Altered Images

Banshees fans from Glasgow

Altered Images came from a group of Glasgow schoolmates who were all members of the official Siouxsie and the Banshees fan club. They sent a demo to the fan-club manager Billy Chainsaw asking to support the Banshees and did so on the 1980 Kaleidoscope tour. Clare Grogan, born Claire Patricia Grogan on March 17, 1962, was the singer throughout; she has recalled that they were baby punks and Banshees fans who wrote asking for a support slot. The name came from a Buzzcocks Promises sleeve design. The line-up was Grogan, the guitarist Gerard McInulty (spelled McNulty in other sources), the drummer Michael Anderson, the guitarist Tony McDaid and the bassist Johnny McElhone, with Jim McKinven added from the debut album. McInulty left after the first singles and the John Peel session of October 1980 and formed The Wake.

They signed to Epic. The debut single "Dead Pop Stars", released just after John Lennon's death in 1980, reached number 67 in the UK.

The Epic years

Happy Birthday (September 1981) was produced mostly by Steve Severin of the Banshees at Rockfield Studios in Wales, with the title track by Martin Rushent at Genetic Sound in Berkshire. The title single was number two in the UK for three weeks in October 1981, and the band won NME Best New Group and Smash Hits Most Promising New Act. Grogan also appeared in the film Gregory's Girl in 1981. She has said Epic brought in Rushent because the label felt the album lacked a standout hit, and that they were paid 45 pounds a week even on Top of the Pops.

Pinky Blue followed on May 14, 1982, produced by Rushent, and reached number 12, their highest-placed album, with "I Could Be Happy" at number seven and "See Those Eyes" at number 11; the reception was mixed, with Smash Hits' Neil Tennant calling it a big disappointment. McKinven and Anderson left after that campaign and Stephen Lironi joined. Bite (June 17, 1983) was produced by Mike Chapman and Tony Visconti, reached number 16 and divided fans with its change of direction; its single "Don't Talk to Me About Love" was number seven. The band made its US debut at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California on August 11, 1983 and split later that year. Grogan has said she left partly from loneliness as the only woman in the band, heavy criticism and a breakdown on a US tour, and went on to make the film Comfort and Joy with the director Bill Forsyth.

Returns

Grogan toured as Altered Images from 2002, with sources differing on the years of the reunion tours. In 2017 she sang "I Could Be Happy" with Texas at a Glasgow show, reigniting her friendship with McElhone. Texas's Sharleen Spiteri joined her on "Look What You've Done" in 2021, and that year they supported the Human League. Mascara Streakz came out on Cooking Vinyl on August 26, 2022, reaching number 28, with co-writers including Bernard Butler, Bobby Bluebell and Lironi; Grogan called it partly a protest record and almost a thank you to fans. A September 2026 UK tour plays Happy Birthday in full.