In the Seventies he formed his own label, UK Records, and had hits on it with 10cc and others. In 1973, he was named producer of the year, and in 1975 he won record of the year for his rendition of Una Paloma Blanca.He started doing reports from the US on Top of the Pops in the early Eighties and that developed into Entertainment USA, one of the most popular series on BBC2 in that decade, reaching more than nine million viewers. He started and produced No Limits, which gained ratings of nearly six million. He wrote a column in The Sun for eight years in the Eighties.Even latterly he hadn’t lost his eye for a good thing. While The Tip Sheet was most notable for its caustic attacks on big names in the industry, it also contained King’s tips on bands to watch.

Then unknown, the Corrs were among a number of winning tips he gave.Of his personal life he says on his website: “I have a load of family and friends Nothing too close, thank God No appalling wives or children. They are so expensive and make a lot of unnecessary noise.”But I’m surrounded by The King Mother, two brothers, Jamie and Andy, dozens of nephews and step nephews (thanks to AK who clearly has rabbit blood in his veins) and god daughters and other near relatives far enough removed to be pleasant company in very small doses but not irritatingly constant.”. Sometimes, all it would take was that most vain of celebrity questions: “Do you recognise me?” Then Jonathan King’s sex abuse would begin. His friends and fans found it hard to believe, but the man who calls himself “the King of Hits” was abusing youngsters for a period that may have spanned three decades.His modus operandi was crass and devious. He would approach children, sometimes with their parents and sometimes in one of his five Rolls-Royces, and ask if they would like to take part in “market research” into youth trends. Often overawed, they would accompany him to his home in Bayswater, west London, and then be subjected to “research” that ended in masturbation, oral sex and, in at least one case, buggery.The television presenter admitted he had conducted market research with up to 30,000 children.

How many he abused may never be known, but police believe there are other victims too traumatised to come forward.King’s secret life was revealed in November last year when one of his victims, known only as KM, came forward after being counselled for addiction brought on by depression. Ironically for King, a former Radio One presenter, the victim had approach the National Criminal Intelligence Service after reading about the Radio One DJ Chris Denning being jailed for abusing boys in the Czech Republic.His depression, he told detectives, had been brought on by a sexual encounter with King in 1970, when he was 15, during which he was buggered.After a brief investigation by Surrey Police, King was charged with buggery and indecency and attempted buggery with a second victim, known as R, when R was 15. The publicity resulted in 27 other people coming forward, of which 22 made statements alleging buggery, attempted buggery or sexual assault.King denied the claims, describing his victims as fantasists and arguing there was no evidence that crimes had even taken place. But if these men were fantasists, their fantasies were remarkably similar.The experience of one, who is now 32 and lives in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, was typical. During the first of three court cases, the result of which was withheld to avoid prejudicing the others, the victim said King approached him in Soho after he had been refused access to a peep show. He was 14.”The first thing he asked me was did I recognise him,” the victim told the court “I thought he must be a friend of my dad’s He said he was off the TV. He said he was on music shows and Top of the Pops and stuff like that.