Following the 1980 tour and with the support of John Peel, Britain’s most influential DJ, the band signed with Epic. The first two singles, Dead Pop Stars and A Day's Wait, saw the band beginning to develop their own sound. Epic wanted the band to add one more element to the mix: chart success. With this in mind they brought in producer Martin Rushent, who had an established track record of crafting left-of-centre hits with the Buzzcocks, the Stranglers, and Generation X. The addition of Rushent, along with second guitarist Jim McKinven, resulted in the single Happy Birthday, which managed to channel AI's sound in a more commercial direction without losing their distinctive sound. The remainder of the album, also titled Happy Birthday, was produced by Severin, but it was Rushent who had charted the course for the remainder of the band's career.
Rushent returned in 1982 to produce Pinky Blue, a much more upbeat album than its predecessor. The three singles released from the album, I Could Be Happy, See Those Eyes, and the frenetic Pinky Blue, all sounded more commercial than most of the band's early material, but Grogan's unique vocal style assured that AI would retain a slightly otherworldly quality. The band also contributed a cover of Del Shannon's Little Town Flirt to the Party Party soundtrack in 1982. Following Pinky Blue, the band replaced drummer Anderson and second guitarist McKinven with Steve Lironi (guitar, drums).
Production chores on the next album, 1983's Bite, were split between Tony Visconti and Mike Chapman. In an unexpected move, AI switched to a slick disco sound in an acknowledged effort to gain a wider audience. Changes in image were made as well, as the cover of Bite made clear - the black and white photo of Clare looking very sophisticated in a black evening gown was a radical switch from her previous portrayals, as well as a break with the previous tradition of featuring the entire band on album covers. In an interview with NME Clare noted that the image makeover was intentional, but would not be a new uniform: "We decided we'd have to do something pretty drastic to make people realise that I wasn't going to parade about in ra-ra skirts for the rest of the century. And I'm not going to parade about in black evening gowns on tour!" Nor on television, as the video for Don't Talk To Me About Love features Clare looking very comfortable in a sophistication-free jogging suit. Although the change in the band's sound did help them achieve greater radio exposure, with "Don't Talk To Me About Love" going Top 10, the group would not stay intact to enjoy their success. After a UK and North American tour in 1983 with added members David Wilde on drums and Jim Prime on keyboards, the group broke up.
Following the dissolution of AI, Clare returned to acting, appearing in Bill Forsyth's 1984 film Comfort And Joy, the Red Dwarf and East Enders series, and also served as the host for the Sky Movies television program. She would return to various musical endeavors from time to time, including hosting a UK video show, and recording a number of tracks in 1987 for a planned solo album called Trash Mad. Ultimately only the "Love Bomb" 12" single was released from these sessions, the rest of the tracks from the album remain unreleased. From 1989-1990 Grogan and Lironi performed occasionally under the name Universal Love School, but never released any recordings. Clare's guest appearances on other artists' recordings include "This Grudge" on Bionic in 1996 and "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano" on Hyacinths and Thistles in 2000.
After the first 2 Peel Sessions, Gerard “Caesar” McInulty went on to form The Wake.
Johnny McElhone formed the band Hipsway in 1984, which had some success with the Honeythief single from their self-titled 1986 album. Hipsway would break up following their second album, after which McElhone formed Texas, a group which would have intermittent UK success but is largely unknown in the U.S.
Steve Lironi became active in production, songwriting, and session work after AI, working with a great variety of artists including Dot Allison, Black Grape, Hanson, and Bon Jovi.
In 2002 the unexpected announcement was made that Altered Images would be reforming for a series of Christmas shows for the Here And Now 80's revival tour.
Dead Pop Stars
Altered Images Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pretty bodies make the little girls scream
dead pop stars hear them on the radio
pretty bodies every little girls dream
hello hello i'm back again
you can touch me but only for a moment
testing testing 1,2,3
and now i've had my 15 minutes
i'm just another memory
an embarassing part of your youth
don't leave me dying here
don't leave me dying here
remember how much you used to love me?
you did love me didn't you?
don't leave me dying here
dead pop stars
dead pop stars
dead pop stars
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
hear them on the radio
dead dead dead dead dead
The song "Dead Pop Stars" by Altered Images expresses the idea of how quickly fame can consume and discard someone in the music industry. The lyrics reference dead pop stars, their image being utilized and manipulated, their decaying bodies and the way they are no longer relevant in the music industry. The opening lines of the song indicate that the once glamorous pop stars are no longer alive, instead just their corpses are left behind in the studios they once recorded in. The second verse talks about how their attractive physical appearance was exploited to gain fame, and how they were only valued for their physical appeal.
