True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

Can you believe we are getting so close to Christmas and the end of the year? Soon we'll be in 2022. 

So, let's get stuck into part two shall we?

1) Has there been a case that you've covered that has given you nightmares?

I don't know about nightmares but each case has left it's mark on me. It's difficult just to pick one out that has affected me the most because I've written about so many cases but off the top of my head I would say the Jessica Lunsford case, the horrific murder of Barry Wallace and of course the devastating stories of Sylvia Likens and Kriss Donald

2) Which serial killer would you interview and why?

I've probably answered this question in the past and maybe gave a different answer but in this moment I would have to say, the late John Wayne Gacy or Edmund Kemper. I'm not sure why as I have written about a few serial killers but with these two they had quite complex personalities but I'd be interested to hear more about their backgrounds, more than what we already know and have read in books. 

3) Who has done the best on-screen portrayal of a serial killer in your opinion?

As if I have to answer this question because you know what I'm going to say if you're a regular reader of mine..... the fantastic Brian Dennehy in To Catch A Killer. If you haven't seen this movie, stop what you're doing right now and go and watch it here / part one and here / part two. Brian's portrayal of John Wayne Gacy leaves chills down the spine. 

4) Which is the best? Manhunter or The Silence of The Lambs?

OMG! You can't do that to me. I am dedicated to them both and love them both for different reasons. I saw The Silence of The Lambs when I was 6 years old and I wanted to be like Clarice and join the FBI whilst other girls my age were playing with Barbie dolls. I love both movies and often binge watch both. 

5) What was the last true crime related documentary you watched?

It was more of a movie than a documentary but it was called The Lost Girls and I actually have the book based on the real case. It may still be available to watch on Netflix but it was heartbreaking. 

6) Are you currently reading a true crime book, if so, which one? 

Right now I don't have the time but there's a little stack that I'm determined to work my way through. I will be posting about them soon. 

Well thank you for getting through part two with me, the final part will be up next week. If there's anything you would like to ask that hasn't been covered in these two posts, please feel free to email me at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com and I'll add them to next week's post. 

Hopefully I will see you in my next post or on my socials x

In this little series of posts we are going to have a right good natter about the darker things in life, I'll be answering your questions and hopefully you will find my answers interesting and maybe you'll find out a little bit more about me along the way, so let's get into it...

1) Do you worry that someone else is going to steal your content or is using your true crime content right now?

This actually happened not that long ago, I wrote all about it in this post. Someone on YouTube had stolen my content from my Husband From Hell: Mitchell Quy blog post and I sat in shock as this female narrator with a mature voice basically read out everything I had written word for word. There was drama about it because I confronted the coward but she hid behind the screen so I was never able to identify who she really was. My followers weren't happy about the situation either. She blocked all of us and no doubt the video is still on her channel. Good luck to her, I say....see how far she goes when she's too lazy and uneducated enough to do her own work. I see podcasts using my blog as a ref all the time, they do credit me but at the same time I don't think it's right to go onto someone else's blog, read all the details that you couldn't be bothered to research yourself and then sticking it on your podcast or channel. It tells me that these types of people are not really passionate about what they do, either they are in it for the money, attention or just jumping on the bandwagon. I have no doubt that my posts are probably somewhere right now being passed off as someone else's work, I shall have to put a spell on these people (Evil laughter).

2) Do you have a favourite true crime podcast?

I always say Trace Evidence because I'll tell you the truth, I don't have the time to really listen to podcasts and there's so many of them now. Steve stands out from a lot of the others because he works his ass off putting each episode together and he's had many experiences of having his content stolen. If a podcast is really good, like REALLY good, I will listen but honestly, I enjoy reading books from real criminologists like Prof David Wilson and Christopher Berry Dee. Some podcasts go on way too long with Bob and Margaret banging on about what they think, I'd rather hear from the experts that actually worked on the cases. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of podcasts have used my work for ref so you can usually tell when they are just reading someone else's work, have no real idea about the case and are just throwing out opinions at the end of it. Not all podcasts are the same so don't shoot the boots off of me, I'm just saying that you have to really go through and see which one really interests you and if it is proper quality as well if you are thinking about setting up a paid subscription. 

3) Have you ever been to a true crime convention?

I have never been to one but I would love to go. 

4) Have you ever been inside a prison?

Yes I have, only the once and I saw Amy Winehouse's ex husband Blake in this visiting room whilst I was there which was quite an odd experience having always seen him with Amy on TV and in the newspapers. I will talk about that in a future post if anyone is interested? 

5) What do you think of these vigilante channels on You Tube that feature undercover groups exposing pedophiles?

This is going to sound irresponsible to some people but I think what these people do is fantastic! It's a scary world that we live in and children are getting snatched off the street right, left and center by these types of monsters. I have written various horrendous stories on here and I've not even touched the sides. These monsters should be shamed and exposed for what they are, at the end of the day, children's safety is a priority and agree with it or not, these groups have stepped in and saved quite a few children from falling victims to these disgusting perverts. 

