July 1982, live version of I Could Be Happy on the shortlived French TV show called L'écho des Bananes -with Clare Grogan obviously fallen under the strange spell of Japan's Richard Barbieri.
The Martin Rushent produced Altered Images single, ‘I Could Be Happy’, is my favourite ever pop tune. The then seven inch vinyl and accompanying twelve inch (a stupendous reworking of the song), collided with a brand new me, helping that brand new me along (oh, such a gloriously self-excavating time). Here it is live and while perhaps a li’l nu-wavier on itself, it still does to me, that indefinable wonderful thing it always did. Clare’s vocal’s different to the recording, slightly spiker, more in tune with the fun lovin’, malevolent pixie child/woman, she’d so stunningly live performance visualise. There’s an unreachable rare and piquantly pointed wickedness in Grogan’s ‘supposed’, happy-go-lucky girly-gooness… I think she’s anarcho-playing her own game. Adore beyond mere adoration. This song and its offbeat odd yet profoundly intoxicating interpretations, mean the absolute world to me. Gx