The chorus of the song suggests that the pop star is aware of their fading fame and popularity, as she expresses her desire not to be left behind and forgotten. The line "don't leave me dying here" can be seen as a plea to her audience to remember her and not let her become another dead pop star. The ending of the chorus further emphasizes the theme of decay and decline with the repetition of the word "dead."
Overall, "Dead Pop Stars" is a commentary on the ephemeral nature of fame and the music industry. The lyrics express the sentiment that once somebody has served their purpose and contributed to the industry's success, they are easily discarded and forgotten.
Line by Line Meaning
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
The images of popular musicians have been dead and gone for some time but their presence still lingers in the professional recording booths they once used.
pretty bodies make the little girls scream
Their outward appearances were so desirable that teenage girls would shriek at the sight of them.
dead pop stars hear them on the radio
Even though the musicians have passed on, their music is still being played on airwaves everywhere.
pretty bodies every little girls dream
These performers were so strikingly handsome that young girls daydreamed about them frequently.
hello hello i'm back again
I have returned after being away for some time.
you can touch me but only for a moment
You may make brief contact with me, but don't expect anything more than that.
testing testing 1,2,3
I'm announcing that a performance is about to take place.
i am the poster on your wall
People used to put images of my likeness up on their walls as a form of admiration.
and now i've had my 15 minutes
My time in the spotlight is over, and with it went all the attention that people used to heap on me.
i'm just another memory
My presence in people's lives has slowly receded into a distant memory.
an embarassing part of your youth
Looking back, people may feel embarrassed that they invested so much time or energy into my illusion.
don't leave me dying here
Don't abandon me to fade away into oblivion.
remember how much you used to love me?
Do not forget about the passion and admiration you once had for me.
you did love me didn't you?
You still must appreciate and look fondly back on me, right?
dead pop stars
The music world can be a harsh and unforgiving place.
dead pop stars
dead pop stars
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
The ghosts of music's past still have a way of haunting us throughout our present.
hear them on the radio
A new generation of music lovers can still hear their influence, but it may not be as prominent as before.
dead dead dead dead dead
The artists never got a chance to grow old or change themselves, and that's what makes their untimely demise so tragic.
Contributed by Tyler I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Alex Benz
lyrics
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
pretty bodies make the little girls scream
dead pop stars hear them on the radio
pretty bodies every little girls dream
hello hello i'm back again
you can touch me but only for a moment
testing testing 1,2,3
i am the poster on your wall
and now i've had my 15 minutes
i'm just another memory
an embarassing part of your youth
don't leave me dying here
don't leave me dying here
remember how much you used to love me?
you did love me didn't you?
don't leave me dying here
dead pop stars
dead pop stars
dead pop stars
dead pop stars rotting in the studio
hear them on the radio
dead dead dead dead dead
Good Life
Cheers John Peel for ensuring I'd never forget this. Still sounds brilliant.
Andy Butler
Heard this on 6 Music today. What a belter it is too - so different to their bigger hits - and in my opinion better.
Emma Robertson
Claire and Altered Images played this at an 80s festival I was at last weekend. Quite a few people seemed perplexed but I thought it was great!
leopold
I saw Clare at Chilfest a couple of years ago and she played it there, too. There were a lot of surprised faces there, too, as I don't think most people realised she was a darkwave artist before she went all poppy.
Marc Stevens
I can see why people were somewhat confused with this song. First off, it sounded really close to a Sioxsie song & second, it was banned because it was written slightly after John Lennon was killed. They later changed the title to Disco Pop Stars, picked up the tempo on it & used it as a B-Side to one of their hits (I forget which one). Either version, I love...
maia457br
They should have keeping sing like this,,,,,,,,,,, just great songs This Dark Side of Altered Images is great.
Travis Collier
Pretty much Siouxsie and the Banshees's younger Scottish cousins. Yeah, good.
クランSMILE
Clare Grogan has indeed admitted that Siouxsie meant so much to her that she wanted to be her, and that until she found her own voice
Stephen M
Brilliant song! Love the audio crackles at the beginning!! had to buy two copies of this, the first one got worn out!
David Askew
Forgot how good this band is fills many holes in my music cloud!