Few artists have balanced pop success and acting acclaim as seamlessly as Clare Grogan. As the frontwoman of Altered Images, she helped define the early ’80s with bright, infectious hits, while also carving out an impressive screen career—from her breakout role in Gregory's Girl to appearances in cult favourites like Father Ted and Skins. Now, with Altered Images preparing to head back out on tour, Grogan finds herself reflecting on a career that has quietly become one of the most enduring of its kind.

“I’m exhausted thinking about what’s going to happen this year,” she laughs. “But it’s going to be great fun.”

Before diving into the music, we need to settle one important question: what is your favourite drink?

“Irn-Bru,” she says without hesitation. “Have you heard of it? It’s like Scottish orange juice in a way. There’s nothing like a glass of Irn-Bru with a fry-up—very much a morning-after-the-night-before vibe.”

She grins. “Although I’ve left those days behind… I’m a very responsible adult now. Not really.”

With Altered Images heading back out on a full headline tour, it raises an interesting question: did Clare ever imagine this moment?

“I’ve always been quietly ambitious,” she says. “But if you’d told me back in 1982 that I’d still be doing this in 2026, I’d have thought that was downright weird.”

The band’s return wasn’t a sudden decision but something that evolved over time.

“In 2004, I was asked to perform Altered Images songs again for the first time in 18 years, on tour with The Human League. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off in my 40s, but I had an absolute ball. I thought it would be a one-off—but it just kept growing from there.”

That growth has led to new music as well as renewed live energy, particularly with their recent album Mascara Streakz.

“It’s not just about nostalgia,” she explains. “It’s about who I am now and what I stand for today.”

Rather than recreating the past, Mascara Streakz builds on it.

“I wanted it to feel like a natural progression—like where we would have ended up now,” Clare says. “You can have all the intentions in the world, but how something turns out is always a bit of a surprise.”

Her songwriting process still blends old and new approaches, from piano collaborations with Bernard Butler to synth-driven sessions with long-time bandmates.

Looking back, Clare admits she didn’t have a rigid master plan.

“The summer I left school, I made Gregory’s Girl and got signed to a major label. It felt like, ‘Oh—this is convenient!’”

Instead, her ambitions revealed themselves over time.

“I’d think, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to be in Father Ted?’—and then it happened. Same with Skins. I just love what I do, and I work hard.”

That adaptability has helped her build a remarkably sustained career—one she’s only recently stopped to fully appreciate.

“It’s quite a unique club, having that kind of longevity,” she reflects. “And I think that is something to celebrate.”

The upcoming tour centres around a major milestone: the 45th anniversary of Altered Images’ debut album, Happy Birthday.

“I’ll be playing the album in full,” she says. “Then we’ll come back on and do the hits—everything people want to hear.”

Revisiting the record has been unexpectedly emotional.

“I hadn’t listened to it in a long time. When I did, I loved it—which was a relief! It took me right back to recording at Rockfield, to being that young, energised, slightly naïve person.”

The album was produced largely by Steve Severin, with the title track handled by Martin Rushent—and those memories remain vivid.

While the tour celebrates the past, Clare is clear that something deeper is happening at these shows.

“When I look out at the audience, I can see people being transported back to a moment in their lives,” she says. “But it goes beyond nostalgia.”

That’s especially true given the growing number of younger fans.

“They just love the music,” she explains. “And I think that whole post-punk spirit—this idea that anyone can do it—that still resonates.”

It’s a philosophy rooted in the DIY energy of the era.

“Punk gave us all permission,” she says. “It wasn’t elitist anymore. It could be you—even teenagers from Glasgow.”

New material is already taking shape—just not on a strict schedule.

“I’m creating the next album in my head all the time,” Clare says. “Then there’ll be a couple of weeks where everything else stops, and we just make it.”

She plans to reunite with her husband, producer Stephen Lironi, to capture that same spontaneous magic that defined Mascara Streakz.

To close, Clare picks a track from Happy Birthday that still resonates with her today: Love and Kisses.

“I love the ambition of it,” she says. “It’s not quite what you think—it’s a little pop song dressed up as something else, with a bold message underneath. That was always Altered Images. It was never just surface level—you had to dig a bit deeper.”

Altered Images’ upcoming tour promises a celebration of the past, a reflection of the present, and a reminder that great pop music never really stands still.

Tour Dates

03 September 2026 The Adrian Flux Waterfront Norwich, UK

04 September 2026 Islington Assembly Hall London, UK

05 September 2026 Thekla Bristol, UK

07 September 2026 Rescue Rooms Nottingham, UK

08 September 2026 Brudenell Social Club Leeds, UK

10 September 2026 Stables Milton Keynes, UK

11 September 2026 Picturedome Holmfirth, UK

12 September 2026 Town Hall Birmingham, UK

13 September 2026 Lowther Pavillion Lytham, UK

15 September 2026 Band On The Wall Manchester, UK

16 September 2026 The Grove Newcastle, UK

18 September 2026 The Factory Live Worthing, UK

19 September 2026 Phoenix Exeter, UK

23 September 2026 St Lukes Glasgow, UK

24 September 2026 Old Fire Station Carlisle, UK

25 September 2026 Liquid Rooms Edinburgh, UK