There's an interesting new campaign on Myspace to get UK music empresario JONATHAN KING removed from the British Phonographic Industries (BPI)' "Man of the Year" honour (which King achieved in 1997.)

If you're unfamiliar with King, you're still familiar with his work. He's been a colorful svengali in the music business for over 30 years now. Among his many achievements, King was the brains behind the "original" boy band, The Bay City Rollers. He's also produced many Brit Awards ceremonies, sued the Pet Shop Boys, masterminded the UK entries in the annual Eurovision contest, and has had several UK chart singles under a variety of monikers.

Oh, yeah, and he's also a convicted paedophile. This is where the story gets interesting.

On Nov. 24, 2000, King was charged with 3 sex offenses against two underage boys which dated back 32 years. Sentenced to seven years in prison, King was paroled in 2005. For his part, King has maintained his innocence via a number of interviews and on his official website. Since his release, King has campaigned extensively for prison reform and has attempted to regain his credibility in the public forum.

However, one of his purported victims is now speaking out. Kirk McIntyre was a small child when he claims he was abused by both King and BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Denning (who has also been convicted of paedophilia offenses.) Stories are abundant of a paedophile ring involving King and Denning, along with Rollers manager Tom Paton and DJ Rob Randall, who allegedly used the Walton Hop teen disco in the 70's as a grooming ground for young victims.

Denning, currently serving a four-year prison stint in the UK, had up until recently escaped his charges by moving to Slovakia and countries with lax age-of-consent laws. Randall was convicted of child abuse in 2002; Paton was brought up on charges but never convicted.

Now, with the help of none other than Creation/Poptones founder Alan McGee, McIntyre is using a Myspace account to shed light to his plight and encourage people to sign a petition to revoke King's BPI "Man of the Year" award, arguing that BPI is now associated with many programs of music therapy for children.

While we at Excellent have reservations about discrediting King's musical achievements based on his alleged personal actions, McIntyre's story is both compelling and heart-wrenching. While we leave the decision to sign the petition to you, it's interesting to read about the darker underbelly of pop music.