#Execution of gary glitter trial#

It is an uncomfortable thought, but I think he is the protagonist many writers would have chosen.

#Execution of gary glitter trial#

The Daily Mirror headlines for a Glitter trial felt real, and the MP3 remix sending Gary Glitter back to No.1 (on downloads) on the day of his execution was an obvious slam dunk. However, this also gave the narrative extra depth, because his rock-star past allowed the programme makers to pass commentary on popular culture. At the time, no one questioned the intentions behind songs such as 1972s 'Playground Bangaround' and 1974s 'Breaking In Minors (Oh Yeah Oh Yeah)' and, besides, the 1970s were such a crazy time that everyone was sleeping with kids. He is, shall we say, the most culturally significant bogeyman we have. Gary Glitter was one of many acts who rode this music wave like a silver-spangled surfer with a dodgy wig. There’s no doubt that the choice of Glitter as the anti-hero was was a fantastic marketing ploy. If we executed people in the UK they’d be poor & unknown. The device of using Gary Glitter felt like exactly that, & hopelessly crass. He got convicted for possession of child pornography and sex. Produced by Juniper Communications, the documentary follows an imaginary trial and execution by hanging of former glam rock singer Gary Glitter. According to the programme, 54% of British adults support its reintroduction. The Execution of Gary Glitter is a ninety-minute television drama. The hanging of paedophiles is an oft repeated thought experiment, whenever a Huntley or a Vanessa George is arrested, and it is sufficiently discussed in the UK for pollsters to regularly ask the public’s opinion on the issue. Though it is not a live debate here, it is a real and divisive issue for our cultural cousins in the USA. I think the death penalty is a valid subject for Channel 4, a public service broadcaster. Just as executions have a morbid fascination, dramas about executions, like Dead Man Walking or The Green Mile seem to have that same fascination (although perhaps one degree removed). I watched The Execution of Gary Glitter tonight.