The Alarm

For the 1914 film starring Fatty Arbuckle, see The Alarm (film).

The Alarm
The Alarm, 1984.
Background information
Also known as	Alarm Alarm
Origin	Rhyl, Wales and Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, New Wave
Years active	1981–1991; 2001–present
Labels	I.R.S. Records Liberty Records
Associated acts	The Toilets Seventeen
Website	http://www.thealarm.com

The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular alternative rock band of the 1980s, retaining a small but loyal following to the present day.

Allmusic journalist Steve Huey states

The British music press habitually savaged their records as derivative and pretentious, but this meant little to their zealous following, who supported the band to the tune of over 5 million sales worldwide and 16 Top 50 UK singles.^[1]

Band members

• Mike Peters: Vocals, guitars, harmonica - born Michael L Peters, 25 February 1959, Prestatyn, Wales.^[2]
• Dave Sharp: Guitars - Born David Kitchingman, 28 January 1959, Salford, England.^[3]
• Eddie Macdonald: Bass - born 1 November 1959, St Asaph, Wales.^[3]
• Nigel Twist: Drums - born Nigel Buckle, 18 July 1958, Manchester, England.^[3]

Early years

A punk band was formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1977, billed as The Toilets.^[3] It contained Peters, Sharp, Macdonald and Twist, and in 1978 their name was changed to Seventeen.^[3] Seventeen were a mod band who released a single ("Don't Let Go" / "Bank Holiday Weekend") in March 1980 ^[3] and toured with the Stray Cats that year. They played their last concert together under the new name of Alarm Alarm, but this would also be the last time this name was used.

The band soon reformed under the new name of The Alarm and played their first gig at The Victoria Hotel, Prestatyn, North Wales on 10 June 1981, opening with "Shout to the Devil", which would later appear on the Declaration LP.

They moved from North Wales to London in September 1981, and the band recorded a one-off 7" single. One thousand copies were pressed that month, featuring "Unsafe Building" on the 'electric' side and "Up For Murder" on the 'acoustic' side.^[3] The single was noticed by Mick Mercer, who featured it as his single of the month in his ZigZag magazine. The band played a show with The Fall in December 1981, where a journalist from Sounds noticed them. This journalist attended the band's next show, at Upstairs at Ronnie's in London's West End. Also at this show was a representative of Wasted Talent, who arranged a meeting between the band and Ian Wilson, U2's agent. Wilson arranged another show in order to assess the band's quality, was impressed, and became the band's manager soon after. To celebrate, The Alarm played with U2 at the Lyceum Ballroom on 22 December 1981.

In 1982, the band began to record demos for various record labels, but had little success. At this point, they were playing with three acoustic guitarists. The band were eventually offered a deal by I.R.S. Records.^[1] This forced them to make a decision on who was to play which musical instrument, and it was decided that Peters would concentrate on singing, with Sharp on guitar and Macdonald playing bass.^[1]

"Marching On" was released as a single in October 1982,^[3] and the band's sound started to become clear. On stage, they would almost always begin gigs acoustically, before finishing with electric guitars. Constant gigging in London helped the band build up a following, and in December 1982, they played four shows with U2. These shows were the first time that Bono joined The Alarm on stage.

A new song, "The Stand", was recorded in Battersea in April 1983, and was released in the UK as a single.^[3] The song's lyrics were inspired by Stephen King's novel of the same name.^[1] Outside the UK, the song was released as part of a five-track EP, entitled The Alarm.^[3] The EP was released to coincide with The Alarm's first tour of the U.S. in June 1983. Following the success of the sessions that produced "The Stand", I.R.S. picked up their recording option on the band, signalling the start of work on a full album. Another session with producer Mick Glossop was arranged to produce a new single, with "Blaze of Glory" recorded and released.

In June 1983, The Alarm embarked on their first tour of the U.S., supporting U2 on the War Tour.^[1] The 18-date tour went a long way in establishing the band in the U.S. "The Stand" was quickly released by I.R.S. to capitalise on this, supported by TV appearances on The Cutting Edge and American Bandstand.

