“Mike Peters and Eddie Macdonald had written three stone-cold classics by the time they were 25. They showed amazing maturity in their early songwriting”: Remembering Mike Peters, the late frontman of the Alarm

Mike Peters was a man of passion: for music, for his beloved home country of Wales – and especially for his family.

Influenced by the Sex Pistols and the punk movement of the 1970s, he formed The Toilets, a short-lived band that later changed line-up to become ‘17’, before morphing into The Alarm with pals Eddie Macdonald on bass, Dave Sharp on guitar and Nigel ‘Twist’ Buckle on drums.

From early days playing the pub and club circuit, the band from North Wales would go on to achieve hit records and success, sharing stages worldwide with the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Queen.

The band’s first major hit, Sixty Eight Guns, released in 1983, gave The Alarm extensive exposure, and after catching the attention of radio presenter John Peel they soon became favourites both here in the UK and across the Atlantic. The hits kept on coming: Strength, Spirit Of ’76, Rain In The Summertime, and their bestseller Sold Me Down The River.

Fellow Welshman James Dean Bradfield of The Manic Street Preachers told me: “Mike Peters and Eddie Macdonald had written three stone-cold classics by the time they were 25. They showed amazing maturity in their early songwriting.”

The Alarm - Strength (Official Music Video) [2019 Remaster] - YouTube

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Peters loved his guitars, and although frequently seen playing either Gibson or Guild acoustic guitars – as well as a Fender or Gretsch electric – he struck up a relationship with Auden Guitars in recent years, endorsing its electro-acoustic models and having his own signature model named ‘The Deceiver’.

Mike and I first met in the 1970s, when I photographed his band ‘17’. Being from the same town, we quickly became friends. Over the years we would go to see concerts together and I’d photograph many Alarm gigs, as well as sharing the stage on numerous occasions to play guitar or harmonica with the band.

In 1990, Mike phoned me from his tour in Germany to see if I could organise an Alarm fundraising concert for the victims of the North Wales coastal floods. This was typical Mike; he loved, and never left, his Welsh hometown of Rhyl and wanted to do something to help the disaster fund.

Sold Me Down the River (Remastered) - YouTube

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Mike Peters surprisingly quit The Alarm in 1991 and went on to form a new band, The Poets of Justice. This short-lived line-up included Mike’s wife, Jules, on keyboards and Ethan Johns on guitar – but eventually Mike and Jules resurrected The Alarm name using new musicians. Just four years later, Mike was diagnosed with lymphoma.

This didn’t slow down his musical ambitions and – in typical, brave fighting spirit – Mike and Jules formed the Love Hope Strength Foundation to help recruit bone marrow donors and support other sufferers.

LHS became a worldwide phenomenon with Mike and Jules (who was diagnosed and successfully treated for breast cancer) campaigning vigorously between their busy touring and recording schedule. Mike said: “If I keep on running, maybe the cancer won’t catch me.”

Sadly, earlier this year Mike became very ill again and was diagnosed with aggressive Richter’s syndrome lymphoma. He was treated at Manchester’s Christie Hospital, before passing away on 29 April.

Tributes poured in from fans worldwide, along with fellow musicians and musical collaborators – words perhaps best summed up by Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley: “Very sad to hear about my good friend Mike Peters – he was a true gentleman in every way, and a great and talented musician.”

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.