A former X Factor contestant who raped women over a 22-year period has been jailed for lifePhillip Blackwell, 56, taped some victims' eyes shut and used a camcorder to film himself attacking women after launching his first assault in 1997.
The court heard how Blackwell, who admitted 31 sex offences, targeted five young women who were walking alone in Birmingham, Coventry and Nuneaton.
He carried out offences on four women in the Launceston area of Cornwall.
Blackwell, of Western Road, Launceston, pleaded guilty to offences including rape, attempted rape, indecent assault, assault by penetration, voyeurism and false imprisonment.
The attacker, who was a contestant on X Factor in 2008 and toured with its live show in 2009, was described by His Honour Judge Cook as a devious and manipulative man who had left "ruined and blighted lives" in his wake.
He "plied victims with alcohol in order to get compliance" and some attacks were carried out on women who were unconscious said prosecutor Adrian Langdale QC at Warwick Crown Court.
Blackwell often used "delusional terms" while attacking his victims, as one woman was told: "If I met a girl like you, I would want to marry you. I want you to enjoy this."
He took steps to conceal his true identity, with his first victim being told to "close her eyes and count to 100" after he had finished attacking her, Mr Langdale said.
One victim persuaded Blackwell to remove his balaclava and not to rape her, he said she "should be a social worker for talking him out of it".
He also threatened victims in order to prevent them from telling police, with one woman being told: "I know where you live. You have a beautiful body and I can do this over and over again."
The prosecutor told the court how Blackwell often "grabbed" his victims from behind.
Mr Langdale said: "He identified young females dressed in a particular way that he found attractive, [and] followed them in his car.
"It was cold, calculated behaviour."
Following attacks in the late 1990s in the Midlands, Blackwell carried out offences on women in the Launceston area between 2005 and 2019.
He will serve a minimum of nine years before first being considered for parole.