Following the tour, the band returned to the UK to begin working with producer Alan Shacklock on the new album. They focused on re-recording "Blaze of Glory" and "68 Guns". After the sessions, the band recorded a video for "68 Guns" and flew back to America to begin their first headline American tour. "68 Guns" was released as a single on 12 September 1983, and charted the following week at number 50. The same week, the band performed the song on the BBC Television music show Top of the Pops. The song subsequently climbed into the Top 20 and remains their highest charting single, peaking at #17.

Mid career

The band had been recording the new album from July 1983, and by the time of the Top of the Pops appearance they had recorded the backing tracks to most of the songs. After completing a US tour and a headline tour of the UK in late 1983, the band returned to the studio to record the backing tracks for the rest of the songs.

On 6 November 1983, the band recorded an acoustic radio session for the BBC. This session saw the debut of three brand new songs: "Walk Forever by My Side", "One Step Closer to Home" and "Unbreak the Promise".

On 7 November, the band returned to the recording studio to finish recording the album, now titled Declaration. In December, The Alarm returned to the US for a third headline tour. The weather was atrocious, and on 6 December, the car in which the band was travelling crashed, although none of the four members was injured. They returned to the UK on 17 December and appeared as part of an Anti-Nuclear Benefit Concert at the Apollo Theatre, London.

Whilst the band had been in the US, Alan Shacklock and sound engineer Chris Porter finished mixing the album. The band played a handful of gigs supporting The Police over Christmas, and by 5 January 1984, the album had been mixed and finalised. Declaration was released by I.R.S. Records on 14 February 1984.^[3] A week later, the album entered the UK Albums Chart at Number 6.^[4]

In November 1984, The Alarm recorded demos of nine brand new songs, including "Absolute Reality". They played their new material to the American producer Jimmy Iovine, who agreed to come to the UK in January 1985 to begin work on the follow-up to Declaration. During this period Peters appeared solo at a number of events, including the Greenbelt Arts festival in Northamptonshire, playing Alarm material as well as some unrecorded personal songs. Studio sessions were booked for early 1985, and a UK headline tour was booked for May 1985, to coincide with the release of the new album. However, Iovine never came to the UK to work with The Alarm, eventually citing personal reasons. The band had to cancel the sessions and look for another producer. Alan Shacklock was unavailable, so Ian Wilson (the band's manager) convinced I.R.S. to release the Shacklock-produced "Absolute Reality" as a single to promote the UK dates in May. "Absolute Reality" was released on 18 February 1985, entering the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart a week later.^[4] The Absolute Tour was a near sell-out. After a series of appearances at European festivals and a new producer (Mike Howlett), The Alarm began work on their follow-up album, Strength.^[2] The band teamed up with MTV, I.R.S. Records, and UCLA's Campus Events to present one of the first live satellite broadcasts from UCLA on 12 April 1986. Approximately 25,000 fans turned out for the free concert.On 12 July 1986 they played at Queen's Live at Wembley '86 concert.

Strength was another UK success, and brought them into the Top 40 of the US Billboard 200 album chart for the first time; additionally, the single "Spirit of '76" was a Top 40 UK hit.^[1] The Alarm took a break after the supporting tour, but returned in 1987 with Eye of the Hurricane and landed a tour slot supporting Bob Dylan.^[1] A concert EP, Electric Folklore Live, followed in 1988.^[1] They also had a hit single in the UK in 1987 with "Rain in the Summertime" (from Eye of the Hurricane), which gave them their second best placing on the UK chart.^[4]

Later years

The band toured extensively through the United States and Europe through the 1980s into 1991. They gained much popularity in 1983 when they were the opening act for U2, a band to whom they were often compared musically.^[2] On 13 March 1988, The Alarm performed at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California with The 77s and House of Freaks.

