I only have to buy the picture disc edition of 'I could be happy' to complete the set, and I am sure I will do that pretty soon. But visually, this one is without a doubt the most beautiful one of the three.
My collection: 7" single no. 6843
Found: Discogs.com, received 14 January 2023
Tracks: 'Bring me closer' / 'Surprise me'
This 12" single of Altered Images's most successful single 'Don't talk to me about love' contains an impressive 8 minute 30 seconds version of the track. And I say 'most successful', as it was the only single by the UK band to have almost made it into the Dutch Top 40.
If this song sounds familiar to you, then most probably you're reminded of the original version of 'Song sung blue' by Neil Diamond, recorded in 1972. It was a number 1 hit in the USA, also reaching number 14 in the UK singles chart.
After being championed by legendary DJ John Peel, Altered Images quickly garnered enough attention to be offered a record deal with Epic Records in 1981. Mainstream success eluded the band until their third single 'Happy birthday' was released.
Taken from Altered Images' second album of the same name, 'Pinky blue' was the first single not to hit the top 10 after a hattrick of three singles that did. Released in May 1982, the track was not so different from previous Altered Images singles - but that may have been the problem of course.
For twenty years, this was the only song by Altered Images I knew. It landed in the Dutch 'bubbling under' chart in June 1983, but failed to make the Top 40. I thought it was an interesting track, with Clare Grogan's peculiar voice as one of its standout traits.
'Love to stay' was the third single from Altered Images' 1983 album 'Bite' and also their penultimate single. It was their first single since 1981's 'A day's wait' that didn't reach the UK top 40, halting at number 46. It is one of their more polished-sounding singles, thanks to Mike Chapman, who produced the track.
'Happy Birthday' was Altered Images' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in the UK singles chart in the autumn of 1981. It was the third single taken from the album of the same name. 'Happy Birthday' was later included in the soundtrack to the John Hughes movie 'Sixteen Candles' (1984).
During the Here and Now Tour 2002 I saw Altered Images, or rather Clare Grogan, live in concert and immediately liked the songs she was performing. So I went to the nearest record shop in London and found 'I could be happy' and this single. I didn't know this song - she hadn't performed it - but the sleeve looked interesting enough and so I decided to buy it anyway.
Altered Images released their second album 'Pinky blue' after a successful headlining tour, in 1982. The album provided them with two top 20 hits in the UK: 'See those eyes' and 'I could be happy'. Since the band were going down a pop path, many critics who supported them before started to turn sour.
I was very late discovering Altered Images. I did buy 'Don't talk to me about love' somewhere in the eighties, but I never realised they did much more than that until singer Clare Grogan joined the 2002 Here & Now Tour, and I got to hear a selection of their tracks live.
