It was originally released in the United Kingdom on 24 November 1997 on the label Snapper Music, less than a week after his arrest for having child pornography on his computer.

The one other track on the set is a song called "Rock Hard Men (Need The Power)", which was recorded in April 1997 from a then upcoming 1998 Gary Glitter album called Lost on Life Street.

The intended Lost on Life Street album was later cancelled due to the fallout from Gary Glitter's arrest on 19 November 1997 outside PC World in Bristol, and his later conviction in November 1999 for possession of child pornography.

The Ultimate Gary Glitter – 25 Years of Hits was reissued and repromoted by Snapper Music in both 2000 and 2002, with no alterations.

Steve Huey of AllMusic gave the album four and a half out of five stars and wrote that "the two-disc, 32-track anthology The Ultimate (Best Of) is perhaps the largest Gary Glitter package it would be reasonable to assemble" adding that "for the casual fan, two discs of Glitter may be slightly wearing, but for the hardcore fan who has to have all of Glitter's best moments and doesn't mind a little inconsistency, Ultimate is a purchase that's hard to argue with.