- Come on down and meet your maker
Come on down and make the stand
— "The Stand"
The Alarm are a New Wave band from Rhyl, North Wales, formed in 1981 and fronted in all of its incarnations by Mike Peters. The band's sound is a combination of anthemic and political Rock with Celtic/Welsh and Folk influences, and they had several successful singles in the UK throughout The '80s.
The band's classic lineup included Peters on guitar and vocals, guitarist Dave Sharp, bassist Eddie Macdonald, and drummer Nigel Twist. The band broke up after their 1991 album Raw, with Peters announcing that he was leaving the band during a live performance at the Brixton Academy. However in 2004 Peters formed a new version of the Alarm, named "Alarm MM++" with the pluses filled in by the roman numerals for the current year, and they have continued to tour and record new material. The current lineup includes Peters, guitarist James Stevenson,note bassist Craig Adams,note keyboardist Mark Taylor, and drummer Steve Barnard.note
The classic lineup of the band also reformed for a one-off performance on VH1's Bands Reunited. The 2012 film Vinyl is based on Peters releasing the 2004 Alarm single "45 RPM" under the pseudonym The Poppy Fields.
Studio Discography
Original Lineup
- Declaration (1984)
- Strength (1985)
- Eye of the Hurricane (1987)
- Change (1989)
- Raw (1991)
Alarm MM++
- In the Poppyfields (2004)
- Under Attack (2006)
- Guerrilla Tactics (2008)
- Vinyl Soundtrack (2013)
Give me love, give me tropes:
- Album Intro Track: The title track of Declaration is a short intro for the album that transitions into "Marching On".
- Alternative Rock
- Careful with That Axe: The album version of "Sixty Eight Guns" ends its extended quiet passage with Peters screaming "I'm breaking UUUUUUP!!!".
- Death Song: "Third Light", about a young soldier getting killed by a sniper and then being buried and forgotten.
- The '80s
- Folk Music: One of the elements of their sound is Folk Rock, using acoustic guitars and strong politics.
- List Song: "Absolute Reality" is a list of things "you might be" or "you might have".
- New Wave Music
- Protest Song: Many of the songs on Declaration protest war.
- Rock
- Stage Names: Dave Sharp (David Kitchingman) and Nigel Twist (Nigel Buckle).
- Supergroup: Alarm MM++ is composed of musicians from various beloved Punk Rock, Post-Punk and New Wave bands from the 70s and 80s.
