Michael Leslie Peters (born 25 February 1959)
is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

musician, best known as the lead singer of

The Alarm The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language ...

. After the band split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, before reconstituting The Alarm in 2000. Additionally, he is co-founder of the

Love Hope Strength Love Hope Strength Foundation is a charitable foundation whose purpose is to raise funds and awareness in order to benefit people with cancer and leukaemia. The charity sponsors treks and climbs to the world's highest mountains, often performing mus ...

Foundation. Between 2011 and 2013, Peters was the vocalist for

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

as well as The Alarm.

Early life

Peters was born in

Prestatyn Prestatyn is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. Historically a part of Flintshire, it is located on the Irish Sea coast, to the east of Rhyl. Prestatyn has a population of 19,085, History Prehistory There is evidence that the ...

and grew up living in The Crescent Hotel in Edward Henry Street,

Rhyl Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community (Wales), community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Flintshire (historic), Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at ...

, with former The Alarm band member Eddie MacDonald. The name of the street became the inspiration for a track on the album of the same name, released as part of ''The Poppyfields Bond'' of albums. On "Edward Henry Street", Peters describes his life growing up in Wales. Peters' first job was a computer operator for

Kwik Save Kwik Save is a British convenience store chain. Prior to 2007, it was also a discount supermarket chain that had shops across the United Kingdom. It went into administration in July 2007, but was brought back in April 2012. Its shops were sma ...

. He worked on an old IBM System 3

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

Musical career

1970s

Peters' musical debut was on 10 October 1975, when he fronted Hairy Hippie (named by the disc jockey James Alexander Barr), a band formed with his schoolmates to perform at his sister's 21st birthday party at the Talardy Hotel in

St Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and community (Wales), community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355 ...

. The first song performed that night was a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "If You Think You Know How To Love Me" by Smokie. His first band proper was the Toilets, formed after he saw the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

play at

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in 1976. The first song the Toilets played live was "Nothing to Do" at the Palace Hotel in Rhyl. Peters, along with MacDonald, Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist (then called Nigel Buckle), formed a band called Seventeen in 1978. The first song Seventeen played was "Pop Generation" at the Bee (now Station) Hotel in Rhyl on 27 May 1978. One single was released in 1979 on the Vendetta

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

titled "Don't Let Go".

1980s

In 1981, The Alarm was formed and moved to London to tour the club circuit. They were signed by the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

label. The band took their name from a song named Alarm Alarm, that was one of the first songs written by Peters for the Toilets. On

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

commented that with

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...

and now Alarm Alarm perhaps he should call himself John Peel John Peel, so the name was shortened to The Alarm. The Alarm played their first gig in the Victoria Hotel in Prestatyn on 10 June 1981. "Shout to the Devil" was the first song to be played. Peters wrote the song that day and as it suited the three

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

and drumkit line-up, the band used to rehearse it during the soundcheck. Their first single on their own label, "Unsafe Building", was released in November 1981.

1990s

In 1991, The Alarm split up after Peters left the band on stage at the Brixton Academy. The original members of the Alarm have only reunited once. This was for the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

series ''

Bands Reunited Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

'' on 28 October 2003. Two singles were released in 1994. "Back into the System", which also included a Welsh release of the single. This was followed by "It Just Don't Get Any Better Than This". Peters teamed up with the Poets for both records. The single also included a first release of the track "White Noise" which Peters re-recorded for the album ''Rise''. The American release also included a re-mix. It would be a further year before Peters released his first solo album venture '' Breathe''. Being a UK-only release, the CD version of the album did not contain Peter's first two solo singles. An acoustic-only version of the same album was also released. By now, Peters had retreated into the internet and had his own website, where most of his future releases would be sold. In 1996, after having been misdiagnosed with cancer, Peters released his second solo venture ''Feel Free''. The album included a take on

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

's influential rap track " The Message". The American release of ''Feel Free'' also included a special hidden track called "Gone Elvis". In 1998, ''

Rise Rise or RISE may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world * Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3'' * Rise Kujikawa, a video ...

