===Band===
The Alarm
===Effective Dates===
June 1981-June 1991
===Members===
Mike Peters: (Vocals), (Guitar) (Harmonica)
Dave Sharp: (Guitar]], (Vocals)
Eddie Macdonald: (Bass), (Guitar), (Vocals)
Nigel Twist: (Drums), (Guitar)

===Major Releases===
1981: Unsafe Building (single)
1982: Marching On (single)
1983: The Stand (single)
1983: The Alarm (Ep)
1983: Sixty Eight Guns (single)
1984: Declaration (album)
1984: Where Were You hiding When The Storm Broke? (single)
1984: The Deciever (single)
1984: The Chant Has Just Begun (single)
1985: Absolute Reality (single)
1985: Strength (album)
1985: Strength (single)
1986: Spirit Of 76 (single)
1986: Knife Edge (single)
1986: Spirit Of 86' (Concert video)
1987: Eye Of The Hurricane (album)
1987: Rain In The Summertime (single)
1987: Rescue Me (single)
1988: Presence Of Love (single)
1988: Electric Folklore (Live album)
1989: Change (album)
1989: Newid (album)
1989: Sold Me Down The River (single)
1989: Sold Me Down The river (Welsh Language single)
1989: A New South Wales (single)
1989: A New South Wales (Welsh Language single)
1990: Love Don't Come Easy (single)
1990: Standards (album)
1990: Standards (video)
1991: Raw (album)
1991: Raw (single)
1991: Tan (album)

===History===
'''Declare Yourself Unsafe'''
The Alarm began rather inauspiciously in 1978 as a band name Seventeen, formed in the North Wales town of Rhyl, in the wake of an explosive punk scene that was then whimpering towards the 80's.
Each member of Seventeen had spent several years languishing in rock and punk bands around and in the vicinity of Rhyl. They had all known or known-of each other since their pre-teen years, and had played together in previous bands.
Formed from the demise of such memorable stalwarts as The Toilets: (Mike Peters, Nigel Twist), (Quasimodo): (Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist), (Chuck Burial And The Embalmed): (Dave Sharp), (Pax):(Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist), and (Amsterdam), (Eddie MacDonald), Seventeen's" ideals were much like those previous bands'. They were going to muster the teenagers, sign a record deal, hit it big on Radio 1 and conquer the world. Seventeen tried to achieve their lofty goals in a rather ordinary way with ordinary results. They played reasonably competent, yet unremarkable, mod-flavored power-pop, inspired by the popular styles of the day ("The Jam", "Rich Kids"). By 1981 they had released the go-nowhere Don't Let Go single (b/w [[Bank Holiday Weekend) on an independent label, and were kicked off a tour with Dexy's Midnight Runners after one show. While things looked bleak, they went on hiatus for a few months, and ended up rediscovering why they wanted to be in a band in the first place.

