Tuesday, the 20th of February 1973 to Tuesday, the 19th of February 1974

Gary Glitter

I Love You Love Me Love

Charting in the year of 1973, on the 11th of November, is Gary Glitter with the single I Love You Love Me Love.

An acutely controversial choice,..

…but one I feel I need to get to, due to keeping true to myself, and also to keep the whole project as true to each era as possible; because, believe it or not, before the new millennium, this guy, especially at this specific point in time, was not only hugely popular, but also somehow relevant to the masses of the music buying public who tuned into Top of the Pops every Thursday, just like my eldest sister Susan did, along with millions of others; presented quite often by another darling of the entertainment world at the time, who himself would not only be succored by the highest echelons of Great Britain, in the form of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, but also the Royal Family, in just over ten years in the future – Jimmy Savile.

I somehow want to give you a snapshot…

…of what my perceptions of this man were at the age of around 2, from the perspective of his constant presence on, not just the radio, but on the TV as well.

The way I perceived him at that time, he seemed to be the chief entertainment go-to man if you wanted to explain what Glam Rock encompassed. Wildly egotistical gestures, over dramatic behaviour, and a self-inflicted conceit which could fill a rock arena, and millions of people, including children a little older than I had managed to achieve yet, adored him.

To me, probably given my young age, I found his presence on the screen too imposing. The guy on the screen seemed to not fit right into the act which I’d seen others perform. He was too over the top, too in your face, the way he played to the camera; unlike other more genuine acts of that time who were at least 10 years younger than this guy was.

Maybe that was the attraction that people seemed to like; but there was just something about him which I found a little uncomfortable watching, and I’m trying very hard to not jump on the bandwagon of other people years after, who always state they “knew he was creepy, even back then”. To those people I say “No, you didn’t, because otherwise you wouldn’t have gone out and physically bought his records would you”, which at the time, they did, in their millions.

However, saying all that, I didn’t mind some of the songs when I heard them on the radio. The music itself was OK from a speaker, as long as I didn’t have to look at him as well. In fact, I still haven’t got to the main single of his which I remember the most from my infant memories. This is just the first moment I remember this music and the man performing it.

This was my first memory of witnessing him perform on TV.

This particular song of his…

…went straight in at No.1 on the 11th of November 1973, and stayed there for 4 consecutive weeks.

Yep, he was that popular.

Even after the single was toppled from that position almost a month later, it didn’t go far; staying at No.2 all the way up into the Christmas week.

It eventually left the Top Ten a week into the New Year of 1974 and eventually fell out of the chart, four days before my 3rd birthday, in February.

This hasn’t exactly been an easy experience,..

…writing this memory down; but it’s one which I vividly remember seeing on Top of the Pops, and is one of the singles I heard so much of from the radio.

There were a few other different things, unconnected (maybe) from Mr. Glitter, that I would remember on the television which would unnerve me. Rod Hull and Emu are one which comes to mind later in the decade. However, not so much hearing this featured song, but more witnessing the performance of it on Top of the Pops, was one of the first.