Altered Images

Oh no he didn't... Oh yes I did. In 1982 I was 12 years old and was in my grandparents' car on the way back up to see family in Ottawa, Canada. (I am the only yank in the family) We were driving through Toronto and, out of boredom, I began twisting the radio dials in search of a music station. I remember clearly catching the end of this song as we pulled into a McDonald's for breakfast. I had just found my new favorite band. Funny how that works in a young teenage mind ah? Soon after we arrived in Ottawa, my two cousins (Jenny and Missy) and I were dropped off at the local shopping mall so we could find a Canadian hockey jersey for cousin Casey. Guess what I found? The LP Pinky Blue was tucked away in the A category bin at the mall record shop and was subsequently purchased that day. In true American fashion, I forced my cousins to listen to it for the duration of my week long visit. I can't say I remember any other song from the album and I'm probably better off as a result. This is, however, a completely relevant song when it comes to the development of my musical tastes.



















When you think of Altered Images, the first thing that might cross your mind is that horrid Happy Birthday song that even circa 80's Stacy Q would back away from. Little would you expect that this band was once a John Peel favorite. The first single from Altered Images was released in 1980. The single, titled Dead Pop Stars, came out right around the time that John Lennon (yawn) was killed. This caused a bit of a stir in the media and probably helped further the band's career. The first LP was produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees bassist Steve Severin. I found a fairly decent YouTube clip of Dead Pop Stars live for you. There is also a video there for I Could Be Happy but the sound is almost non-existent and the toilet paper ribbon on Clare Grogan's head is distracting (but funny.) We will post an original vinyl ripped to MP3 version of Dead Pop Stars as a bonus track for you to download. Thanks to Little Hits for that one!! The only link I could find for the band that doesn't produce a ton of pop up ads is on MySpace. The Altered Images MySpace fan profile awaits your visit and approval. I can't speak for all of the band's music but will tell you that, if this song were to be released tomorrow there would be plenty of attention given to it.



















MP3: I Could Be Happy
Bonus MP3: Dead Pop Stars