Really sad to hear of the passing of The Alarm’s rather inspirational Mike Peters this morning. Mike Peters of The Alarm and quite a lot more of course, the last time we saw him was on a very emotional night celebrating Big Country and Stuart Adamson, Mike spent a short time as Big Country front man or should we say more as cheerleader for the celebration and the leading of the rest of us, that gig at Shepherds Busy Empire back in April 2011 was a highly charged emotional event made all the more so by the presence and the compassion of Mike Peters and his warmth, but that was the man, he didn’t impose himself he just brilliantly celebrated his friend with the rest of us. 

For more than three decades, Mike fought against cancer, in doing so he has been an inspiration, his positive attitude saw him continue his musical career against all odds, indeed the most recent music from The Alarm and the new album feels very strong, defiantly so, we said so on this pages a couple of months ago. Originally from Rhyl in North Wales (where I first encountered him in his Mod days), The Alarm were a positive force back there, they were always a positive force and hey, if you only ever heard one song, who doesn’t love the battle cry of 68 Guns (and both sides of that classic seven incher) 

Mike Peters lived with blood cancer for 30 years following a diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995 and later having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia twice, it was an ongoing battle and battle he did. He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer care, for once someone deserved a medal

Mike reportedly started his first band, The Toilets, in Rhyl in 1977 after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester and then a more serious band called Seventeen, who the early Stone Roses were reportedly big fans of back in their own Mod/Scooter days. He broke into the mainstream with The Alarm, a band who had the swagger of the Clash and that heart-on-the-sleeve power of both the rock and the roots music they loved, that blend of what they liked to call rebel rock, those acoustic guitars and big choruses saw them break through alongside bands like U2 and Big Country in the 80s. Over the decades and with various line-ups the band continued right up until late last year and this year’s new releases when the cancer reportedly got worse again. Mike continued his battle with a genuine defiance, with punk rock spirit, and yes as others have said, his journey through life and cancer has indeed been an inspiration.

Mike was born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, and lived in Dyserth with his wife of 39 years, Jules – who had fought her own cancer battle – and their sons Dylan and Evan. Our thoughts are with Mike’s family and Friends, what a defiant battle cry, thanks Mike. 

Here’s something from the new album…

And oh how he conducted us that night. I really do think that very special gig said so so much about the man.