‘I make more money from nostalgia tours than I did as a popstar in the 1980s’
The reunion tour circuit is big business for artists like Altered Images’ Clare Grogan who first found fame in the 1980s, and it seems that we never can say goodbye to the decade of feel-good pop.
Altered Images' Clare Grogan
Altered Images' Clare Grogan on the appeal of the reunion circuit
Altered Images are among the stars from that decade who play to fields full of 40-something fans dressed in ra-ra skirts and Frankie Says t-shirts.
Fronted by Clare Grogan, the band had their first chart hit with Happy Birthday nearly 40 years ago in 1981.
“The revival’s actually going on longer than the decade,” laughed Clare Grogan on Hits, Hype & Hustle: An Insider's Guide to the Music Business.
“I probably make more money now out of the band than I did back in the day.”
But what is the appeal of music from four decades ago?
Clare explained, “Back in the 80s we were all trying to create three minutes of perfect pop for that moment in time and that’s all it was. I think that as a result of that lots of us created really great, iconic tunes.”
As well as this, could it also be that festival-goers are trying to tap in to the carefree spirit of their youth which is epitomised by the music?
ABC frontman Martin Fry believes that after the nihilism of punk in the 1970s, fun became important.
He has previously told ´óÏó´«Ã½ Breakfast, “Music in the early 80s was definitely about just having a good time.
“[It was about] optimism, gloss, polish, flamboyance, and rank stupidity as well — but that makes for great entertainment!”
On ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer
80s nostalgia at the ´óÏó´«Ã½
On ´óÏó´«Ã½ iPlayer
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