In 1997, ’70s glam star Gary Glitter brought in his computer to be repaired at his local PC World for some routine maintenance. When he arrived to pick it up, he was arrested for charges of possessing child pornography after a great deal of photographs of naked, underage children were found on his hard drive. He was convicted in 1999 and served four months in prison. The conviction led to the unveiling of multiple stories concerning Glitter and minors that subsequently evaporated his career and sent him to Cambodia, where he was later deported to Vietnam, only to be charged with even more inappropriate behavior with children.
Still, at nearly every sporting event we go to, we jam out to Glitter’s 1972 hit “Rock and Roll (Part 2),” crying out “HEY!” at the score of a goal, basket, touchdown, or home run. Personally I have no problem with this, as I’m an advocate for separating art from the artist, but it seems that only now, sporting event organizers are cracking down on the infamous artist’s placement at family friendly events.
According to the NME, the NFL has officially banned “Rock and Roll” from being played at the Super Bowl this Sunday, a placement that would earn Glitter thousands in royalties. NFL representative Brian McCarthy confirms, “We will not be playing any version of it,” with even the frequently used substitute cover by Tube Tops 2000 not even being used.
It’s certainly a good thing to draw the line when making actions that will line the pockets of sex offenders, but it seems a little late doesn’t it? Glitter’s appearance in “Spice World” was pulled before he even received a conviction, and that was in 1998. Glitter has been recieving money for the song’s use for decades now, so cutting him off so many years later is incredibly delayed, and its effect is pretty soft.
Luckily, we don’t have to pay Glitter anything for posting it here, so check out the video for the less heard vocal version of “Rock and Roll” below.
Gary Glitter – “Rock and Roll Part 1″
February 09, 2012 at 7:22 pm, M.I.A. flipped America the bird, now let’s get over it (Video) at 227's YouTube Chili' Madonna Super Bowl 2012 said:
[...] Janet Jackson’s boob was met with puritanical backlash in 2004, the Super Bowl halftime show got fairly bland and safe. The years since have seen tame performances from old rock [...]