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.
Don't Talk To Me About Love
Altered Images Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An hour later her voice shook
When her whispering died, she cried
Never wants to recover, she cried
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk to me about love
Since that gaze
Roaring by went her days
When her whispering died, she cried
Never wants to recover, she cried
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk, don't talk to me
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
It couldn't be that good, although they said it would
Just couldn't be that good
Don't talk to me about love
(yesterdays shatter, tomorrows don't matter)
Be that good
It couldn't be that good, although they said it would
Just couldn't be that good
Be be be that good (*3 to fade)
The lyrics of Don't Talk To Me About Love by Altered Images is a rather heartbreaking tale about a love gone wrong. The song begins with the lines "They exchanged a look, An hour later her voice shook," describing a moment of longing between two people who are in love. However, the relationship takes a turn for the worse, leading to the lines "When her whispering died, she cried, Never wants to recover, she cried", suggesting that the girl is heartbroken and unable to move on.
Throughout the chorus, the girl is pleading with her lover not to talk to her about love, as yesterday's shattered dreams and tomorrow's uncertainties do not matter anymore. She has lost all faith in love and seems to have given up on the idea of it completely.
The end of the song suggests that the girl was let down by the idea of love; the line "It couldn't be that good, although they said it would, Just couldn't be that good" indicates that she had high expectations for love but found them unfulfilled. Overall, the lyrics of the song paint a bleak picture of a failed romance, with the singer left feeling disillusioned and hurt.
Line by Line Meaning
They exchanged a look
A glance was shared between two people
An hour later her voice shook
After an hour, her voice trembled
When her whispering died, she cried
She wept after losing her voice
Never wants to recover, she cried
She doesn't want to recover and cried
Don't talk to me about love
Yesterday's heartbreaks and tomorrow's uncertainty make love a difficult subject
Don't talk to me about love
Yesterday's heartbreaks and tomorrow's uncertainty make love a difficult subject
Since that gaze
After that glance
Roaring by went her days
Her days passed swiftly and fervently
Don't talk, don't talk to me
Do not discuss love with me
Don't talk to me about love
Yesterday's heartbreaks and tomorrow's uncertainty make love a difficult subject
It couldn't be that good, although they said it would
It may not have been as good as promised
Just couldn't be that good
It was not that good
Be that good
A hope or a challenge to be as good as promised
It couldn't be that good, although they said it would
It may not have been as good as promised
Just couldn't be that good
It was not that good
Be be be that good (*3 to fade)
A repeated hope or challenge to be as good as promised
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: A. MCDAID, C. GROGAN, G. MCELHONE, J. MCELHONE, S. LIRONI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@De1966Laney
This is simply not just one of the best songs of 1983 but one of the best songs of the decade
@NigelWillmott
Er, we all know that.
@CraigHaldane
She has the most amazing presence. She takes you all the way back to the 80s. Right there.
@luappmek
I was 15 years old when this song came out. Completely in love with the singer. Still listen to this tune at least once a month… Great times 🙏
@andrewwilson8317
Was 17 and had such a MAJOR crush on Clare! I absolutely fell head over heels in love with her after watching Gregorys Girl. The memories still bring a little smile after all these years.......
@martinchatterton3558
Same here we all did
@bodysuitguy
Babe- fact
@dougmedina4619
Who didn't? Gorgeous!!!
@quarryfield
Wow! This had me dancing around the room like a teenager again... Thank you so much for posting this :-)
@winkandwoo
what a record ! not much could touch this one back in the day