A girl named Claire (or a variant of) from an 80's band

October 21, 2012 12:45 AM

30 years ago, next week, my daughter was born. I need a soundtrack for an early life slideshow I have made.

We named her after (I'm pretty sure it was the lead singer of a band) who had a hit single at the time. My daughter has asked why we named her so, and we have just said 'we liked the name of this singer and that we liked this song', but have forgotten the details. This was in Australia but it could have been an international hit too. I have searched the charts high and low and come up with nothing. If we can get a comprehensive list (not just the top 100) of Australian and international singles that were in the charts from say 1981 to 1982 (allowing for conception, birth and fanaticism), I'm pretty sure we could suss out who it was.
Bonus points for anyone that can provide a list of active bands from 1981 to 1982 that had a member with any variant of the name 'Claire'.

posted by unliteral to human relations (5 answers total)

Clare Grogan is a Scottish singer & actress who sang lead vocals in Altered Images. The band had a series of hits in the very early 80s - the most famous one being "Happy Birthday" (SLYTL)
posted by kariebookish at 1:19 AM on October 21, 2012

Right around 1980-1981 The B-52s were popular in Australia, and their self-titled debut had a song called "Planet Claire."
posted by GamblingBlues at 1:28 AM on October 21, 2012

Claire Whittaker was from Canamii who were being very '80s in the early 80s.

Claire Hamill was collaborating with Yes and Wishbone Ash in those days.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 5:35 AM on October 21, 2012

Here are the singles charts (not just #1s) from 1980. Seems like a pretty comprehensive site about Australian pop too might be worth browsing around or writing a question in to the proprietor.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:23 AM on October 21, 2012

Thanks kariebookish, she's the one. I have a happy birthday song for the slideshow now too!
posted by unliteral at 7:37 PM on October 21, 2012