Singer and screen star is lounging on the sofa of her London home when P.S calls. “I’m looking at outfits online,” she laughs, adding with comic flourish: “A very busy day – hectic, I tell you, hectic!” Two years ago, at 60, she landed Scotland’s Living Legend award.
But the Glasgow born and bred mum of one – who shot to fame straight out of school, starring in the movie Gregory’s Girl and fronting chart-topping band Altered Images – is clearly not one for taking herself too seriously. For Clare – who with husband Stephen Lironi, formerly the band’s songwriter, owns three London restaurants – nothing is off the style menu. “I sometimes think, ‘Clare you can’t wear that’, and then I realise I can do anything I want,” she grins.
She’ll be performing with Altered Images at the Rewind Scotland Festival that kicks off at Scone Palace, Perth, on Friday, followed by a string of further appearances throughout the summer, culminating in the band’s October tour to mark the 40th anniversary of its hit album Bite. Together they have shared global success, selling millions of records which topped the charts in the UK and overseas, recording three Top 10 albums, and landing six UK Top 40 hits. ‘Rewind is all about the big bangers’ Clare – who also has appeared in a string of TV shows and movies like Taggart, EastEnders, Red Dwarf and, most recently, Bafta-award-winning My Old School, alongside Alan Cumming and Lulu – will give the Rewind crow.