'' was released, to a wider audience this time. ''Rise'' was a change of musical direction for Peters. "White Noise Part II" found Peters experimenting with studio sound manipulation and drum machines, whereas "My Calling" featured Peters' signature acoustic/electric roots-rock sound. The album also featured the song "In Circles", which Peters co-wrote with ex-

Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

guitarist

Billy Duffy William Henry Duffy (born 12 May 1961) is an English rock musician, best known as the guitarist of the band The Cult. Early life Duffy was born and grew up in Manchester. He has Irish and Jewish heritage and ancestry. He began playing the guit ...

. Peters followed the release of ''Rise'' by touring the US under "The Interactive Acoustic Works U.S. Tour", which started in Boston on 10 October 1998. That year also saw the release of the album ''Live (From a Broadcast)''. This set included a version of the Alarm's best known song, "

68 Guns "Sixty Eight Guns" is a song by Welsh rock band the Alarm that was released as a single in August 1983 and later appeared on the group's debut album ''Declaration'' in February 1984. It was written by Alarm members Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonal ...

", which reinstated an extra verse that the band had trimmed out early in the writing process. In 1999, Peters again worked with Billy Duffy, forming a band called Coloursound with Duffy, his former Cult bandmate

Scott Garret Scott Garrett (March 16, 1966, Washington, D.C.) is an American drummer. He is known as the drummer for Wired All Wrong and Coloursound, and as support drummer for J between 1997 and 2016. He was also temporary drummer at the last few shows ...

, and Craig Adams (formerly of The Mission). They recorded one

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous studio album. Since 1993, Peters has held an annual weekend event called "The Gathering" at

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

. It has been attended by various guest musicians, including former Alarm band members.

2000s

The new millennium saw Peters release ''Flesh and Blood'', based on the stage play of the same name written by

Helen Griffin Helen Griffin (1958 – 29 June 2018) was a Welsh actress, playwright and screenwriter. Born in Swansea, Wales, she appeared regularly in Welsh theatre and television and wrote and starred in the 2005 film ''Little White Lies''. She also appear ...

. In 2000, Peters decided to reuse the Alarm brand name. After he left the band in 1991, Peters had signed over rights to the name to the other band members. This caused former drummer Nigel Twist to threaten to sue. Peters has since used the Alarm brand name, sometimes with added roman numerals for the year. In 2001, Peters went on the road again as part of

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

Dead Men Walking Dead Men Walking are a British based rock supergroup with a multi national line-up, who have toured the UK, Ireland and the United States. From 2001 to 2006 they were led by Mike Peters of the Alarm and Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny, with a ...

. Featuring

Pete Wylie Peter James Wylie (born 22 March 1958) is an English singer/songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of the band variously known as Wah!, Wah! Heat, Shambeko! Say Wah!, JF Wah!, The Mighty Wah! and Wah! The Mongrel. Career Early b ...

(of The Mighty Wah!),

Glen Matlock Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...

(former

Captain Sensible Raymond Ian Burns (born 24 April 1954), known by the stage name Captain Sensible, is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist. Captain Sensible co-founded the punk rock band The Damned (band), the Damned, originally playing bass before switc ...

( The Damned), and

Kirk Brandon Kirk Brandon (born 3 August 1956) is an English musician best known as the leader of the bands Theatre of Hate and Spear of Destiny and a former lover of Boy George. Musical career Brandon's music career started in 1978, in Clapham, south Londo ...

(

Spear of Destiny A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...

), the band played a mixture of old and new material spanning their combined careers. In 2004, Peters released the single " 45 RPM" using the pseudonym,

the Poppy Fields The Poppy Fields were a fictitious teenage group, invented by the Welsh rock band The Alarm. The Poppy Fields scored a hit with the release of " 45 RPM" that would become The Alarm's first hit in over a decade. Mike Peters revealed the truth on ...

, using the guise that this band was a teenage band based from

. (This hoax was the source of the subject of the movie ''

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

''). Peters came eleventh in an on-line poll to find

100 Welsh Heroes 100 Welsh Heroes was an opinion poll run in Wales as a response to the BBC's ''100 Greatest Britons'' poll of 2002. It was carried out mainly on the internet, starting on 8 September 2003 and finishing on 23 February 2004. The results were announc ...

. He joined members of

The Mescaleros The Mescaleros were the British people, British backing band for British singer, musician and songwriter Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which issued three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002. Many of the band members were multi-instrumental ...

in 2010 to perform songs of Joe Strummer under the name Los Mondo Bongo. In 2011, Peters joined Big Country for their UK tour and released a single with the band that August, titled "Another Country", followed in April 2013 by an album ''

The Journey The Journey may refer to: Film and television * ''The Journey'' (1942 film), or ''El viaje'', an Argentine film * ''The Journey'' (1959 film), an American drama starring Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards about the Hungarian Revoluti ...

