This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Altered Images".
Altered Images were a popular band who formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1980.
Ex-school friends with an equal interest in the UK post punk scene, Clare Grogan (vocals), Michael 'Tich' Anderson (drums), Tony McDaid (guitar) and Johnny McElhone (bass guitar), sent a demo tape to Siouxsie and the Banshees which soon gave themselves a support slot on their Kaleidoscope tour of 1980. Grogan had previously been seen in the cult film Gregory's Girl.
After being championed by legendary DJ John Peel, they quickly garnered enough attention to be offered a deal with Epic Records but mainstream success was not immediate; their first two singles ("Dead Pop Stars", "A Day's Wait") missed the top 40. "Dead Pop Stars" was particularly controversial at the time, sung at the viewpoint of a "has-been" icon with much irony, perhaps badly timed in its release as John Lennon had died shortly before, even though it was recorded prior to his death. It was absent from their studio album releases.
With additional guitarist Jim McKinven, they recorded their debut LP, Happy Birthday (1981) seeing them continue their link with Siouxsie and the Banshees, as the band's bassist Steve Severin produced several tracks on it besides the title track, which became their third single and biggest hit. "Happy Birthday" saw them be catapulted to fame with Grogan standing centre, quirky voice and bubbly character sending the band to number 2 in the singles chart in the summer of that year, establishing the band as one of the biggest New Wave acts around. This was confirmed when they were voted "Best New Group" at the NME awards.
After a successful headlining tour they released Pinky Blue (1982) showing them following a more pop route than before, providing two more top 20 hits, "I Could Be Happy" and "See Those Eyes". The album also went top 20, but many critics who supported them previously began to turn sour. Meanwhile, after McKinven and Anderson left to be replaced by multi-instrumentalist Steve Lironi they began to work with pop producer Mike Chapman, providing them with another hit, "Don't Talk To Me About Love".
This continued collaboration (and one with Tony Visconti) was seen with Bite (1983), a severe departure from their former dream punk not far removed from Siouxsie to a far more conventional, studio based sound. Grogan pictured on the album's cover sleeve wearing a sophisticated, movie star-like dress eluded many fans, and after the album's brief commercial spell, forced her and her band out of the spotlight and to their disbanding, post-tour with David Wilde on drums and Jim Prime on keyboards.
The band are playing a date in July 2006 supporting China Crisis (why?) and Midge Ure (a bigger why?) - more details here.
Here are some Peel Session tracks from 1980 and 1981:
Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars (14/10/1980)
Altered Images - Midnight (02/03/1981)
Altered images - Pinky Blue (04/09/1981)
Stream tracks from an unofficial My Space Page.
Plenty more videos on You Tube.
Buy Altered Images
Destiny - The Hits
Pinky Blue - Plus
Happy Birthday - Plus
Bite - Plus
Sites:
Altered Images on Bubblyworld
Altered Images on keeping It Peel
Peter Lyell's Site
Deconstructed Pop Stars
Unofficial Claire Grogan Pages
Pictures At New Wave Photos
Altered Images were a popular band who formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1980.Ex-school friends with an equal interest in the UK post punk scene, Clare Grogan (vocals), Michael 'Tich' Anderson (drums), Tony McDaid (guitar) and Johnny McElhone (bass guitar), sent a demo tape to Siouxsie and the Banshees which soon gave themselves a support slot on their Kaleidoscope tour of 1980. Grogan had previously been seen in the cult film Gregory's Girl.
After being championed by legendary DJ John Peel, they quickly garnered enough attention to be offered a deal with Epic Records but mainstream success was not immediate; their first two singles ("Dead Pop Stars", "A Day's Wait") missed the top 40. "Dead Pop Stars" was particularly controversial at the time, sung at the viewpoint of a "has-been" icon with much irony, perhaps badly timed in its release as John Lennon had died shortly before, even though it was recorded prior to his death. It was absent from their studio album releases.
With additional guitarist Jim McKinven, they recorded their debut LP, Happy Birthday (1981) seeing them continue their link with Siouxsie and the Banshees, as the band's bassist Steve Severin produced several tracks on it besides the title track, which became their third single and biggest hit. "Happy Birthday" saw them be catapulted to fame with Grogan standing centre, quirky voice and bubbly character sending the band to number 2 in the singles chart in the summer of that year, establishing the band as one of the biggest New Wave acts around. This was confirmed when they were voted "Best New Group" at the NME awards.After a successful headlining tour they released Pinky Blue (1982) showing them following a more pop route than before, providing two more top 20 hits, "I Could Be Happy" and "See Those Eyes". The album also went top 20, but many critics who supported them previously began to turn sour. Meanwhile, after McKinven and Anderson left to be replaced by multi-instrumentalist Steve Lironi they began to work with pop producer Mike Chapman, providing them with another hit, "Don't Talk To Me About Love".
This continued collaboration (and one with Tony Visconti) was seen with Bite (1983), a severe departure from their former dream punk not far removed from Siouxsie to a far more conventional, studio based sound. Grogan pictured on the album's cover sleeve wearing a sophisticated, movie star-like dress eluded many fans, and after the album's brief commercial spell, forced her and her band out of the spotlight and to their disbanding, post-tour with David Wilde on drums and Jim Prime on keyboards.The band are playing a date in July 2006 supporting China Crisis (why?) and Midge Ure (a bigger why?) - more details here.
Here are some Peel Session tracks from 1980 and 1981:
Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars (14/10/1980)
Altered Images - Midnight (02/03/1981)
Altered images - Pinky Blue (04/09/1981)
Stream tracks from an unofficial My Space Page.
Plenty more videos on You Tube.
Buy Altered Images
Sites:
Altered Images on Bubblyworld
Altered Images on keeping It Peel
Peter Lyell's Site
Deconstructed Pop Stars
Unofficial Claire Grogan Pages
Pictures At New Wave Photos
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