Disgraced record producer Jonathan King claims a young David Bowie 'wanted me to have sex with him' in new autobiography

The former pop mogul was a singer, producer, TV personality and journalist but his career has been eclipsed by his criminal convictions. He was convicted at the Old Bailey in 2001 of sexual offences against boys aged 14-15 during the 1980s, and sentenced to seven years in prison, King was released in 2005.

King has previously suggested that the BBC had turned a blind eye to alleged complaints about Bowie, claiming the star had been involved with "many more young people than [Jimmy] Savile and the rest of the BBC DJs added together".

On previous posts on his personal website, King of Hits, the former producer also criticised the Dame Janet Smith inquiry into BBC misconduct, accusing it of overlooking "crucial evidence". The 2016 report investigated decades of abuse allegations.

King has claimed that high-profile figures such as Bowie were shielded from scrutiny, though his assertions have been widely dismissed as self-serving and unreliable.

He said: "Dame Janet obviously never read my books.

"Or examined the hundreds of BBC memos about such stars as the mighty David Bowie - a terrific talent who I knew well, who had sex with many more young people than Savile and the rest of the BBC DJs added together. Or did she decide it might be wiser not to mention such stars?"

Rock icon Bowie died in January 2016 following battle with cancer. He was 69.