Welsh vocalist band was a big hit in the 1980s with “Sixty Eight Guns”, “Strength” and “Rain in the Summertime”
Mike Petersvocalist of the band Galesa de New Wave The alarm – Most remembered for the hits of the 1980s “Sixty Eight Guns”, “Strength” and “Rain in the Summertime” -, died last Tuesday, 29, after a long battle against cancer. He was 66 years old.
The Alarm was often compared to U2since the two bands formed a strong friendship in the early 1980s, and The Alarm opened U2 shows on the tour Warin 1983. Despite the clear similarities between the vocal styles of Bono And Peters, The Alarm’s song was less epic and focused more on guitars.
“When we started, we tried some of the songs on the guitar, but they didn’t sound as well as they sounded when we made them on the guitar,” said Peters a Jim Henkefrom the Rolling Stonein 1983. “So we thought, ‘Let’s touch them on the instrument where they were composed.’ And we gradually adapted the guitar-which is a very personal instrument, with a full-bodied sound when touched to one person-to make him sound great to any number of people who came to see the band.”
Peters grew up in the remote Gallery City of Rhyl. Met your future bandmates from The Alarm, Nigel Twist and Dave Sharpstill in childhood, and together they dreamed of being successful as musicians. Their lives changed forever on September 13, 1976, when they traveled to Chester, England, to see the Sex pistols in a club called Quintways.
“Their attitude was amazing”said Peters to Jimmy GUTERMANfrom the Rolling Stonein 1988. “Music hit me deeply in a way I didn’t understand. I felt like exploding … Even if the Sex Pistols became a joke later, I think most people who saw them saw potential.”
After the show, Peters and his childhood friends formed a punk group called The Toiletswhich later was called Seventeen – In honor of the music of the Sex Pistols. After a few years battling the punk circuit without much result, they changed their names again in 1981. The Alarm was born, which released their first single, “Unsafe Building”gaining attention in England and then a contract with the label IRS
Bono became one of the first fans of The Alarm. “There are so many artists who talk about wanting to avoid clichés in music, but rarely avoid them in their lifestyles”told the U2 vocalist to Rolling Stone in 1983. “But the alarm is not so. There is a new mindset about rock. It doesn’t matter that they play guitars. What matters is who they are. When an amazing song is done, there are usually amazing people behind it, and The Alarm are amazing people.”
The tour War The United States, 1983, presented The Alarm to the public from all over the country and boosted sales of his debut album Declaration (1984). They kept a large audience in England during the rest of the 1980s, gaining hits on the charts as “Where Were You Hiding when the Storm Broke?” and “A New South Wales”But mainstream success in the United States was more difficult.
However, they opened shows for Bob Dylan In a series of presentations in the United States in 1988. On two occasions, Peters was called on stage to do a duet with Dylan in “Knockin ‘on Heaven’s Door”.
The Alarm broke into 1991. Three years later, Peters released his debut solo album, Breathe. The album could not reach a large audience. And in 1996, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. He had a complete recovery, but would fight cancer intermittently during the remaining three decades of his life.
Peters began performing shows like The Alarm with a new group of support musicians in the early 2000s, but the original members only met again when the VH1 program Bands Reunited They pressed them in 2005. The meeting lasted only the time required to film the episode.
In 2011, Peters became the singer of Big countryScottish Band of New Wave, replacing the original vocalist Stuart Adamsonwho died in 2001. The incarnation of Big Country led by Peters lasted only two years. In the following years, Peters has become a regular presence in the series of charity shows Light of Day In New Jersey, which gave him several opportunities to share the stage – and sometimes even a single microphone – with Bruce Springsteen.
Three years ago, Peters announced that his leukemia had returned. “I’m still alive and living, with a family incredibly close around me,” He wrote in a letter to the fans. “I also know that I can count on the strength and power of the Alarm community, who cares about me personally, just as it cares about the words, music and everything that unites us through this unique union … I can still sing, play guitar and compose music, and I’m grateful for all the simple things in life that keeps me on.”
+++ Read more: Paul McCartney revives the Wings Age in a book with unpublished photos and backstage
+++ Read more: Kevin Bacon sings ‘Footloose’ live 40 years after the release of the classic movie
+++ Read more: Why isn’t New Order yet on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
