Altered Images are a Scottish new wave/

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band who found success in the early 1980s. Fronted by singer

Clare Grogan Claire Patricia Grogan (born 17 March 1962), known professionally as Clare Grogan or sometimes as C. P. Grogan, is a Scottish actress and singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980s new wave music group Altered Images, as well as ...

, the group branched into mainstream pop music, having six UK top-40 hit singles and three top-30 albums from 1981 to 1983. Their hits include " Happy Birthday", "

I Could Be Happy "I Could Be Happy" is a song by Scottish new wave band Altered Images, released as the first single from their second album, '' Pinky Blue''. Their second top-10 hit in the UK, the song peaked at number seven in December 1981, and remained on th ...

", "See Those Eyes", and " Don't Talk to Me About Love".

History

Early career

Former schoolmates in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

with a shared interest in the UK

scene,

(vocals), Gerard "Caesar" McInulty (guitar), Michael "Tich" Anderson (drums), Tony McDaid (guitar), and

Johnny McElhone John Francis McElhone (born 21 April 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a Scottish guitarist and songwriter. He has played with three bands who have enjoyed a top-20 presence in the UK Singles Chart; the new wave bands Altered Images and Hipsway, ...

(bass guitar), were all members of the

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

official fan club. When they learnt the Banshees were going to play in Scotland, they sent a demo tape to Billy Chainsaw, who managed the official Siouxsie fan club, with a note asking "can we support them on tour?". The Banshees gave the band a support slot on their ''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

'' British tour of 1980. Altered Images's name referred to a sleeve design on the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

' single "Promises", and was inspired by Buzzcocks vocalist

Pete Shelley Pete Shelley (born Peter Campbell McNeish; 17 April 1955 – 6 December 2018) was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. He formed early punk band Buzzcocks with Howard Devoto in 1976, and became the lead singer and guitarist in 1977 whe ...

's constant interfering with the initial sleeve designs. After being championed by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

, for whom they recorded a radio session in October 1980, they garnered enough attention to be offered a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, but mainstream success was not immediate; their debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, "Dead Pop Stars", reached only number 67 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, while its successor, "A Day's Wait" stalled outside the top 100. "Dead Pop Stars" was particularly controversial at the time, sung from the viewpoint of a "has-been" icon with irony, but badly timed in its release shortly after

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's death, even though the song was written and performed before his death. A dance remix of it with different lyrics was recorded and released as the 1982 single "Disco Pop Stars". (Both were absent from their studio album releases, but made it onto later anthologies.) After these singles and their first two sessions for John Peel, Caesar left and formed The Wake.

Chart success

With additional guitarist Jim McKinven (formerly of

Berlin Blondes Berlin Blondes were a new wave/ synth-pop group from Glasgow which formed in 1978. They released an album in 1980 on the label EMI. The band were influenced and inspired by Kraftwerk, Roxy Music and 'Berlin period' David Bowie. Live gigs saw ...

), they recorded their debut album, '' Happy Birthday'' (1981), largely produced by

Steven Severin Steven Severin (born Steven John Bailey; 25 September 1955) is an English songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is best known as the bassist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees which he co-founded in 1976. He took th ...

of Siouxsie and the Banshees. The band also worked briefly with producer

Martin Rushent Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks. Early life Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...

for the title track, which became the band's third single and their biggest hit. The song reached number 2 in the UK (for three weeks) in October 1981, catapulting the band to fame. They quickly became established as a major new wave act, and were subsequently voted Best New Group at the ''NME'' Awards and Most Promising New Act in the 1981 ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' readers poll. After a successful headlining tour, the band retained Rushent as their producer and released their second album, ''

Pinky Blue ''Pinky Blue'' is the second album by British new wave band Altered Images. It was released in May 1982 and featured the hit singles "I Could Be Happy", "See Those Eyes" and "Pinky Blue". Overview The album reached No. 12 on the UK Albums Chart, ...

'', in May 1982. It reached the top 20 of the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and provided three more top-40 hit singles with "

", "See Those Eyes", and the title track, but was perceived as a disappointment by the British press. "I Could Be Happy" was the group's only foray onto the US charts, with the single peaking at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' Dance Chart. Later that year, after McKinven and Anderson left to be replaced by multi-instrumentalist Steve Lironi (formerly of Restricted Code), the band began working on their third album with producer

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian-American record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi ...

. The collaboration provided them with another Top 10 hit, " Don't Talk to Me About Love", in spring 1983 and the subsequent album, ''

Bite Biting is a common zoological behavior involving the active, rapid closing of the jaw around an object. This behavior is found in toothed animals such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish, but can also exist in arthropods. Myocytic co ...

