The director of a kids’ pantomime has defended her decision to use a song by paedophile Gary Glitter.
An amateur actor belted out ‘I’m the Leader of the Gang’ during the performance of Cinderella at a village hall.
The 1973 song was a hit for Glitter who has been jailed for child sex offences.
Show director Tara Vaughan admitted she had one complaint after the performance by the Kingswood Players’ theatre group at Challock Village Hall in Kent.
But she said: “The song was appropriate for the scene – it fitted what we were trying to do.
“We even changed some of the words. The audience were part of the ‘gang’.
“It was completely innocent – in fact, when I pulled the lyrics up on the internet I found the Spice Girls’ version.
“It was never meant to offend anyone. It did upset me when I heard the complaint.
“We had some great feedback this year with people telling us how funny the pantomime was. People seemed to enjoy it.”
One audience member who went to the panto with his wife and two children, said: “We thought it was a bit inappropriate, especially as who sings it and what he was done for.
“We did really enjoy the show, we just thought they could have chosen a different song. It was probably innocent and they didn’t realise.”
Glitter, real name Paul Gadd, was one of the most successfuly glam rock stars of the 1970s.
I’m the Leader of the Gang was his first UK No 1 in July 1973. The Spice Girls covered the song in their film, Spice World, in 1997.
In 1999 he was convicted of possessing thousands of child abuse images and served four months in jail.
In 2006 he was jailed in Vietnam for 26 months for abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11.
In October 2012 he was arrested and bailed as part of Operation Yewtree – the investigation into alleged child abuse which was sparked by the death of Jimmy Savile.