6) Is there a law that you would like to see in place? 

There's so many! I would like to see harsh sentencing for animal abusers and Internet trolls. I want to see Fox hunting banned. I would also like to see people jailed straight away if they have exposed themselves to others. It annoys me to this day that a lot of these types of perverts get away with a caution. As we've seen time and time again, this is a major red flag that these monsters are going to go on and do worse, look at the Sarah Everard case for example. I would also like more protection for victims of crime, stalking and Domestic Abuse. I also don't agree with murderers being released early from prison under new identities and lifestyles all paid for by the tax payer. 

So, that's my first little batch of Q&As, I will be posting the second part next week. Thank you for joining me and I hope to see you on here next week. You can find me on all of my social media platforms by clicking this link

See you in the next post x 

When you mention the name 'Gary Glitter' in this day and age people recoil in horror but there was a time, especially in the UK where Gary (real name, Paul Francis Gadd) couldn't walk down the street for hundreds of adoring fans surrounding him. He's been arguably described as the King of Glam Rock in the past. As much as people would not like to admit, Gary was a pioneer and very much a focal point of the Glam Rock era and influenced everyone from Johnny Rotten to The Sisters of Mercy. 

Paul (Gary) didn't just arrive on the music scene and become a star over night, he actually struggled in the beginning and went through various different images and styles of music until he settled on what would become Gary Glitter. His life was something of a rags to riches tale, with him having a difficult upbringing, his mother struggled to make ends meet and did what she could on the wages that she earned from her job as a cleaner. He never knew his father and from a young age, Paul was a handful and his mother struggled to control him. Both he and his brother were taken into care of the state. 

Paul always felt like an outsider and was quite shy in his younger years, he felt that he related more to the kids who'd also had difficult upbringings or no proper parental guidance. He was a dreamer who had fantasies of running away and becoming famous, as soon as he discovered the London night life, he would sneak off and hit the clubs. He fell in love with the whole scene and decided that he was going to be a singer. 

He worked hard trying to get his music career off the ground and was very ambitious even at the tender age of 15, Paul was performing in clubs around London and cut a record (Alone In The Night) using the name 'Paul Raven'. 

Years followed where he continued on trying to hit the big time and suddenly it had arrived with the released of Rock And Roll Parts One And Two which was a massive hit and even up to this day has been featured in various movies and at stadiums in the USA. Most people with be familiar with Rock And Roll Parts One And Two. The song did really well in the US which was quite rare for a glam rock artist to have achieved at that time so it was a huge deal. 

Gary Glitter had officially arrived and it was still the early 70s, he was supported on stage by his band 'The Glitter Men' and his new image seen him transform into this larger than life character, very eccentric with costumes of silver, covered in glitter and wearing platform boots. When he appeared on TV people were transfixed, they couldn't take their eyes off of him and younger people began to copy his style. As well as the outfits and catchy music, his whole stage persona was electric, he just knew how to work the audience and play to the camera. 

More hits followed and he achieved his first number one with the ground stomping anthem I'm The Leader of The Gang which did well in both the UK and the USA music charts. 

As his fame rocketed and the money poured in, Paul's ego started to overtake everything. Suddenly he thought he was invincible and that he was this fictional character he had created. Everything had to be his way or the high way and his backing band soon grew tired of it. He insisted in staying in the best hotels when on tour and didn't seem to care what happened to the band, he also insisted that everyone was to refer to him as Gary Glitter and nothing else. 

For a while, Paul rode the high wave of fame and cemented his place in Glam Rock history, it seemed that everyone knew who Gary Glitter was, It was remarkable what he was able to achieve at that point in his career. He was always very vain and narcissistic and believed in his own hype. 

Glam Rock was starting to fade and so was Paul's popularity. People grew tired of The Leader of The Gang and wanted something new so out went the glitter platforms and in came the safety pins and ripped T-shirts. As Paul had been living the high life, it had hit his bank balance pretty hard and he ended up bankrupt. He tried to play it off as nothing when the press got wind of it. He was always a very proud person and always about keeping up appearances. 

By the time the end of the 70s rolled around, Gary Glitter was considered a thing of the past and it was a low point in Paul's career until he released his greatest hits record and that saw a little bit of public interest in the early 80s which led to him doing a few collaborations. Then towards the late 80s he had a huge comeback which surprised everyone. He did a collaboration with The Timelords which sampled Rock And Roll for a Doctor Who Tribute it brought back everyone's love for the Gary Glitter version of the song and soon he was back on Top of The Pops performing alongside the younger acts of the day. He released more music and had a huge hit with the Christmas song Another Rock and Roll Christmas

Going into the 1990s. Gary Glitter was classed as an Icon, a national treasure. People looked upon him fondly and still enjoyed his music. Despite musical tastes changing, Paul was still enjoying the success he had worked hard for since he was a young teen and still performed at various venues. He even made a cameo appearance in the comedy movie Spiceworld but this was later cut from the film for obvious reasons. 

