The beginnings of The Alarm are rooted in the punk rock soundclash of 1977 when an impressionable Mike Peters began writing three minute blasts of electric noise on a beat up white guitar. The energy of the times has sustained Mike Peters ever since.

Formed by Mike Peters in 1981, the early Alarm sound featured a daring mix of amped up acoustic guitars, harmonica and passionate vocals that invited the enduring description “Bob Dylan meets The Clash”. This is the sound of The Alarm that has been heard around the world ever since with 17 Top 50 UK singles, a host of successful albums and over 5 million sales worldwide. (The Alarm's most recent chart success was ‘Superchannel’ (‘Under Attack’) which went top 30 in February 2006).

Another all together darker dimension was added to this ever evolving Alarm story when Mike Peters was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL), just before the release of ‘Under Attack’ in January 2006. Despite having to undertake a heavy schedule of chemotherapy, Mike Peters carried out all his duties as front man of The Alarm. In between monthly chemo sessions he played every show booked in the UK and even two tours of the USA including an emotional performance at The Joey Ramone Lymphoma Research Benefit Concert in New York City. Whilst in New York Mike Peters received the news his family and Alarm fans worldwide had been hoping for when he was declared to be in remission. BBC cameras had been allowed to capture Mike’s cancer battle from the beginning, and a powerful and revealing TV documentary ‘The Road To Recovery’ was broadcast in August 2006. Since then Mike Peters has formed his own cancer charity Love Hope Strength Foundation taking the fight against cancer to new heights including leading a team of musicians to 18,500 feet on Mt. Everest and breaking the record for the world’s highest concert on land.

In 2000 the modern line up of The Alarm came together with originator Mike Peters being joined by James Stevenson (Gen X) on guitar, bass guitarist Craig Adams (Sisters Of Mercy / The Mission) and Steve Grantley (Stiff Little Fingers) on drums.

Since then, this new version of The Alarm has continued to defy the odds, building a reputation for all out shows based on new and challenging music. The seeds for this Alarm renaissance were sown in 2004 when The Alarm released the controversial '45 R.P.M.’ under the pseudonym 'The Poppy Fields' which entered the UK charts at number 27 and immediately became the subject of an international news story. The furore centered around the fact that The Alarm's identity had been kept hidden from the media and instead a stand-in group of 18 year old musicians appeared in the video. '45 R.P.M.' was played throughout the UK and championed by unsuspecting DJ's and critics as the first release by a brand new band. It was only after the song entered the charts that The Alarm revealed the true identity of 'The Poppy Fields', thus causing a storm of worldwide media speculation. The band even featured on prime time America's CBS News with Dan Rather and the story has subsequently become the inspiration for a major motion picture which will be shot in the U.K. sometime in the future by 'Shrek ' producer, John H. Williams and British film director Sara Sugarman.

The Alarm scored a first chart success in the USA in 1983 with 'The Stand', before flying back from America to appear on their very first UK Top Of The Pops, notching up their first British chart hit with the rousing 'Sixty Eight Guns’. 'Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?' hit the Charts in early 1984 before the release of their debut LP, Declaration', which went Top Five UK on week of release.

The Alarm's second album, 'Strength' (the title track becoming The Alarm's first U.S. Top 40 hit) was released in 1985 and spawned Mike Peters' autobiographical 'Spirit of '76'. At this time, The Alarm also made history by playing the world's very first global satellite concert, the ‘Spirit of ‘86 Concert’ which was performed to an audience of 26,000 fans at UCLA in California and screened live around the world by MTV.

'Eye Of The Hurricane' (1987) sported the international hit, 'Rain In The Summertime' and series of world tours (including a critically acclaimed US outing with Bob Dylan), further enhanced The Alarm's reputation.

'Change', The Alarm's fourth album (1989), proved to be a hit on both sides of the Atlantic, with 'A New South Wales' reaching the UK Top 40 and 'Sold Me Down the River' becoming a U.S. Number 1 Rock Hit. The Alarm saw out the 1980’s in New York City were they were joined on stage by Neil Young to perform 'Rockin' In the Freeworld'.