1989's Change was an homage to the group's native Wales, and was accompanied by an alternate Welsh language version, Newid.^[1] Produced by Tony Visconti, Change spawned the group's biggest Modern Rock hit in America, "Sold Me Down the River," which also put them in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Top 50 for the first and only time.^[1] "Devolution Working Man Blues" and "Love Don't Come Easy" also earned radio airplay, and the track "A New South Wales" boasted an appearance by the Welsh Symphony Orchestra and the Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir.^[1] Although it was popular in Wales, it did not sell as well as the group's earlier works, and internal band dissension, exacerbated by deaths in both Peters' and Twist's families, made 1991's Raw the original Alarm's final effort.^[1]

After the release of their final album Raw in 1991, despite their success and relative longevity, Peters announced on stage at the Brixton Academy that he was leaving the band.^[2]

“

We've shared some great moments in time over the last ten years and tonight I would like to thank all the people who have supported me from the beginning to the end. Tonight this is my last moment with the Alarm, I'm going out in a Blaze of Glory - my hands are held up high.[5]

”

This came as much of a shock to his colleagues as to the audience. Following this show Peters signed his legal right to one quarter of The Alarm name and logo over to the other three. Peters and Sharp both embarked on solo careers.^[1]

Post Brixton Academy

Post Alarm Peters teamed up with a band of unknown musicians to form The Poets Of Justice (which included his wife Jules Peters on keyboards ) and embark on a solo career which produced a number of singles and albums. In 2000 The Alarm released a complete collection covering all recorded material by the band. It also included sleeve notes to which all four members had contributed. This was the first project where all four original members had contributed since Peters left the band in 1991.

Following the box set release, Peters used The Alarm name on the tour to promote the complete collection release. The musicians Peters used were his backing band in the late 1990s; Steve Grantley from Stiff Little Fingers, Craig Adams from The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and The Cult, and James Stevenson from Chelsea and Gene Loves Jezebel. The Alarm name was followed by an MM++ that indicated in Roman numerals what year the record was released. Over the past decade Peters has replaced the band members as needed when Adams, Stevenson or Grantley have pursued other projects.

In February 2004, Peters' new line-up of Alarm MM++ carried out a hoax on the British music industry by issuing "45 RPM" under the fictitious name the Poppy Fields. Peters, having garnered positive feedback for the song, decided to disassociate it from his veteran band to have it judged on its own merits, and recruited a young Welsh group called the Wayriders to lip-sync the song in the video.^[1] The so-called Poppy Fields took "45 RPM" into the UK Top 30 before the hoax was revealed, setting the stage for the album, In the Poppy Fields.

The Alarm appeared together for a one off show on the VH1 television programme, Bands Reunited, in 2005, and performed live in London with a subsequent expanded DVD/CD release of the episode.

In 2005, Peters discovered that he was suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.[4] At this time, Peters started a cancer foundation called Love Hope Strength to help with the fight against cancer.

In October 2007, Peters, along with 38 other musicians, cancer survivors and supporters, made a 14 day trek to the Mount Everest base camp to perform the highest concert ever on land to raise awareness and money to fight cancer. Other musicians included Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram of The Fixx, Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, Slim Jim Phantom of The Stray Cats and Nick Harper. Peters is the co-founder of The Love Hope and Strength Foundation with James Chippendale, president of CSI Entertainment in Dallas, Texas.

In 2006 Mike Peter's new version of Alarm MM++ released a second studio album, Under Attack. It spawned another UK Top 30 hit, "Superchannel". Im 2008, a third studio album entitled Guerrilla Tactics was released, followed by a fourth, Direct Action, in April 2010.

The Alarm's song, "68 Guns", has been featured in a Heineken television advertisement in the US. In April 2008 Sharp launched his own version of the band, AOR - Spirit of The Alarm to showcase the band's American set lists from the late 1980s.

Historical significance

Historian Martin Johnes has argued that the band are part of the contemporary history of Wales. His case is based on how The Alarm reflected cultural trends within Wales and the band are discussed in his book Wales since 1939 (2012) and in an article for current affairs website WalesHome.