(Gary Glitter. Picture credit: BBC News)

As members of the UK public turned on their television screens back in 1997, they were met with a shock, a shock that nobody saw coming and were absolutely horrified. It was announced on the news that 'national treasure' Gary Glitter, real name Paul Gadd had been found with indecent images of children on his computer. Apparently Paul had taken his faulty computer to a repair shop and it was there that the technician found the disturbing images and contacted the police. 

Nobody could get their heads around it, how this rich, successful well respected and celebrated man who had millions of fans, could think to do such a thing. It made everyone sick and horrified. 

So the word was out, the superstar and Icon, Gary Glitter was a paedophile and overnight he went from being loved to being hated. People threw his records in the trash, nobody wanted to know him, fellow celebrities cut him off and he thought he could get away with it if he put on a sad face and issued a pathetic apology to the public. Nobody cared about him at that point, they were disgusted. 

As if the horrible images on his computer was not enough, more details began to emerge of the real man behind the glitter suits and platform heels. Paul had sexually abused his daughter's friend and had attempted to rape others. He had been close friends with notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile and was reported to have hung out in Jimmy's dressing room with various underage girls making inappropriate comments and touching people. 

He spent a few months in prison due to the charges of having the indecent images on his computer and soon fled the UK. He seemed to spend years after this practically on the run and staying in countries where  underage sex was legal. He reportedly stayed in poorer countries so that he could abuse children and then pay the parents (who were desperate for money) cash to keep them quiet. Undercover reporters often pictured him sat by a swimming pool with lots of young girls around him who looked to be under the age of 10. 

Things would go quiet for a while and then stories would emerge in the newspapers or there would be a news report that would feature Paul going from one country to another or being arrested. He would shout at the cameras ''I am innocent''. 

Because of his money, Paul was able to move about from country to country and pay people to stay quiet. 

He did spend time abroad in prison for having been found guilty of indecent behaviour with children and was deported back to the UK. He was arrested again and soon found himself walking through the prison gates in 2015 where he was to spend the next 16 years for crimes he had committed in the past which he thought he had managed to get away with but nobody was interested in his money in the UK, they wanted him locked up and away from children. 

(Jimmy Savile and Gary Glitter. Picture credit: Standard)

So right now, the man who was once called The King of Glam Rock and The Leader of The Gang, is now sitting in a prison cell aged 77 and a national disgrace. When the time comes for Paul to leave this earth, he won't be remembered or celebrated for his contribution to British musical history, he'll be remembered with utter disgust. 

I wrote about Ian Watkins recently, another vocalist who (although not at the level of fame of Paul) seemed to have it all but then threw it all away and was this sick, disgusting pervert. People close to both Ian and Paul would say that these guys were always surrounded by women so it never crossed their minds for a second that something deep down, sick and twisted was going on. 

Both of these men were narcissists, incredibly vain, in love with their fame, believed their own hype and thought they were invincible. Both of them were incredibly talented. Both of them are the scum of the earth who have not only destroyed peoples lives but destroyed their own talent. 

Was it just too much? Having everything they ever wanted and not appreciating any of it and deciding to harm innocent children? They could have gotten help, a proper psychiatrist, they could afford it. 

In my opinion it looks like they harboured these sick thoughts for years before they even were famous. We all have our fantasies and things that turn us on and that's normal but to have an appetite for children is completely disgusting, wrong and it gets me angry on so many levels. I remember mentioning in my post about Ian Watkins that I wanted to run out and keep children safe and I always feel that when I come across sick individuals like these two. 

So that's the Gary Glitter story, a lot of you have heard the name and bits and pieces but here you have the full story so you know who he is now and what he's done and what became of him. 

UPDATE - 2023: Sky News reported that Paul Gadd (Gary Glitter) had been released from prison after serving only half of his sentence. In another twist it was shortly revealed that after this release he had been returned to prison after violating his conditions. 

UPDATE: February 2024: Paul Gadd (Gary Glitter) is denied parole and told that he must continue on with his sentence. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Gary Glitter | Wikipedia

- Gary Glitter: News Article | BBC News

- Gary Glitter: Convicted | Various Footage

- Gary Glitter Mockumentary | Execution Of Gary Glitter

- Gary Glitter | Short Documentary

- Gary Glitter: News Report | 5 News

- Gary Glitter: News Report

- Gary Glitter: Article | Manchester Evening News

- Jimmy Savile | Wikipedia

- Ian Watkins: Article | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

I think about his victims and his fans who thought the world of him back in the day before the horrible truth came out. It must be heartbreaking for the victims having those horrible memories but also his former fans who thought he was everything.

I planned to write this post for a while so I'm glad I have got around to covering it. I hope you found this post informative and I hope to see you in my next post or my socials x