Born on March 17: Clare Grogan (Altered Images) and her delightfully alluring voice

She was born in Glasgow (Scotland) in 1962 and the most popular song by her band Altered Images resonates particularly today because it's called… Happy Birthday!

The incident is now forgotten, except by the main person concerned, of course, but in 1979, caught unwillingly in a fight between drunken thugs, Clare Grogan was injured on her face by a bottle shard. It resulted in a pretty scar that contributes to her mischievous charm. A few years ago, during a routine medical examination, it was discovered that some, albeit microscopic, glass pieces were still present in her flesh. The aspiring actress, who at the time was about to play her first major role in Gregory’s Girl, could have been completely disfigured.

Although she never completely abandoned theatre and film sets, it was, however, as a singer in Altered Images at the dawn of the '80s that she gained notoriety. Far from having an impressive range, Clare’s voice, between sulky squeaks and voluptuous whispers, is indeed the trademark of a group that only needed three albums to carve out a place in the sun: Happy Birthday (1981), Pinky Blue (1982), and Bite (1983). In fact, if you're wondering why the song Happy Birthday subtly evokes Siouxsie and The Banshees, it's most certainly because Steve Severin (bassist of Siouxsie's band) was involved in the production.

After a 38-year hiatus, following the success of an English tour with The Human League for the 40th anniversary of the album Dare, Clare and her partner Steve Lironi decided to rekindle the flame with Mascara Streakz (2022), a slightly more electro album. Without having lost any of her originality and fragility, Clare's voice displays an astonishing maturity that, whether you like it or not, subtly evokes Kim Wilde or Kyle Minogue.

(MH with AK - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Portrait of Clare Grogan from Altered Images in the dressing room of the Generation 80 show in Brussels (Belgium) in April 1982