Gary Glitter spent ‘lost weekends’ in Brighton, says former friend

The pop star and convicted paedophile Gary Glitter spent “lost weekends” in Brighton, according to a former friend.

The journalist and author Lesley-Ann Jones also said that she believed he was trying to groom her younger sister, Sam.

Jones met Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, in the early 1980s when her sister was 12 years old.

In the Mail on Sunday she wrote: “In Brighton, where we’d spent what he called ‘the long lost weekends’, I’d sometimes stay on his boat, a 22ft sloop, which was moored in the Marina.

“Gary fancied himself as a nautical man and played the part to the hilt. Yanking on waterproofs, he’d pace the teak in his deck shoes, the wind terrifying his bouffant.

“Sometimes he’d write me funny little notes, reminding me to be sure to bring Sam with me. He made a huge fuss of her whenever he saw her.

“He’d consume her in bear hugs, kiss her forehead and her hands, tickle, wrestle and tease.

“I put this down to him being childishly over-friendly, like a big puppy.

“He’d sit next to her at dinner, pour her water, order her meal. He’d offer her wine, giggling like a little boy. He’d play with his food, pull faces, impersonate the waiters. He was funny, and I was never bored.

“I didn’t think him devious or manipulative. I never suspected a thing. He gained our trust and he reeled us in.

“I understand now that this pathological behaviour is about finding sexual relationships such people can control.

“Paedophiles select their victims carefully. They invest time and effort, grooming vulnerable and easily influenced children into submission, often right under the noses of unsuspecting adults. It happened.

“In my defence, I’d had a happily sheltered upbringing. I was young, and cosseted. To me, Gary was simply kind and avuncular. As safe as Boy George in a dress preferring a cup of tea to sex.

“The only thing that assuages my guilt today is that Gary never molested my sister. He never got the chance to. I never once left them alone.

“There was no suggestion of romance between us. He never made a pass, nor would I have wanted him to. We never discussed sex.

“I had no idea that he watched child pornography – he wouldn’t have seen me for dust.

“His behaviour was child-like most of the time, which I found endearing. I even thought he might be secretly gay. In Brighton, he would disappear by himself for hours. We knew not to ask.

“He was fond of the town’s jazz scene, the buskers, the quaint pubs and edgy bars and loved poking around North Laine.”

The story is based on a similar article written by Jones six and a half years ago after Glitter had been released from prison in Vietnam and deported back to Britain.

The latest article follows his conviction on Thursday (5 February) for attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and one of having sex with a girl under the age of 13.

The Metropolitan Police said that the offences took place between dates in 1975 and 1980 and involved three victims.

Glitter, 70, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Friday 27 February.