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Happy Birthday
by Altered Images (Epic/ 1981)
Suzy, my girlfriend, thinks this album is really rubbish – but I
like it. Ultimately, I think our difference of opinion on this record
is down to the fact that Sue is eight years younger than me. She likes
music that is generally well played and has a discernible beginning, middle
and an end. And despite my having explained it time and again, she just
doesn't get that post-punk thing of music being more open-ended and less
defined by conventional song structures. Nor, that such music was admirably
created by bands who were able to innovate in the face of a complete lack
of technical ability, and who at the same time embodied an unbridled sense
of musical adventurism and experimentalism. Well, as it happens, Happy
Birthday has only one proper song on it, and that's the gimmicky
title track, so I'm hardly surprised that she doesn't like it.
Largely produced by Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees, the album
is admittedly, very derivative, taking its cue mainly from the poppier
side of the early Banshees sound. Indeed, the metallic rhythm guitar-playing
on the tracks "Idols" and "Beckoning Strings" in particular,
are more than vaguely reminiscent of "Carcass" from the Banshees
debut, The Scream.
Nevertheless, with the addition of Claire Grogan's kindergarten vocal
style, the album has a naive charm all of its own. Certainly, with its
skeletal lead guitar codas and meat and potatoes drumming, the musicianship
is rudimentary to say the least (drummer Tich was soon to be replaced
as the record company sought to mould the band for chart success) but
for me, the pay-off for such deficiencies is the wonderful sense of spaciousness
and fragility within what are for the most part, unformed sonic sketches.
Nevertheless, I can't help but wonder what those pop kids who bought the
album on the strength of the one hit single, would have made of it. I
mean, "Happy Birthday" the single doesn't sound entirely out
of place on Happy Birthday the album, in spite of the fact that
it was recorded by a different producer; Martin Rushent (who also produced
the Human League amongst others). But you do get the impression that following
its chart success, the tune was hastily shoehorned onto what was in all
likelihood, a completed album, in a bid to sweeten it up and make it a
little more palatable to the general pop public. And just in case anyone
should miss the fluffy three minute confection at the beginning of side
two, a short refrain from the song is used as both an intro and outro
to the album — talk about labouring a point!
Starting with the "Happy Birthday" the single, producer Rushent
effectively succeeded in filling in the vast open spaces of Altered Images'
music with chiming xylophones, and on the subsequent hit single, "I
Could Be Happy", with what sounded like tubular bells. And it proved
to be a winning formula, with Claire Grogan and the boys appearing regularly
on Top of the Pops, Tiswas and even the Old Grey
Whistle Test (whispering Bob Harris would have turned in his grave
had he been dead). Oh, and lest I forget, they were also lampooned on
the comedy satire show, Not the Nine O'Clock News.
And I was certainly happy, because like many of my contemporaries, I was
completely smitten with the wee Miss Grogan. Now, looking at her picture
on the album cover, while she still strikes me as attractive, she was
never a stunning beauty in the Debbie Harry mould. Rather, her appeal
was that she looked like the kind of lass you might have gone to school
with and even snogged round the back of the youth club (not that I did
much of that). She was also slightly and intriguingly alternative, but
most of all she was ultra cute and girlie in that clean, flouncy, 'sugar
'n' spice an' all things nice' party dress and ribbons kind of a way.
And did I not like that!
In 1983, Claire was given something of a radical makeover, appearing on
the cover of the band's third album, Bite, in a little black
dress with her hair slicked back, Holly Golightly style. And did I not
like that too. But though I never actually got to listen to the album,
I do remember the single "Don't Talk to Me About Love" as something
of a sophisticated pop classic which was a million miles away from "Happy
Birthday".
Copyright: Poke-in-the-Eye Publishing 2005