Mike Peters had been inspired by punk rock. His life was changed in 1976, after seeing the Sex Pistols in Chester, England. He had never before experienced the type of energy that a band like the Pistols could create on stage. He decided then and there that his life as a computer operator would only be temporary. After starting The Toilets with Nigel Twist in 1976, he knew he was destined for a life on stage with a 3-chords in one-hand, and the truth in the other.
The Toilets were a short-lived yet positive beginning, and Seventeen was supposed to be his vessel into the pop world, yet somehow it was just not happening. As he sat in his punk clothing shop Riot in the Spring of 1981, it suddenly came to him. He had not been inspired by the early punk of The Clash, and The Sex Pistols because they were ripping other people off. He was inspired by their integrity and the power of their live performances. He realized that it was time to stop imitating and start innovating. He began by writing a new song about tearing down your life and re-constructing it.
Eddie MacDonald had been drawn into the punk scene after seeing The Toilets at the urging of Dave Sharp (who was then acting as part-time manger for the band). He had known Mike Peters since the age of five, when they played together on the sands of the Rhyl oceanfront, but was not prepared for the onslaught Peters' band had in store for him. MacDonald, who was playing guitar in the standard-rock outfit "Amsterdam" at the time, approached Mike Peters about a possible collaboration. They were both starting to write pop-punk songs after being inspired by the songs of ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock's new band "Rich Kids". When The Toilets broke-up, Peters and McDonald started to seriously write songs together. This collaboration continued into "Seventeen", and it helped form the basis of the Alarm. Peters showed the newly penned lyrics to Eddie MacDonald, and together they wrote the music to what would become the first Alarm song, "Unsafe Building".
Nigel Twist was born to play drums. His step-father was a drummer, and he picked up the sticks at an early age. Born Nigel Buckle in Manchester, England, Twist's family moved to Rhyl when he was a pre-teenager. He quickly joined the local music scene, venturing in and out of various bands like "Quasimodo" until he landed in "The Toilets". Twist was reluctant about punk rock at first, but by the time "The Toilets" opened for "The Clash" at Erik's in Liverpool he had seen the light. After a stint in "PAX" with Dave Sharp and Karl Wallinger (who went on to form "World Party") he joined "Seventeen", and was on-board for The Alarm when the transformation took place.
Dave Sharp's heart had always been in folk music. His mother was a Flamenco guitarist, who encouraged him to take up music at an early age. At the age of 9 he and Nigel Twist would play in together in Twist's Manchester garage: Twist banging on his step-father's drum-kit, and Dave bashing out songs on his mother's acoustic guitar. When Twist moved to Rhyl, Dave would visit on weekends, and their musical pursuits continued.
As a teenager Sharp changed musical styles and monikers as fast as they showed up on the local music scene. His real name was Dave Kitchingman, but you could find him by the name of "Chuck Burial" in 1976, and finally as Dave Sharp when he became part of The Alarm. Just before "Seventeen", Sharp was so serious about a career in the world of rock n' roll that he was prepared to take "PAX" to London with Wallinger and Twist, but his father convinced him to join the Merchant Marine instead. Sharp's musical ambitions were as strong as ever when he returned from travelling the world, and he quickly joined up with "Seventeen". While trying to figure out where to take "Seventeen" in the spring of 1981, Sharp went to see "The Stray Cats" and was impressed by their sound and the way they mixed political themes with their brand of new-wave rock-a-billy.
Armed with that inspiration, and a home-made guitar crafted from Mike Peters' acoustic and cheap parts from an electric, Sharp, with a bit of help from Nigel Twist, wrote his first Alarm song "Up For Murder", an all-acoustic firestorm mixing electrified acoustic instruments with decidedly political lyrics. Sharp started his own skiffle band in the spirit of the Stray Cats named "The Screamin' Demons" using "Up For Murder" as the basis of the band's sound. Soon though, it became apparent that "The Alarm" would be the future for Dave Sharp.
Together, the power-pop of "Unsafe building" and the folk-punk of "Up for Murder" combined to create the basis of The Alarm sound. At once, all four musicians knew they were on to something special. Monetary gain was not at the crux of their efforts. The Alarm were more interested in making their mark, at the least to be remembered, and at the most to become the greatest band in the history of rock music.
They searched for name that would make their new band sound like the stuff of legend. Names like "Drums And Guns", "Uprising", "Men Of Harlech", and "Black Sheep" were discussed before Eddie Macdonald suggested "Alarm Alarm", the name of a Toilets song. In the summer of 1981, "Seventeen" played their final show, announcing their new name "Alarm Alarm", The name did not last long.
After the Seventeen song "Four Minute Warning" was mentioned on John Peel's famous radio show, the DJ explained that "Seventeen" had recently changed their name to "Alarm Alarm" and were now another "two named band" ala Duran Duran and Talk Talk. They quickly shortened it to "The Alarm".

The full transformation from "Seventeen" to the Alarm came with more changes than just style and attitude. It also came with a change in location as the band moved from relatively obscure Rhyl, Wales to London, England in an effort to widen their own perspectives as well as their prospective audience. Sharing a single flat, they worked odd jobs by day, and by night played any and every show they could possibly find to earn cash for their grand plan. Not wanting to dabble with demo tapes like so many other bands, they wanted to have their own piece of vinyl that they could sell at shows and give to record companies to show how serious they were in their new endeavor. With the money they saved they recorded 2000 copies of their first single, "Unsafe Building" b/w "Up For Murder".