Discography

Albums

Release Date	Album	Record Label	UK Albums Chart[4]	U.S. Billboard 200 Chart[6]
July 1983	The Alarm (EP)	I.R.S. Records	-	126
February 1984	Declaration		6	50
October 1985	Strength		18	39
November 1987	Eye of the Hurricane		23	77
November 1988	Electric Folklore Live		62	167
1988	Compact Hits	A&M Records	-	-
September 1989	Change ¥	I.R.S. Records	13	75
November 1990	Standards		47	177
April 1991	Raw ¥¥		33	161
2001	Eponymous 1981-1983 ¢	21st Century	-	-
	Declaration 1984-1985 ¢		-	-
	Strength 1985-1986 ¢		-	-
	Eye of the Hurricane 1987-1988 ¢		-	-
	Electric Folklore Live 1987-1988 ¢		-	-
	Change 1989-1990 ¢		-	-
	Raw 1990-1991 ¢		-	-
21 Sept 2002	Close≠		-	-
October 2002	The Normal Rules do not Apply≠		-	-
17 Dec 2002	Trafficking≠		-	-
17 Dec 2002	Edward Henry Street≠		-	-
January 2003	Coming Home≠		-	-
15 Jan 2003	Live at Hammersmith Palais 1984		-	-
23 June 2003	The Alarm EP - 20th Anniversary Collectors Edition		-	-
17 Jul 2003	Live at Glasgow Garage =		-	-
	Live at Liverpool Masque Theatre =		-	-
	Live at London Mean Fiddler=		-	-
19 Oct 2003	The Sound and the Fury =	Shakedown Records	-	-
2004	In the Poppyfields#	Snapper Music	107	-
	Live In the Poppyfields#		-	-
2005	Alt-Strength	21st Century	-	-
2006	Under Attack $	Liberty	138	-
	The Best of The Alarm and Mike Peters	EMI	-	-
	Alarm MMV - The Saturday Gigs $	21st Century	-	-
2007	The Collection ^	EMI Gold	-	-
July 2007	Three Sevens Clash ฿	21st Century	-	-
August 2007	Fightback ฿		-	-
September 2007	This is not a Test ฿		-	-
October 2007	Situation Under Control ฿		-	-
November 2007	Call to Action ฿		-	-
December 2007	1983/84 ฿		-	-
January 2008	Counter Attack ฿		-	-
2008	Guerilla Tactics ¤		-	-
	The Alarm - BBC Radio Sessions 1983-1991		-	-
April 2010	Direct Action °		-	-

^[3]

¥ - also released in a Welsh language version as Newid^[2]
¥¥ - also released in a Welsh language version as Tân
¢ - Digital re-mastered release including bonus tracks and demos
≠ - Part of the "In the Poppyfields" bond (4 albums + bonus album) Released as Alarm MMII
= - Released as Alarm MMIII

1. - Released as Alarm MMIV

฿ - Part of Counter Attack Collective Released as Alarm MMVII and Alarm MMVIII
$ - Released as Alarm MMVI
¤ - Released as Alarm MMVIII
° - Released as Alarm MMX
^ - A collection of songs by The Alarm and Alarm MM++

