This post got the memories flooding back! :D
My father hated him (he disapproved of homosexuality - he was very old-fashioned). Then one day, a friend of mine gave me a mug for my birthday with him on it. Which was very bizarre because I was hardly a fan, either.
I got a fair few drinks out of that mug all the same, I must admit.
Were you a fan back in the 80s? It took me years to understand 'Karma chameleon'. For years, I thought he was singing 'come-a come-a come-a come-a come-a chameleon' as though he was trying to persuade his pet to come to him.