“Don’t Talk to Me About Love” (1983) – Altered Images * Written by Altered Images * Produced by Mike Chapman * LP: Bite * 45: “Don’t Talk to Me About Love” / “Last Goodbye” * Label: Epic (UK); Portrait (US) * Charts: UK #7
Altered Images’ development paralleled their target audience, starting with adolescent attitude (“Dead Pop Stars”), moving along to carefree teenage courtship (“See Those Eyes”), then winding up at the adult singles club (“Don’t Talk to Me About Love”). It’s clear that Mike Chapman, who produced half of their final album Bite, had a clearer conception of what to do with his Scottish pop ingredients—especially Claire Grogan’s novelty vocals and their anti-rockist guitars—than did Tony Visconti, who mishandled the rest. Few producers could work with disco as a utility like Chapman, as his output with Blondie confirms. Three songs from Bite, all Chapman’s, endure as charming mementoes. “Change of Heart” and “Another Lost Look” are two of them (listen to “Another Lost Look” on vinyl, not the CD, which uses a live version). The third is “Don’t Talk to Me About Love,” one of the era’s more sparkling demonstrations of disco’s ongoing hold on British new pop, taking all the non-rap virtues of “Rapture” and reshaping them into something both melancholy and lovely. The song’s disco elements, actually, signify fresh nostalgia, which tends to have an especially acute effect on the young adult.