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions				Album
		U.S. Billboard Hot 100[7]	U.S. Mainstream Rock[7]	U.S. Modern Rock[7]	UK Singles Chart[4][8][9]
1981	"Unsafe Building" / "Up for Murder"	-	-	-	-	Non-album single
1983	"The Stand" / "Third Light (Live) / Reason 41 (Live)"	-	-	-	86	Declaration
	"Marching On" / "Across the Border" / "Lie of the Land"	-	-	-	-
	"68 Guns" / "68 Guns Part II" / "Thoughts of a Young Man"	106	39	-	17
1984	"Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?" / "Pavilion Steps" / "What Kind of Hell"	-	-	-	22
	"The Deceiver" / "Reason 41" / "Second Generation"	104	-	-	51
	"The Chant Has Just Begun" / "The Bells of Rhymney" / "The Stand" (Full version) / "Bound for Glory / "The Chant Has Just Begun " (Extended Re-mix)	-	-	-	48	Non-album single
1985	"Absolute Reality" / "Blaze of Glory" (Alternate version)/ "Reason 36" / "Room at the Top"	-	-	-	35	Strength
	"Strength" / "Majority" / " Absolute Reality (Impromptu acoustic version) / "Strength" (Power Mix)	61	12	-	40
1986	"Spirit of '76" / "Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke" (Live) / "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Live) / "Deeside" (Live) / "68 Guns" (Live)	-	29	-	22
	"Knife Edge" / "Caroline Isenberg" / "Unbreak the Promise" (BBC Acoustic session) / "Howling Wind" (BBC Acoustic session)	-	-	-	43
1987	"Rain in the Summertime" / "Rose Beyond the Wall" / "The Bells of Rhymney" (Live) / "Time to Believe" / "Rain in the Summertime" (Through the Haze and Lighting Mixes)	71	6	-	18	Eye of the Hurricane
	"Rescue Me" / "Pastures of Plenty" / "Elders and Folklore" / "My Land Your Land" / "Rescue Me (Tearing Bonds Asunder Mix)	-	35	-	48
1988	"Presence of Love" / "Strength" (Live) / "Dawn Chorus" (Live) / "Knife Edge" (Live) / "Rain in the Summertime" (Through the Haze mix)	77	16	-	44
1989	"Sold Me Down the River" / "Corridors of Power" / "Firing Line" / "Yn Cymraeg"	50	2	3	43	Change
	"A New South Wales" † / "The Rock" (double A-side)/ "Breaking Point" / "Rivers to Cross" / "Working Class Hero" / "Vigilante Man"	-	-	-	31
	"Devolution Workin' Man Blues"	-	9	11	Not released in the UK
1990	"Love Don't Come Easy" / "Croesi'r Arfon" / "No Frontiers" (Live) / "Change II" (Live)	-	33	-	48
	"Unsafe Building 1990" / "Up for Murder 1990" / "Unsafe Building 1981" / "Up for Murder 1981"	-	-	-	54	Standards
	"The Road"	-	16	7	Not released in the UK
1991	"Raw" / "68 Guns" / "Devolution Work'n Man Blues" (Demo) / "Sold me down the river" / "Change I"	-	-	15	51	Raw
2004	45 R.P.M." ‡ / "Conscientious Objector" / "68 Guns" / "Spirit of '76" / "Statue of Liberty"	-	-	-	28	In the Poppy Fields #
	"New Home New Life" # / "Better Scream" / "Chance " / "The Cross"	-	-	-	45
	"Close" # (Digital only single)	-	-	-	-
2006	"Superchannel" $ / "Think Again (Everything you know is wrong)" / "Exit (No way out)" / "Over" / "Thought Police"	-	-	-	24	Under Attack $
	"Raindown" $ (Digital only single) / "This is the way we are" (acoustic)	-	-	-	-

^[3]
† "A New South Wales" featured the Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir
‡ Released as The Poppy Fields / Alarm MMIV

1. Released as Alarm MMIV

$ Released as Alarm MMVI

Filmography

Videos

Title	Release date
Spirit of 76	1986
Change EP	1990
Standards
Blaze of Glory	1991

DVDs

Title	Release date
Greatest Hits Live §	2000
VH-1 Bands Reunited Uncut	2003
Live in the Poppyfields ‡	27 Sept 2004
Rock and Roll Circus ‡	2004
Spirit of '76	2007
Gathering 2007 ¶
Tactical Response ±	2008

§ Released as The Alarm MM
‡ Released as The Alarm MMIV
¶ Released as The Alarm MMVII
± Released as The Alarm MMVIII

See also

• List of New Wave bands and artists
• List of post-punk bands
• List of artists featured on MTV Unplugged
• List of Welsh bands
• List of performers on Top of the Pops
• Mike Peters (musician)

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} "Biography by Steve Huey". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3517/biography. Retrieved 25 April 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Biography by Sonya Shelton". Musicianguide.com. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608001543/Alarm-The.html. Retrieved 24 April 2009. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 12/13. ISBN 1-84195-017-3. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 17/18. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
5. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Allmusic ((( The Alarm > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3517/charts-awards/billboard-albums. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} "Allmusic ((( The Alarm > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p3517/charts-awards/billboard-singles. 
8. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 432. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
9. ^ "accessed April 2009". Everyhit.com. http://www.everyhit.com/searchsec.php. Retrieved 2011-08-08. 

External links

• Mike Peters official website
• AOR official website
• The Gathering website
• The Alarm biography on BBC Wales
• The Alarm biography at Allmusic.com
• Live concert recording of The Alarm at the Metro in MA on 29 May 1983