It's rather convenient that Gary Glitter should follow Peters & Lee to number one. Convenient for me and my pet theories anyway, because if the latter were once big stars that have been more forgotten than ignored, the artist formerly known as Paul Gadd most definitely has been airbrushed out of pop's history. Just typing the name 'Gary Glitter' here gives pause for thought, because instead of the massively quiffed, shimmery suited seventies superstar, the only image that lingers now is the bogeyman figure of a creepy Anton LaVey look-alike with an immoral taste in very young girls.It's fair to say that Glitter has been effectively written out of his own past. Despite a recent revival of all things glam, he doesn't appear to be have had his hits compiled and marketed since his 1999 downfall, the alleged 'The Best Glam Rock Album In The World Ever' compilation doesn't have any of his songs on it (the closest it gets is 'Angel Face' by the Glitter Band), his 'Another Rock & Roll Christmas' is never played at Christmas and his back catalogue is long deleted in the UK and only available on very expensive Japanese imports. There was even outrage enough in 2008 for the advert to get pulled when Hewlett-Packard used 'Do You Wanna Touch Me' in a marketing campaign for their TouchSmart computers. Feelings evidently run deep.
I'm not going to try to defend the indefensible; Glitter's unsavoury activities with kids mean he deserves everything he gets, but the scenario above puts me in mind of Celine and Heidegger, a writer and a philosopher who were effectively labelled as damaged goods post World War Two through their embracing of anti-Semitism and the Nazi cause but who have subsequently seen their reputations slowly restored. Not that I'm going to suggest Glitter's output ranks alongside 'Being And Time' or 'Journey To The End Of The Night' in terms of important Twentieth Century statements of art , but he was top of the tree in his own genre and any album called 'The Best Glam Rock Album In The World Ever' that doesn't include 'Rock and Roll Part Two' or 'I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)' is blatantly lying and re-writing the past in a way I find disturbing.
But anyway, enough of the man, what of the song? The signature stomping traits of twin drum Burundi sound and idiot riff picked out on guitar and saxophone are here, though they're faster than the proto grunge drawl of 'Rock and Roll Part Two' and this makes the song a lot less original for it. To compensate, 'I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)' sets off at strident marching pace and builds from there. Though it rides a fairly straight rail from A to B, the tune shifts key whenever it threatens to sound predictable in a way that disguises well the fact that there's not really a lot going on here.
And that's fine, because all Glitter is doing is recruiting to the glam cause. Anything other than a basic smash and grab stomp would be as much a violation of trade descriptions as that 'Best Glam Rock Ever' album title. Just like 'Can The Can' before it though, all momentum is lost at 2:28 when Glitter cuts the engine and then tries to restart it from scratch with a reprise of the opening 'Come on, come on' chant. But alas, it never properly gets going again and 'I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)' peters out like a stalled engine that turns and turns but doesn't fire.
So, to sum up: 'I'm The Leader Of The Gang (I Am)' is a Mars Bar of a song - chunky and tasty but with little inherent nutritional value. Paul Gadd is a deeply flawed and troubled man whilst Gary Glitter wrote some insanely catchy singalongs. I see no reason why the twain should necessarily meet.
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