''. On 9 November 2013 it was announced via the Big Country Facebook page that Peters had departed the band.

Musical influences

Peters has stated various artists have had an influence on his musical direction. In "Edward Henry Street" of the album with the same name Peters sings ''"bought Aladdin Sane from Greaves records"'' in reference to the song by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

is also an influence.

MPO

MPO (Mike Peters Organisation) was formed in 1992 as Peters used the internet to communicate with his fan base.

Health and personal life

In 1986, in the middle of the height of the fame of The Alarm, whilst based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during the week, Peters was still living with his parents in Rhyl. Having hitch-hiked home one weekend, he met his future wife, Jules, then an undergraduate student at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

studying English. The couple were engaged two weeks later, and have two sons, both conceived through

IVF In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) fr ...

. The family currently lives in

Dyserth Dyserth ( cy, Diserth) is a village, community and electoral ward in Denbighshire, Wales. Its population at the 2011 United Kingdom census was 2,269 and was estimated by the Office for National Statistics as 2,271 in 2019. It lies within the h ...

North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...

. In 1996, Peters made a recovery from

lymph cancer Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

, and began

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

and touring again, sometimes with members of the re-formed band. He also presented a regular show called ''Bedrock'' on

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales br ...

. In 2005, Peters discovered that he was suffering from chronic lymphocytic

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. At this time, Peters co-founded the

Foundation with fellow leukaemia patient

James Chippendale James Chippendale (born around 1969) is an American business executive and anti-leukemia campaigner and co-founder of the charity Love Hope Strength Foundation. He is also founder and CEO of an entertainment and sports insurance broker, CSI Enterta ...

, the president of CSI Entertainment in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Peters has since announced a remission of this and has appeared in a documentary for

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, BBC Cymru Wales is ...

chronicling his battle with cancer. The documentary was released in 2006 as ''Mike Peters on the Road to Recovery'' with some of the proceeds being donated to Peters' foundation. In October 2007, Peters, along with 38 other musicians, cancer survivors and supporters, made a 14-day trek to the

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...

base camp to perform the highest concert ever on land to raise awareness and money to fight cancer. Other musicians included

Cy Curnin Cyril John Curnin (born 12 December 1957, Wimbledon, England) is a singer/songwriter and musician and is the lead vocalist for the new wave music group, the Fixx. As a songwriter, he has co-written over a dozen songs that have appeared on the ' ...

and Jamie West-Oram of

The Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include "One Thing Leads to Another", "Saved by Zero", "Are We Ourselves?", and "Secret Separation", each of which charted in the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, ...

Glenn Tilbrook Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the music for Squeeze's son ...

of Squeeze,

Slim Jim Phantom James McDonnell (born March 21, 1961), known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is the drummer for Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he spearheaded the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s. Phantom currently ...

The Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in t ...

and

Nick Harper Nick Harper (born 22 June 1965) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is the son of English folk musician Roy Harper. Early life Harper was born in London, England, to the folk singer-songwriter Roy Harper. Nick tells of how he ...

. In 2011, Love Hope Strength Foundation released the film ''More to Live For'', intended to promote the importance of bone marrow donation in saving the lives of cancer victims. Peters is a regular member of the running group The NightCrawlers, who run every Thursday night around various locations in the North East Wales area. Peters was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of

Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...

in December 2008. He was appointed a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2019 New Year Honours The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to cancer care. In September 2022, he announced that his chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) had relapsed, and he was being treated with chemotherapy at the North Wales Cancer Centre."A personal message from Mike Peters", ''Love Hope Strength Foundation'', 25 September 2022
Retrieved 2 November 2022

Discography

Albums

Singles

Promotional recordings

Filmography

Videos

DVDS

References

External links

Official Alarm website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Mike 1959 births Living people Welsh male singers Welsh rock guitarists Welsh songwriters Welsh new wave musicians Male new wave singers People from Prestatyn People from Rhyl The Alarm members Big Country members Members of the Order of the British Empire Dead Men Walking members British male songwriters Deputy Lieutenants of Clwyd