Gary Glitter 'sues record company'

Gary Glitter was disgraced after his conviction

Disgraced former rock star Gary Glitter is taking a record company to the High Court, claiming it made excessive profits from his songs, according to reports.

Glitter alleges Universal Music Publishing owes him money from 1993 onwards, reports Reuters news agency.

Acting under his real name, Paul Francis Gadd has reportedly issued a writ, along with two companies, Aptdale and Machmain, which own a catalogue of songs, against Universal, seeking unspecified damages.

However, according to Reuters, the writ indicates that the claim is valued by lawyers at more than £50,000.

Indecent images

The pop star served two months of a four-month sentence, imposed at the end of 1999, after he admitted 54 charges of possessing child pornography downloaded from the internet.

The singer admitted making indecent images of children under 16 between January and November 1997.

He had downloaded material from the internet that included images of girls as young as two being abused.

The conviction ended his pop career and his life as a celebrity.

Glitter first had a record deal with Decca at 14 years old.

He performed under a variety of stage personas, such as Paul Russell, Paul Raven and Rubber Bucket, releasing records that mostly never charted.

Fame finally came at the age of 28, when Glitter joined the emerging glam rock scene of the early 1970s.

He picked the name Gary Glitter from a choice of Terry Tinsel, Stanley Sparkle and Vicky Vomit.

His breakthrough single, Rock 'n' Roll (Parts 1 and 2), reached number two in the UK in 1972 and topped the American charts.