Emerging in the post-punk era at the start of the 1980s, the Welsh rock group the Alarm came to embody an almost evangelical belief in the power of rock’n’roll that won them hordes of devoted fans around the world. Mike Peters, who has died aged 66 from blood cancer, was a tireless and inspiring frontman and songwriter for the group, always ready to expound the virtues of faith, belief and perseverance.
The group’s concert performances were ecstatic communal celebrations between band and audience, especially in songs such as the anthemic Blaze of Glory or the Clash-like air-puncher Sixty Eight Guns (1983). At MTV’s Spirit of ’86 concert, the Alarm played to 25,000 fans at UCLA in California in a performance beamed live around the world by satellite.
