Glitter was born on May 8, 1944, in in Banbury, Oxfordshire. He is an English rock and pop singer and songwriter who had a string of chart successes with a collection of 1970s glam rock hits including "Rock and Roll parts 1 & 2", "I Love You Love Me Love", "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)" and "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again".

Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s. He had one of the longest chart runs of any solo singer in the UK during the 1970s. Between 1972 and 1995 Glitter charted 26 hit singles which spent a total of 180 weeks in the UK Top 100.

His success as a live performer lasted well beyond the decade. He continued to record in the 1980s and 1990s, with his 1984 song "Another Rock N' Roll Christmas" being one of the Top 30 Christmas hits of all time.

He released seven studio albums, and at least 15 greatest hits collections or live albums. In 1998, his recording of "Rock and Roll" was voted as one of the Top 1001 songs in music history.

He was a surprise hit at the 1994 World Cup concert in Chicago which was telecast live to forty-six countries. He played the Godfather in a 1996 revival of The Who's Quadrophenia.

Gary Glitter also cut a single, a new version of "The House of the Rising Sun". British rock group Oasis used a sample from Glitter's 1973 chart hit, "Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again" on their 1995 multi-million selling album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, one of a number of acts that borrowed from his song book.