The Alarm

The Leadmill, Sheffield 02/02/03

The Alarm enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic in the mid-eighties only to break-up "due to artistic differences" (rock 'n' roll speak for in-fighting between band members, caused by road fatigue and squabbles over money). Mike Peters, the front man with the original band has spent a number of years working on solo projects only to emerged recently with a new five-piece version of The Alarm. The band played to a small audience of not much more than a hundred or so loyal fans at the Leadmill, Sheffield 02/02/03. A far cry from when the band played to crowds of 20,000 plus during their "Spirit of '86" tour in the U.S.A. during 1986.

Peters and the band have spent a huge amount of time writing new material and have produced the first recorded music in over ten years to carry the hallmark of The Alarm. "In The Poppy Fields" is a highly ambitious studio project that involves the recording of five separate albums comprising of over 50 new songs and released via the internet available exclusively at www.thealarm.com

Subscribers receive each album at monthly intervals before being invited to comment on the recordings and to take part in the creative process by voting for the best songs that will then appear on an album "In Poppy Fields" that will appear on general release later this year.

The band played a set close to two hours featuring new songs such as "Right Back Where I Started From", a song which tells of Peters feelings of going full circle with The Alarm and "The Drunk and The Disorderly", which Peters dedicates to the memory of the late Joe Strummer of The Clash. Plus older numbers such as "Spirit of '76", "Deeside", "Marching On", "Where Were You Hiding" and two classic Alarm anthems "Sixty-eight Guns" and "Blaze of Glory".

Based on the strength of this live performance Peters and The Alarm should enjoy further success and I await the outcome of the new album to be released with tracks chosen by fans via the internet.