The Alarm

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Rhyl, Wales (1978 – 1991, 2001 – present)

The Alarm is an band which formed in 1978 in Rhyl, Wales. For most of their career the band consisted of Mike Peters (vocals, guitar), Dave Sharp (guitar), Eddie Macdonald (bass) and Nigel Twist (drums). The band split in 1991, but reunited in 2001.

The band began in 1978 in the North-Wales town of Rhyl, under the name of ‘Seventeen’. Its 4 members were Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald and Nigel Twist. They knocked around the music scene for a while with little success and reformed as ‘Alarm Alarm’ (taken from one of Seventeen’s songs) in 1981. Then revered BBC DJ John Peel compared them to Duran Duran and Talk Talk and they quickly changed their name to ‘The Alarm’. With the change of their name, came a change of location. The Alarm moved to London and shared a small flat in the city to save money for their first single, ‘Unsafe Building’ b/w ‘Up For Murder’. They came to the attention of U2 in ‘82 and toured with them as their support band (they frequently reprised that role). In 1983, ‘Sixty-eight Guns’ was released. It became their biggest hit, propelling them to #17 in the charts, and they appeared on Top of The Pops for the first and last time. Throughout the decade, the band made more albums, including ‘Strength’ and ‘Eye Of The Hurricane’; but by the late 80’s The Alarm had begun to drift apart, with Dave Sharp feeling isolated and left out of the song writing process. The relationships within the band were deteriorating. Their last album, ‘Raw’, was fragmented and the group were breaking apart. On June 30th 1991 at the Brixton Academy, Mike Peters announced on stage that he was leaving ‘The Alarm’ without telling the rest of the band. And thus The Alarm ended.
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  • glsjawtomatica

    This is what U2 would sound like if U2 didn't suck.

    14 Aug 2012 Reply

  • thetrogg

    alternative rock before the term was coined

    12 Jul 2012 Reply

  • A-Orlando

    They could become a great band but failed to make the jump from the trampoline.I do not remember or did not understand what made them lose the success.

    31 Mar 2012 Reply

  • prominence_la

    U2? That's just silly. Reminds me more of the Skids or New Model Army. Solid band, with plenty of gusto.

    21 Jan 2012 Reply

  • Jpnylonmag

    Hate the U2 comparisons, these guys are sooo much better! (2)

    4 Oct 2011 Reply

  • BadKittyRocks

    <3 LIFE IZ CRUEL & SO UNKIND <3 OH OH <3 WHERE'S IT GONE <3 THE SPIRIT OF '76 <3

    29 Jul 2011 Reply

  • trad-goth

    The eye of the Hurricane is one hell of a fine album the best thing to come out of rhyl (wales) ever :P

    30 May 2011 Reply

  • KurtBell

    These lot were funking great last night in Whitehaven!

    27 May 2011 Reply

  • Mod7Psyche

    they are't german.from wales,metal,punk.

    26 Dec 2010 Reply

  • diezeitgeist

    It still eludes me how few plays this band has...

    10 Jun 2010 Reply

  • jfon605

    "Guilty pleasures"? It really is unbelievable how nearly every 80s pop/rock band winds up with this tag. I have to wonder what these pretentious morons listen to that they consider more so much more "legitimate" in comparison.

    3 Jun 2010 Reply

  • MajorTomNbg

    Very british, sorry very goody welsh. Great Band.

    20 Jan 2010 Reply

  • IonaEnglish

    my mum dated David for god ages lol, didn't think i'd find them on here

    17 Nov 2009 Reply

  • ashdinosaur

    Mike Peters is a really lovely guy :)

    18 Oct 2009 Reply

  • inmate1571

    Saw them in '84' when i was 15 travelled to Rhyl from Birmingham and they put on a great show, always puzzles me how many great tunes they've had but how underrated they still are.

    8 Jun 2009 Reply

  • niall2910

    Best Alarm song ' Absolute Reality ' & maybe The Rock .

    9 May 2009 Reply

  • queenie_sweet

    iiii met mike peters in november <3 it was a week before my birthday and i was loving it! what a nice guy. love the alarm, best band to ever come out of wales lol.

    28 Apr 2009 Reply

  • briantravis

    Great effing group here!

    16 Apr 2009 Reply

  • Richey_James

    Post-Punk Society

    22 Jan 2009 Reply

  • Ross20

    Great guys and outstanding music. Worked on the Spirit of 76 video shot in the royal court theatre and around Liverpool they were so nice and they helped me get a job as a runner with the film crew which ened up as me now bieng a 1st assistnat director in films and tv oh and redeye and simon got me so drunk on free ale down at mcmillians arrgg good days.

    29 Dec 2008 Reply
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