'Raw' (their first record of the 1990's), was the last record to feature the original line-up of the band who played their final show at Brixton Academy in June 1991.
In 1992, The Alarm became one of the first bands to have a dedicated internet site www.thealarm.com and in that same year, founded The Gathering, an 'Alarm' event held in North Wales which now attracts fans from all over the world.

Mike Peters took a step back from the Alarm throughout the rest of the 1990’s beginning with the release of 'Breathe' in 1994 (which debuted at number 5 in the U.K. independent charts). The second album, 'Feel Free' (1996) documented Mike Peters' first battle with cancer (Non Hodgkins Lymphoma). Rejecting conventional treatment, Mike Peters went to see of a faith healer instead, and continued to tour. Upon being told that 'green' was a powerful colour in his life, Mike Peters wore green combat fatigues every day until he eventually went into remission in 1997.

Mike Peters celebrated his return to health with the release of the 'Rise' album which indirectly lead him into his musical relationship with current band members James Stevenson, Craig Adams and Steve Grantley.

In 2000, 'The Alarm Complete Collection’ box set was released to widespread critical acclaim. The collection brought together The Alarm’s entire 1980's musical output into a nine-CD box set, along with a bonus ‘audio dedication’ CD personally recorded by Mike Peters. Never before had such a gesture been undertaken by a recording artist.

To coincide with 'The Alarm Complete Collection' release, Mike Peters reconstituted The Alarm for some low key shows supporting 'Big Country' with a line up that featured Peters alongside original Alarm member Eddie Macdonald, current guitarist James Stevenson, bass player Craig Adams and drummer Steve Grantley. Headline shows were demanded and soon The Alarm was on the road again throughout 2000/2001 (although Macdonald decided not to continue).

Energised by the tour and accepted by the fans, the new four piece Alarm, released five ‘internet only’ brand new studio albums entitled 'In The Poppy Fields' (recorded in as many months from September ‘02 - January ‘03), and reintroduced themselves to America via 'The Alarm Make A Stand In The USA Tour.' Throughout the month of November, the members of The Alarm flew backwards and forwards across the continent as they fulfilled their engagement of playing sell out shows in the four major US cities of New York, Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles on a weekly basis. It was whilst the band were in New York that the seeds of the '45 R.P.M.' scandal was originated. On a rare night off, Mike Peters went to see American punk band 'Rancid' at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. At The Alarm show the next night, Mike Peters was talking from the stage about meeting Rancid (who are all self confessed Alarm fans), prior to playing ‘45 R.P.M.’ for the first time live. Some fans mistakenly thought the song had been written for The Alarm by Rancid guitarist -Tim Armstrong. This rumour persisted on the internet for months.

Upon their return in 2004, the band who had remade the best twelve tracks (as voted for by fans) from 'In The Poppy Fields' with producer Steve Brown (The Cult, Manic Street Preachers), released '45 R.P.M.' as a single under the pseudonym 'Poppy Fields', a chart act that made the whole world sit up and take notice of the band once again. 'In The Poppy Fields' was also the title of the album that followed. "IN THE POPPYFIELDS might well prove to be one of the best "comeback" records of the century-so-far". U.S. Goldmine.

Since the release of their 2006 album ‘Under Attack’ – the Alarm cut 'Counter Attack’ (another ambitious internet only Alarm project that saw the release of 6 mini albums and one album The Alarm throughout the latter half of 2007) providing the basis for the current release ‘Guerilla Tactics’. The Alarm are about to tour the USA from July 9th until August 2nd. In October Mike Peters will once again lead a team of musicians and cancer survivors on a historic Love Hope Strength Foundation fundraising trek to Macchu Picchu for Peru Rocks before The Alarm Make A Stand in The UK which is set for November 2008.

TBC….