Artist · chart history
Altered Images
Band Glasgow United Kingdom Active 1979–1983 80s Scottish new wave / post-punk band
Altered Images formed in 1979 in Glasgow, United Kingdom and was active until 1983. Altered Images has 21 chart appearances on 14 radio countdowns from 6 stations on RockLists, spanning 1981–2023. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Happy Birthday”, which appears on 13 lists with a best position of #27. The station that charted Altered Images most often is KROQ (Los Angeles, CA), with 9 appearances.
Altered Images came bouncing out of Glasgow in 1979 as a new wave and post-punk band, but it didn't take long for them to find the sugar. Up front was Clare Grogan, with a voice full of hiccups and giggles and enough pep to power the whole city, and around her were Johnny McElhone, Tony McDaid and Tich Anderson.
Happy Birthday, in 1981, was the breakthrough, and its title track, a giddy, sparkling pop confection, made them a chart act. Pinky Blue followed in 1982 with "I Could Be Happy", and the Greatest Original Hits EP that year brought "Dead Pop Stars", with its darker, more angular edge. By Bite, in 1983, they had gone glossy and grown up, with Stephen Lironi joining on guitar and drums and the lush pop of "Don't Talk to Me About Love" and "Bring Me Closer".
The run was short but sweet: from 1981 to 1983 they had 6 UK top-40 singles, "See Those Eyes" among them, and three top-30 albums, and then they called it a day in 1983.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by Altered Images on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Happy Birthday | 13 | #27 | – | – | |
| 2 | Dead Pop Stars | 2 | #15 | – | – | |
| 3 | I Could Be Happy | 3 | #304 | – | – | |
| 4 | Don't Talk to Me About Love | 1 | #1371 | – | – | |
| 5 | Bring me closer | 1 | #1672 | – | – | |
| 6 | Love to Stay | 1 | #1936 | – | – |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
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