Clare Grogan: 'Being in Altered Images earned me £75 a week'

She soared to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of an indie-pop band and starred in Bill Forsyth’s box-office hit Gregory’s Girl.

But Scottish actress and vocalist Clare Grogan has revealed at the height of her career she was earning just £75 a week.

The 62-year-old, from Glasgow, who also starred in BBC shows EastEnders and Red Dwarf, admits even now she gets ‘panicky’ when she thinks about her own financial future.

Ms Grogan is still touring with Altered Images

Since reviving Altered Images, Ms Grogan revealed her career is steadier now than during the band’s heyday. She said: ‘When Altered Images signed a record deal in the early 1980s for about £50,000 – which seemed a huge amount of money at the time – we couldn’t quite believe that anyone would pay that much.

‘We had hits as far away as Australia and Japan, but did we make any money? Not really. At the height of our success I was only being paid £75 a week.’

This was just £15 more than she made from tips in her first job as a waitress while at sixth-form college – and where she was headhunted by Bill Forsyth for the part of Susan in the romantic comedy Gregory’s Girl.

The singer in the 1980s

However, Ms Grogan, who now lives in London with her record producer husband Stephen Lironi, and their daughter, Elle, 19, says reforming Altered Images was one of the best decisions she made.

She said: ‘I’ve made a good steady living performing as Altered Images post-2000 – more than I ever did during the band’s Eighties heyday.’

Altered Images will play at retro music festival Let’s Rock across the UK this summer.

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