Glitter 'plied young fan with champagne'

Singer Gary Glitter plied a young fan with champagne, and autographed her gold jacket backstage before inviting her into a hotel room and having sex with her, a UK court has heard.

His alleged victim is said to have been just 12 years old when she went to one of the singer's performances with her mother in the spring of 1977.

Both of them were invited back to his dressing room, before being asked to accompany the star to his Holiday Inn hotel suite, jurors were told.

But after the concert in Leicester club Baileys, the schoolgirl's mother was persuaded to leave her alone with Glitter - real name Paul Gadd, London's Southwark Crown Court heard.

It was then that the former chart topper allegedly struck, subjecting the youngster to a "prolonged episode of sexual abuse involving a full range of sexual activity culminating in intercourse" after lavishing her with champagne.

The 70-year-old denies one count of plying the girl with alcohol with the intention to "stupefy or overpower" her to have sex with him.

Jurors also heard that the teenager, now aged 50, was subjected to a similar ordeal in a Birmingham hotel room when she was 13 years old.

Taking to the witness box, the woman who grew up in Leicester, sobbed as she took the oath.

She told the court that her father's job afforded him "perks" such as tickets to concerts and holiday tours.

The court heard how the woman's mother was a keen Gary Glitter fan, and she first attended one of the star's concerts with both her parents.

She remembered it being a performance that was part of his Cabaret tour in March 1977.

Jurors heard that on March 21 of that year the youngster went backstage and was introduced to Glitter who asked her if she had enjoyed the show, and also met the singer's oldest fan.

Glitter then allegedly told the girl's mother that if they attended the show late the following day, he could make more time for them.

On this occasion her mother had also shown Glitter photos of the girl's bedroom, featuring posters of the star, the court heard.

Describing what happened when she went backstage the following night, the alleged victim said: "He gave us some Moet champagne - I was drinking champagne.

"And then my mum was talking a lot. I can't remember what she was saying. We had gold jackets and he signed his autograph on the jackets.

"I had a few glasses of champagne. He was just talking and then he said to my mum it was quite busy but if we wanted to go back to the hotel with him, we could chat more."

The woman told jurors that her mother accepted the invitation to go back to Glitter's suite, and that the three of them were driven back to the hotel in his black car.

Once back at the hotel room, there were initially a number of other people around who were all drinking champagne including herself and her mother. She said it was her first taste of the drink.

The woman told jurors: "He (Gary) told a bit of a story. There was people in the room first, he said something, they went, that left the three of us.

"Then he started telling the story - he spoke mostly to my mum, but he was telling both of us a story about a man called Spike Milligan.

"He said Spike Milligan had been looking for him, that he had a gun and that he was mad. And that he thought Gary had slept with his wife.

"He asked us if we had ever seen his wife and we said 'no', and he said that she was ugly, that he wouldn't have done that."

The tearful alleged victim recalled Glitter laughing when she said the situation was "chronic" and then beginning to "concentrate" on her, making her feel uncomfortable.

The woman explained that her mother seemed to be getting louder and more drunk throughout the night, and at one stage she looked up to see her being led from the room by top record-producer Mike Leander who had also worked with artists such as the Rolling Stones.

After telling the star-struck girl "it is OK", Glitter allegedly scooped up a bottle of champagne and two glasses in one hand, and used his other to lead the vulnerable young girl to a bedroom, jurors heard.

She told the court the singer disappeared before coming back a while later and kissing her.

The alleged victim said she lifted her hands to his head to try and push him away, but that Glitter got angry about her touching his hair.

She said: "He told me never to touch his hair - nobody is allowed to touch his hair. He said he has got a phobia about people touching his hair."

Jurors then heard how Glitter told the girl to undress and chastised her for covering herself with her arms. He then allegedly pushed her down on to the bed before starting to kiss her and going on to sexually abuse her and have sex with her.

The woman claimed that Glitter kept telling her how beautiful she was, saying that he wanted to look at her properly.

Describing how she felt, she emotionally continued: "My mum is gone, I don't know what she wants me to do. She really loved this guy, so I am thinking I can't upset her.

"I was trying to be really grown up because I had been drinking and I had been smoking."

She added that before she attended the concert that night her mum had told her not to let her down, and to "look grown up" otherwise she wouldn't be let in to the nightclub.

Asked by John Price QC, prosecuting, about what happened the following morning, the alleged victim described hearing a soft knock on the door and her mum popping her head in to ask if she was OK.

She added: "She stepped out of the room again and he grabbed my hand, bought me over to him, gave me a kiss.

"Then he said 'You are a really clever girl, you got dressed before your mum came in."

Jurors were told that the woman saw Glitter perform around five or six times.

She recalled one incident, later that year, when she had travelled alone to a hotel in Birmingham that she called the Top Hat hotel.

Mr Price asked her: "Did something else happen to you whilst you were staying at the hotel?"

She replied: "On the day I was coming home, I had had a bath and I was getting dressed, and put my t shirt on and my pants - ridiculous baggy pants what kids wear.

"And he (Glitter), and he turned around and said to me 'I like your panties'."

The woman said she was left "embarrassed" and later went to the toilet to discover she had started her period.

"And that is what he was referring to," she added.

The court heard the alleged victim did not tell police about what happened to her until after her mother's death in 2012.

Explaining why, she said: "Because I couldn't talk about it with my mum, and I knew deep down she knew - over the years, I know she did.

"But I couldn't, I just thought it would kill her, it would break her heart. I couldn't let her know, I couldn't say to her.

"I think she came to a stage where she knew, but it just wasn't up for conversation."

However, over the years, the woman had confided in her daughters about her alleged ordeal, telling one after Glitter admitted child pornography charges in 1999, jurors heard.

In relation to the same girl, the singer faces a further charge of unlawful intercourse with a girl aged under 13, and four counts of indecent assault.

Glitter is also accused of two counts of indecent assault with regard to another fan he is said to have assaulted after inviting her to his dressing room after a concert.

Jurors have already heard from one woman who claims she was under 10 years old when the glam rock star allegedly climbed into her bed and tried to rape her.

Dressed in a grey overcoat, black shirt and black velvet waistcoat, and his trademark dark glasses, Glitter listened intently to proceedings with the help of lip-speak interpreters.

He denies all the charges.