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Clare Grogan | |
|---|---|
 Grogan performing with Altered Images in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1962-03-17)17 March 1962 (age 63) Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | Pop,rock,new wave |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Member of | Altered Images |
Claire Patricia Grogan (born 17 March 1962), known professionally asClare Grogan or sometimes asC. P. Grogan, is a Scottish actress and singer. She is best known as the lead singer of the 1980snew wave music groupAltered Images, as well as for supporting roles in the 1981 filmGregory's Girl and the science fiction sitcomRed Dwarf as the first incarnation ofKristine Kochanski.[1]
Born inGlasgow, Grogan and her two sisters all attended theNotre Dame Convent School.[2] Her mother was Irish and born in Dublin.[3]
Aged 17, while she was dancing at the Glasgow College of Technology, a fight broke out nearby between several patrons. Grogan attempted to head away from the violence but was injured by thrown broken glass, causing a deep facial wound and a prominent scar on the left side of her face. Grogan states her parents still find it hard to read about the incident. She began filmingGregory's Girl just three months after the incident.[4] In 1998, while she was working in a theatre atWatford, it was discovered that part of the glass was still in the facial tissue and had to be surgically removed.[5]
As a member of Scottish Youth Theatre, she was originally obliged to appear as "C. P. Grogan" because there was already a member ofEquity named Claire Grogan. (The other Claire Grogan went on to become a photographer.) She would later drop thei from her first name.[6]
Grogan played the part of Rita inEducating Rita at Dundee Repertory Theatre in 1987.[7]
In 1996, she played a fitness instructor on theEdinburgh Fringe in the playLady Macbeth Firmed My Buttocks.[8]
While working as awaitress at the Spaghetti Factoryrestaurant in Glasgow, she was spotted by film directorBill Forsyth.[9] This led to her breakthrough acting role in 1981'sGregory's Girl as Susan. Because of her facial wound there were objections from the producers, but Forsyth refused to recast the role and Grogan was filmed mostly in profile. When filmed in close up, makeup artists covered Grogan's scar with Derma wax.[10]
In 1984, she played Charlotte in Forsyth'sComfort and Joy. In 1985, she was the receptionist in theBBC Television version ofBlott on the Landscape. Grogan appeared in the second episode of the acclaimedThe Monocled Mutineer in 1986. She had a recurring role playingDave Lister's would-belove-interest,Kristine Kochanski, in series 1, 2 and 6 of the TV showRed Dwarf. However, she was later deemed too old for the role.[11] Grogan has also appeared inFather Ted (episode "Rock-a-Hula Ted") in a thinly veiled parody ofSinéad O'Connor[12] and inEastEnders asIan Beale's love interest,Ros Thorne (1997–1998).
In 1992, Grogan appeared as Mary Catto in series 8 episode 21 ofTaggart (again credited as C.P. Grogan).
She had the role of Maggie in a 1998 comedyJilting Joe, played an eye surgeon in a 2002 short filmBury It, appeared inDoctors in 2003, and performed anotherEdinburgh Fringe playForbidden in 2004, as Lily, married to a WW2 Nazi officer but falling in love with a young Jewish woman.[13]
In 2006, Grogan portrayed Sandra Reeves, a control-freak office manager, in the filmThe Penalty King[14] played Cathy in an episode ofSea of Souls, and May, Danny's mother, in the Scottish sit-comLegit. She appeared in the video forPeter Kay andMatt Lucas' charity single "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", recorded forComic Relief's Red Nose Day 2007, along with two TV filmsWedding Belles andForgiven.[15]
Grogan had a role in the 2011 TV seriesSkins as Shelley, mother ofMini McGuinness[16] and played Jenny Ferris in the Scottish gangster filmThe Wee Man in 2013.
She starred as Myriam in the 2017 filmDelirium,[17] filmed entirely atRoyal Holloway, University of London.
Grogan co-presented, alongsideGary Maclean,BBC Scotland'sCorner Shop Cook-Off.[18] The six episode series originally aired from 19 February to 25 March 2020.[19][20]
Grogan developed her singing career as the lead singer ofAltered Images, originally a five-piece band that includedJohnny McElhone (later of the Scottishrock bandTexas), whom she met while studying for herHighers exams. It became a four-person band with the departure of two members and the addition of Stephen Lironi, who played bothguitar anddrums. The band had several hits in the early 1980s, including "Happy Birthday", "Don't Talk to Me About Love", "I Could Be Happy" and "See Those Eyes". The group split up after the release of their third album,Bite (1983).
In 1984, Grogan made a cameo appearance in the music video to "Young at Heart" byThe Bluebells.
Grogan later attempted asolo career, but after hersingle "Love Bomb" failed to gain chart success in 1987, her albumTrash Mad was never released. Grogan formed Universal Love School in 1989 with Lironi, performing a series of gigs around the UK. However, it was short-lived and produced no hit singles. In 2000, she contributed vocals to the song "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano" onThe 6ths' albumHyacinths and Thistles. She recorded a version of "Angels with Dirty Faces" for theFrankie Miller tribute album. The track "Her Hooped Dream" appears onThe Ultimate Celtic Album.[21]
In 2002, Grogan performed as Altered Images on theHere and Now Tour which featured other well known artists from the 1980s. She performed on similar tours in 2005, 2008 and 2009. She appeared withChesney Hawkes,Toyah Willcox andLimahl as The 80s Supergroup in the 2011 series ofLet's Dance for Comic Relief.[22]
Grogan sometimes covers for radio presenters onBBC 6 Music.[citation needed]
Grogan appeared in Series 2, Episode 2 ofJohn Shuttleworth's Lounge Music onBBC Radio 4 on 27 November 2016.[23]
Clare Grogan is the inspiration for the song "True" bySpandau Ballet.[24]
Grogan began presenting shows onAbsolute Radio 80s from 11 September 2017, presenting Monday to Thursday 8-9pm and Sundays 7-9pm.[25]
In 2021, Grogan duetted with Sharleen Spiteri on the track "Look What You've Done", fromHi, the tenth album released by Johnny McElhone's band Texas.[26][27][28]
Grogan's first book was published in October 2008, a children's novel (aimed at age 7 and up) titledTallulah and the Teenstars, about a girl, Tallulah Gosh, who forms a pop band.[29]
In 2015, it was followed byTallulah On Tour.[30]
Tallulah Gosh was an alias Grogan thought of using at the start of her career because Equity had already registered a Claire Grogan and a more showbiz name might help her career, but Bill Forsyth persuaded her that she would come to regret it.[31]
The bandTalulah Gosh took their name from the headline of an interview with Grogan inNME.
Grogan married bandmate Stephen Lironi in Glasgow in 1994. They live inHaringey in north London, and adopted a daughter in 2005.[32]
| External videos | |
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 Clare Grogan talking about adoption for BAAF at YouTube. |
Media related toClare Grogan at Wikimedia Commons
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