Synopsis

Altered Images perform "Happy Birthday" amid a surreal birthday-party setting assembled around singer Clare Grogan. The clip combines band performance with colorful close-ups, playful gestures, exaggerated dancing, party decorations, and a large birthday cake. Grogan's energetic presence gives the video a deliberately childlike but slightly odd atmosphere, matching the song's repetitive lyrics and restless new wave arrangement. The final effect is less a conventional narrative than a bright, theatrical birthday tableau shaped by early-1980s pop style.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in 1981 to promote the title track from Altered Images' debut album, also called "Happy Birthday."

• The party table and cake arrangement echo the visual concept used for the album's artwork, making the clip an extension of the record's packaging.

• The song was the band's breakthrough hit, reaching No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart in October 1981 and remaining there for three weeks.

• Martin Rushent produced the track, making it the only song on the album produced by him. He was also working with the Human League during the same period.

• Clare Grogan's animated performance became central to the band's early image. Her deliberately youthful styling and eccentric movements helped distinguish Altered Images from more conventional pop acts of the period.

• Grogan had recently attracted attention as an actress in the 1980 Scottish film "Gregory's Girl," adding to the band's visibility when "Happy Birthday" became a hit.

• The official video is often remembered for its combination of bright party imagery, New Romantic-era fashion, and deliberately awkward choreography rather than for a conventional storyline.