By the Autumn of 1981, The Alarm were making a name for themselves playing shows all over London and the surrounding area. They stormed the clubs, playing acoustic punk with an intensity that few had witnessed since the punk heyday 5 years prior. Working with nearly all acoustic instruments, they bashed out their inspirational, observational, and political anthems to any audience that would hear them. By this time, the roles of each band member had been clearly laid-out. Mike Peters was the main lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist. Dave Sharp became the lead guitarist, and sometimes lead vocalist. Eddie MacDonald became full-time bass player, and Nigel Twist continued to play drums.
The Alarm differentiated themselves on stage by wearing cowboy and cavalry clothes and spiking their hair in a ceiling-scraping, electric shock style that gained them instant notoriety within the ranks of club-going music fans. The style of the band's clothes and hair may have gotten people to stop and listen but it was honesty and sincerity put-forth in the music that kept people coming back. Ultimately, the vinyl single was the killer element, giving new fans something to take home, and record company men something to listen to.
After the years of toiling in "Seventeen", The Alarm were finally doing everything right. By 1982, they caught the ear of EMI, who offered them a recording contract, which they ultimately turned down in favor of a deal with I.R.S that gave them more control over their work. They found a manager, Ian Wilson, who was so keen on The Alarm's success that he became the unofficial 5th member of the band. Hoping to build on the momentum they had created in the clubs, The Alarm quickly released a 3-track single, "Marching On" b/w "Across The Border", and "Lie Of The Land" , that showcased their acoustic rock power, but went unnoticed by the radio. Their strength was still in their live shows, and it was from there that hey gained a most-important ally: U2. The Alarm's live sets had become legendary.
After Bono Vox saw them for the first time he instantly offered them a support slot the U2's current tour. The Alarm gladly accepted.
U2 and The Alarm were a great match. The Alarm would warm the crowd into a frenzy and thenU2 would conquer it. The Alarm's music was not all too similar to that of U2, but their intensity and penchant for inspirational lyrics were. As 1983 rolled around, U2 had no opening band to support them on their American tour and The Alarm were the obvious choice. IRS released "The Stand" as a single in the UK and as part of an The Alarm EP in the USA to coincide with the tour. It was the perfect song at the perfect time, becoming an instant classic, and a minor hit on US College Radio (reaching #5).
The song was inspired Stephen King's book of the same name, but it was not a simple translation of words to music. Mike Peters twisted the book's imagery into a metaphor of The Alarm's struggle for success just like King had twisted the Book of Revelation to fit his novel.
Written as a collaboration between the differing styles of McDonald/Peters and Dave Sharp, "The Stand" contained all the elements of The Alarm mystique: inspirational, battle-scarred imagery, acoustic guitar, harmonica and a driving intensity that could not be ignored. Without any introduction or fanfare, The Alarm created a market for themselves by simply playing their powerful music. The Alarm's sincerity and pure musical emotion won over U2 fans who would normally politely ignore an opening band.
They created such a frenzy, that as the U2 tour came to a close, they stayed in the USA several more weeks to headline a successful small tour of their own.

'''Declaration'''
After a tour of the England, and another trip to America, The Alarm settled into the studio to record their first album Declaration in late 1983. They had planned to record "Unsafe building" and "Up For Murder" for the album, but those songs had been eclipsed by other songs that were getting fanatical responses from their live audiences. "Sixty Eight Guns" actually pre-dated the first Alarm, songs, being the only hold-over track from the repertoire of Seventeen.The song was one cornerstone of a musical trilogy that would emerge over the following 15 years."Sixty Eight Guns" told the story of a youth gang in 1968 trying to etch out an existence in the increasingly bleak surroundings of North Wales.
It was inspired by a book Mike Peters had read about Irish street gangs, but, much like "The Stand", he twisted the lyrics to fit his own situation. "Sixty Eight Guns" was about Mike Peters and his own friends, and it became the first Alarm song to deal with friendship, a theme the band would return to often. There was a passion and sincerity in the song that many fans latched onto, and these elements became a driving force behind the Alarm's sudden rise to stardom.
The song was released a single in the UK, and shot The Alarm to number #17 on the pop singles charts. While fans loved the song, music-critics used it to take pot-shots at the band. Music journalism in the UK had grown from a cottage industry supporting punk bands in the 70's, into a cynical cut-throat machine made of journalists trying to discover "the next big thing". The Alarm were never "discovered", and as they became a sensation without the help of NME and their ilk, those publications started trashing the band, hoping it would just go-away. Without even attempting to analyze the "Sixty Eight Guns" they accused The Alarm of rabble-rousing with ill-defined lyrics. They simply had no idea what The Alarm were about.
Another single was released in early 1984, jut before the album release of Declaration "Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?" . The song had become a live favorite, and they thought it would make a perfect single. The track asked questions of the listener, but was ultimately aimed back at the thoughtless music journalists who were questioning The Alarm's values. Simply put ,the song says "hey, we were there in the beginning, we were part of the early punk movement…where were you?". The song was another smash-hit, reaching number 22 on the pop singles chart.

