It was with great sadness that I received the news of Mike Peters’ passing.

Mike was a North Wales lead singer (who maintained his North Wales home throughout), guitarist and writer who most famously lead the Alarm punk band in 1981. After the break-up of the band in 1991 Mike went solo in addition to playing with the supergroup Dead Men Walking, with Billy Duffy of The Cult in Coloursound, and taking a vocalist role with Big Country. In 2010 he also played with the Mescaleros to perform the songs of Joe Strummer.

The Alarm reformed in 1990 which is when I first met Mike and witnessed my initial band live performance. Each year Mike would hold The Gathering, a live show dedicated to The Alarm’s worldwide fans who would often book their places a year in advance (the 2026 event is already sold-out).

These were very special shows which combined vintage favourite songs with fresh material. They were an eye-opener for me…First the passion and skill of Mike and his bandmates and secondly the enthusiasm and love, yes love, of the fans. I have never witnessed a connection between artists and audience this strong.

I was blown away.

The Alarm IN THE POPPY FIELDS. 21st Century Recordings 2002

I make it a rule to not review and photograph an act more than once. With Mike I broke the rule and covered him in his various roles and performances over several years. His songs and performances were nothing less than compelling, made even more memorable by the rapt and genuine responses of his dedicated fans who had followed the band since its inception many years before.

Mike’s wife Jules was often close by at gigs and I could see how close they were. Jules also suffered from cancer at one point.

Mike was devoted to his North Wales roots with three local performances that underlined the point. The first was a solo performance at a tiny venue close to his home in Dyserth, North Wales. This was not about financial gain but the desire to play for his neighbours. The second performance was at Wrexham’s Glyndwr university (formerly N.E.W.I.). The event was entitled Alarmstock.

It’s unusual, and in my experience unique, for an artist to expose himself and his songs to weekend-long scrutiny by an audience. But this is precisely what happened here in Wrexham last weekend. Mike Peters (The Alarm) performed 132 of his own compositions during no less than eight separate acoustic sessions. Between each performance there were Alarm video shows, and special guest appearances by Californian singer/songwriter Brian Travers, and Scottish singer/songwriter JJ Gilmour from The Silencers. Peters’ final, dynamic performance on Sunday night was in the company of Bruce Watson from Big Country. Alarm fans from around the world attended the sell-out, twelve-hour marathon- some show, some artist!

Then the best Peters session of the weekend, entitled Pouring Petrol On Fire, when he performed many new Poppy Fields songs. It was during this session at the foyer stage that some of my personal favourites from the Poppy Fields series were played, including ‘The Normal Rules Do Not Apply’ and the incredible anthem for our times, ‘The Unexplained’. Peters informed the audience that the Poppy Fields series of five albums would shortly be distilled into one new album for general release later in 2003, and that the views of fans would be considered in selecting the songs, songs which reflected real life.

The final acoustic set of the day proved to be the most explosive when Bruce Watson from Scotland’s Big Country joined Peters. With acoustic guitars blazing and Peters giving his all in belting out Alarm and Big Country songs, the crowd visibly enjoyed a major highlight of this twelve-hour extravaganza.

The third event was held at The Catrin Finch Centre on the Glyndwr university campus in Wrexham. This was partly organised by our mutual friend JJ Haggar. This was a solo performance in front of around 300 dedicated fans in 2009 in a theatre space named after North Wales harp maestro Catrin Finch. It proved to be a prime example of a people’s musician with Mike playing requests and chatting with his audience. He genuinely seemed to relish the experience and performed with great passion.

This was the last time I saw Mike and it remains firmly in my memory. Mike was a true and genuine musician; charismatic and passionate. My favourite song was called ‘The Unexplained’ from his POPPY FIELDS series. I tried convincing him to release it as a single as it uniquely, in musical terms, describes the world we live in right now with climate, health, wars, extreme right wing poitics, and famine so prevelant, and seemingly unstoppable. It’s a song I often play and as I do I can picture Mike playing and connecting with the fans he loved.

Mike was a musician’s musician and gained respect around the world. I will miss him.

https://youtu.be/ytZZBAtgA9Q
https://thealarm.com/
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