'', was released in June. Half of the album was produced by Chapman, and half by

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

. Although it reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart, the album sold less than the band's two previous offerings (which had both earned a Silver disc). Before breaking up later that year, Altered Images went on another concert tour that included the band's American debut at the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

in Huntington Beach, California, on Thursday, 11 August 1983.

Break-up

Lironi formed Flesh after Altered Images split up. Grogan and Lironi (who eventually married) formed Universal Love School in the mid-1980s, performing together but never releasing any recordings. Grogan then attempted a solo career, signing to

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

in 1987 and releasing a single, "Love Bomb". Grogan was also included on a London Records

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

titled ''Giant'', contributing the track "Reason Is the Slave". After "Love Bomb" failed, plans for a follow-up single release, titled "Strawberry", and an album, ''Trash Mad'', were shelved by London Records. Johnny McElhone went on to perform with

Hipsway Hipsway are a Scottish pop/ new wave band. History and description The band was formed in Glasgow in 1984 by ex- Altered Images guitarist Johnny McElhone on bass, and featuring Grahame Skinner (vocals), Pim Jones (guitar) and Harry Traver ...

and eventually

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, while McKinven became part of the 1990s group

One Dove One Dove were a Scottish electronic music group active in the early 1990s, consisting of Dot Allison, Ian Carmichael and Jim McKinven, a former member of Berlin Blondes and Altered Images. History Originally called Dove, the group released ...

with Dot Allison. Grogan sang live under the name Altered Images in 2002 for the

Here and Now Tour The Here and Now Tour is a series of concert tours, which began in 2001, featuring groups and singers famous in the 1980s. The Tour takes in arenas and theatres around the UK and still runs today. The tours are organised by Tony Denton Promotions. ...

, showcasing a revival of popular bands of their era alongside

the Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, and T'Pau, and again for some separate shows in 2004. Grogan also became a film and television actress. Prior to finding fame with Altered Images, she had appeared in the 1981 film ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...

''. Afterwards she appeared in ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009, gaining a cult following. T ...

'' (in which she originated the role of

Kristine Kochanski Kristine Z. Kochanski is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy '' Red Dwarf''. Kochanski was the first console officer in the navigation chamber on board the spaceship ''Red Dwarf''. As well as appearing in the ...

), ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'', ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

'', and '' Skins''. In recent years she has also become a presenter on UK television, as well as a children's novelist. Grogan performed again in 2012 under the name Altered Images at Butlins Holiday Resort in

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

on 11 May and at The Assembly in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply Leamington (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Priors, it grew into a spa town in the 18th century following ...

on 12 May 2012. Also in 2012, Grogan put together a new all-female version of Altered Images and performed at the

Rebellion Festival The Rebellion Festival, formerly Holidays in the Sun and the Wasted Festival is a British punk rock festival first held in 1996. The festival has attracted mainstream press coverage from such sources as The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily ...

. She again fronted Altered Images in Series 5 Episode 5 (December 2019) of ''The Quay Sessions'' on

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

. In 2021, Grogan duetted with

Sharleen Spiteri Sharleen Eugene Spiteri (born 7 November 1967) is a Scottish singer and guitarist, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Texas. She has a contralto vocal range. In 2013, Texas's worldwide album sales were counted at 40 million records. ...

on the track "Look What You've Done", from ''Hi'', the tenth album released by Johnny McElhone's band

. In late 2021, Grogan led a reformed line-up of Altered Images, supporting the Human League during their 'Dare 40' UK Tour 2021.

''Mascara Streakz''

In December 2021, Grogan announced that the first Altered Images album in over 38 years would be released in 2022, titled ''Mascara Streakz''. The album has been recorded for Cooking Vinyl Records Grogan and Lironi recorded the album with Bobby Bluebell from

the Bluebells The Bluebells are a Scottish indie pop, indie new wave music, new wave band, active between 1981 and 1986 (later briefly reforming in 1993, 2008–2009, 2011 and 2018). Career The Bluebells performed jangle pop, jangly guitar-based pop not dis ...

and

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his ...

, formerly of

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

and

McAlmont & Butler McAlmont & Butler are an English rock/soul music duo, comprising singer David McAlmont and guitarist Bernard Butler. History Formed in 1994, David McAlmont and Bernard Butler had already experienced individual success: Butler as the guitaris ...

, and it will have tracks co-written with Texas member Johnny McElhone (who was the band's original bass player). ''Mascara Streakz'' was released on 26 August 2022.

Discography

*'' Happy Birthday'' (1981) *''

'' (1982) *''

'' (1983) *''Mascara Streakz'' (2022)

References

{{Authority control Scottish indie rock groups Scottish new wave musical groups Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 Musical groups reestablished in 2012 Musical groups disestablished in 2012 Musical groups reestablished in 2021 Musical groups from Glasgow Female-fronted musical groups Scottish post-punk music groups