giles2008 wrote:
I find it rather odd that The Glitter Band play the old Gary Glitter songs and the audience go mad.
And nobody bats an eyelid!!!
Well, evidently there's been a fair bit of eyelid batting. This is from 2013, complete with obligatory local hack cliches:
GARY Glitter's former drummer is gearing himself up for a big year - after a long struggle to sever ties between his band and the shamed pervert.
Pete Phipps, 61, is an original member of The Glitter Band, who toured with Glitter in the 1970s and once in 1985, but also forged a career separate from the glam rocker.
Mr Phipps said the revelations which exposed Glitter as a paedophile in 1999 had come as a total shock to those closest to the star.
Despite already being fully separated from Glitter, The Glitter Band struggled to get gigs in the UK because of his association with the band, and only really turned a corner after a 2010 performance in London.
After a difficult 2012 and following a UK Christmas tour, the group, who also include Frant resident and Tunbridge Wells businessman Dominic Rodgers, have a host of dates to look forward to both at home and abroad in 2013.
But the bombshell news from 14 years ago still haunts Mr Phipps, 61, who found world fame with Glitter - originally as a member of his backing group, before becoming The Glitter Band in 1974.
"It's painful to talk about it - even to think about it," he said. "It was unbelievable really. I had a phone call from somebody saying he had been arrested for shoplifting and I thought 'what?'.
"This was just before we were due to do a tour with him and then later in the day, when I heard what he'd been arrested for, I just sat there in shock. Even now I can't really think about it, it's just too awful.
"Everyone who worked with him, everybody, we had no idea. I still feel devastated about it and with the recent news coming out (about Jimmy Savile), it seems to have gone deeper than anyone could've imagined."
Mr Phipps said there was no reason to change the band's name afterwards - despite its association.
"It was our name," he said. "We had a separate existence, apart from Gary."
The band remained popular abroad, particularly in Germany, but had struggled to be accepted in the UK.
In 2009 at a gig in London, it was rumoured protesters would picket the show. Although it went ahead untroubled, the venue's agent was concerned - prompting a disclaimer on the band's website insisting there was no link between Glitter and The Glitter Band.
One year later at the Scala club in King's Cross, the band performed with and helped to reignite Adam Ant's career, as well as sharing a stage with David Bowie's former wife, Angie Bowie. Its UK reputation has since picked up.
The band officially formed in 1974 after two years as Glitter's backing band, and continued to play with him until 1976, as well as touring separately during that time and until 1978. They then toured America in 1985 with Glitter and went their separate ways afterwards.
"We've been separate ever since but unfortunately that awful series of events left everyone devastated.
"Not just us, he was also involved with The Prince's Trust, Children in Need and appeared in The Spice Girls Movie," said Mr Phipps.
The band were invited by Glitter to open his arena shows in 1997, when his sordid secret was unknown.
"We did that and then afterwards came the bombshell when he was found guilty," said father-of-three Mr Phipps.
"That was it, we struggled to get shows after that - and we hadn't even seen him since about 1985 before we did the 1997 shows."
Mr Phipps said he only hoped people no longer associated the band with Glitter - as it has had nothing to do with him since the revelations, and no member has spoken to him since.
"I hope people are realising it. I've never experienced any problems with audiences - I think it's fairly clear we have nothing to do with him.
"But I'm not so sure about agents and bookings. We all need agents to find the venues and we've had some bad experiences with them. That's mainly because they have lots of acts on their books so they shy away from anything they see as a potential problem."
After 1999 the shows dried up completely and Mr Phipps began teaching drums in colleges in the area, as well as Thai-Chi in Wadhurst.
He has cut down on the hours but still does both.
This year he's happy to let a busy rock 'n' roll schedule take over once more.
"I feel things are really getting better for us and audiences still want to hear the music - you can't let the songs die," he said.
Read more:
www.courier.co.uk/Gary-Glitter-s-band-li...y.html#ixzz3Qg5Rm9l9
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