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29 October 2014
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A little bit of politics? It never really influenced your music did it?
Claire: Well, coming from Scotland everyone voted Labour anyway. I was shocked when I first came to London to meet young people who actually voted Tory. I hated that ‘Greed Is Good’ ethic of the ‘80s. But then the band didn’t really have a political message. I wouldn’t have known how to include politics in our music anyway. We left it to the Sex Pistols to make the big statements. But two of the guys in the band, their dads were Scottish Labour MPs. We were ‘political’ without being political as a band.

Was there any discrimination towards women in the industry back then?
Claire: Women were treated as a bit of a novelty in the music business back in 1981. There was a certain dismissiveness about female performers. But to be honest I wasn’t desperate to be taken seriously. I didn’t give a toss what people thought of me. I just wanted to enjoy myself and have a good time. I didn’t examine anything too deeply.

So, you’re on the Here and Now tour this Christmas. Sad ‘80s novelty act time or the start of a comeback?
Claire: To be honest, I couldn’t have imagined doing this tour a few years ago. My life is very different now to 18 years ago. I have a successful career in acting. I’m married to Shawn who used to be a guitarist in the band. Next year I’m starring in this British movie, a psychological thriller called 10am which is exciting. But to be honest it’s just ego making me do this tour. The promoter persuaded me and I couldn’t resist the chance of playing Wembley Arena. We didn’t play there the first time. I was reluctant at first but then I spoke to Kim Wilde and she said don’t worry about it, just enjoy it. I’m only doing four songs, 'Happy Birthday', 'I Could Be Happy', 'Don’t Talk', 'See Those Eyes'. It’s hardly a gruelling routine each night!

So you’re not worried that this tour might diminish the legacy of the mighty Images?
Claire:
You know what? I’m 40 years old now and I really don’t bother with things like that. It doesn’t matter. I’ve always had a tendency to over analyse things. It’s a chance to relive a great moment in my life and you shouldn’t take pop music too seriously. It’s all nonsense anyway!

Ìý Simply Red Ìý
Ìý "That's a bit supermarket, isn't it. I'm not making that many bottles. " Ìý
Ìý Robin Gibb Ìý
Ìý "There's been great moments both as a songwriter and as a performer." Ìý
Ìý Paul Roberts - The Stranglers Ìý
Ìý "We certainly weren't going to call ourselves The Bay City Rollers." Ìý
Ìý Lisa Stansfield Ìý
Ìý "I just thought, how many times do I have to sing this song?" Ìý
Ìý Soft Cell Ìý
Ìý "I think it's the only time that a banjo's been played in the Ministry of Sound." Ìý
Ìý Erasure Ìý
Ìý "Agnetha said she liked it. If I met them I would curtsey." Ìý
Ìý INXS Ìý
Ìý "We really surprised lots of people by simply hanging in there." Ìý
Ìý Kim Wilde Ìý
Ìý "I used to be really jealous of Claire Grogan...I thought she was gorgeous." Ìý
Ìý Dollar Ìý
Ìý "Failure was not an option, we were materialistic and greed was good." Ìý
Ìý Human League Ìý
Ìý "We did a US tour with Culture Club and Howard Jones...solely for the cash." Ìý
Ìý Altered Images Ìý
Ìý "Women were treated as a bit of a novelty in the music business in 1981." Ìý
Ìý Belle Stars Ìý
Ìý "The pop music lark just seems like a lifetime away now." Ìý
Ìý Steve Strange Ìý
Ìý "Look, you’re playing me like a bitchy queen and I’m not like that." Ìý
Ìý Five Star Ìý
Ìý "We all grew up wanting to be famous and we lived our dream..." Ìý
Ìý Phillip from Ruby Flipper Ìý
Ìý "At my age, I'd find it difficult to get my legs where they used to go..." Ìý
Ìý Glen Campbell Ìý
Ìý "I got to work with literally everyone in the business; Nat King Cole, Sinatra..." Ìý
Ìý David Gray Ìý
Ìý "Lots of tension in the camp. We're battling Gareth Gates for the No.1 spot" Ìý
Ìý Robert Palmer Ìý
Ìý "There's this homegenised force feeding of what is hip." Ìý
Ìý Marilyn Ìý
Ìý "I think George manipulated our relationship for publicity" Ìý
Ìý Tom Jones Ìý
Ìý "I'm pulling all my old jewellery out now and comparing my rings with Wyclef" Ìý
Ìý Ruth From Pan's People Ìý
Ìý "I could show you dozens of times I forgot the moves..." Ìý
Ìý Badly Drawn Boy Ìý
Ìý "Everybody has to do what everybody else does in order to have a hit single" Ìý
Ìý John Otway Ìý
Ìý "I think the music business is probably not happy with what we've done..." Ìý
Ìý Jimmy Cliff Ìý
Ìý "I look at someone like Ms Dynamite, I come away with a positive feeling." Ìý
Ìý Human League Ìý
Ìý "We wouldn't trust anyone that didn't wear eyeliner." Ìý
Ìý Status Quo Ìý
Ìý "I probably went about four or five years with a pair of stage jeans" Ìý
Ìý Gary Numan Ìý
Ìý "There are so many things in my past that you could make fun of." Ìý
Ìý McAlmont and Butler Ìý
Ìý "We were big enough to get over any-thing that may have been exchanged." Ìý
Ìý Primal Scream Ìý
Ìý "The producer at the time told us we'd never work again." Ìý
Ìý Oasis Ìý
Ìý "I prefer miming, I prefer if we weren’t playing live." Ìý


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