Happy Birthday by Altered Images

Im having so much fun with this theme that I'm just gonna ride it for awhile.

I have to have music playing while I work out, and I'm very particular about what gets my heart rate going. Last night this is what sustained my heart rate into the 130s (high for me--maybe not for you!)

I saw Altered Images in a dank basement in inner city Liverpool in 1981. I fell in love instantly with this group that later became New Music Express' "Most Promising/Best Group of 1981." Altered Images and Claire Grogan (here looking particularly adorable) were just two of the many reasons I felt so fortunate to be living in a city that fairly pulsated with music wherever you went. Grogan also starred in "Gregory's Girl" that year--if you haven't seen this Scottish film yet do try to rent it. It's a classic coming of age story.

Here I've included one video from 1981, and below that, the band again live, lured into a comeback after 30 years. This one really holds up--I like to think because Claire is a girl who couldn't help but dance. Neither can I, whenever I hear "Happy Birthday" by Altered Images.



Here's Claire a year ago, introducing the song by asking the audience, "please sing along--it makes it less embarassing!"