Declaration, produced by Alan Shacklock, was released in early 1984. Any question as to whether The Alarm had clicked with music fans vanished as the album quickly climbed the charts, finally resting at number 6. Declaration was filled with acoustic-drenched punk optimism and the crunch of a solid rock and roll footing that had been developed over three years of constant touring. The most notable song on the album was "Blaze Of Glory". The version of the song that appears here was not recorded for the album, but is the original version recorded with Mick Glossop at the same time "The Stand" was recorded in 1983. "Blaze Of Glory" was one of the few classic Alarm songs created from the song-writing partnership between Dave Sharp, Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald. The worn-torn imagery of the song is a analogy for staying true to your beliefs through diversity and struggle.
This was The Alarm's most powerful song, and became the cornerstone of the band's live set throughout their entire career. The final single from Declaration was "The Deceiver" . One of The Alarm's most beautiful songs, it is filled with acoustic strumming and soaring harmonica. Mike Peters has at times called "The Deceiver" a song about "love/hate relationships", and at others a song about "greed". What ultimately stands out about the song is that The Alarm were capable of writing lyrics that transcended the author's original intentions, becoming personal to each listener. Sometimes the original "meaning" of the songs were not necessarily important as what the listener "believed" they meant. This fact also held true for some other the other Alarm classics that graced Declaration such as the beautiful "We Are The Light" and the phenomenal "Howling Wind".

After another trip to the USA in late 1984, and then a short tour of Japan, The Alarm decided to record some new songs instead of wringing another single out of Declaration. Recording again with Alan Shacklock, the sessions proved nearly disastrous. The band managed to record a solid version of "Bells Of Rhymney", (which was a poem by Welsh poet Idries Davies before it was recorded by The Byrds in the late 60's), and an impressive version of Woodie Guthries's "Bound for Glory". However, they faltered greatly with "The Chant Has Just begun", a misguided attempt at New-Wave dance music that was created from "fear of failure" more than other factor. Even so, the song could have become a huge hit it its airplay had not been restricted by the BBC due to lyrical similarities with a then recent terrorist attack on the House Of Commons. The song only reached #48 on the pop-chart, failing to become the huge pop hit they had hoped for. The highlight of the 12-inch singles for "The Chant Has Just Begun" was the b-side: A full-length version of "The Stand", that restored a missing verse, cut from the the single version for cost considerations.
Sensing they had worn out their welcome with Alan Shacklock, they decided to search for a new producer that could help them clearly define their sound. In early 1985 they thought they had found the right person. They were scheduled to record a new album with then-famous producer Jimmy Iovine (U2, Tom Petty And The Heart Breakers, now the head of Interscope Records). However, producing The Alarm was not a priority for Iovine, and the band was soon left without anyone to helm their next album. They tapped Alan Shacklock one last time, and were off to record a few more songs for another single until a permanent producer could be found. That single became "Absolute Reality", a song based on a line from the Alan Ginsberg poem "Howl". With punk intensity, and heart-felt lyrics, it became one a live standard and one of The Alarm's greatest songs. . It was also a sizable hit, reaching #35 on the UK pop-singles chart. The back of the "Absolute Reality" single became the final resting place for the original version of "Blaze Of Glory", recorded with Mick Glossop in 1983.

'''Strength'''
A world tour opening for The Pretenders followed in the Spring of 1985, and then it was finally into the studio to record their new album, Strength. The band finally found a producer in Mike Howlett, who understood what they needed to move to the next level. It was because of Howlett's insistence (and some encouragement from Bono Vox) that Mike Peters started writing more songs from a first-person perspective. No longer fighting the world, The Alarm's songs took a drastic turn towards increasingly personal subjects. Even Dave Sharp got into the spirit, attempting to record his magnum opus ,"One Step Closer To Home", but could not seem to record a version that he as comfortable with and it was left off the album.
The final product of these sessions was Strength.
If Declaration was The Alarm's ultimate attempt at "acoustic punk", then Strength was their similar nod towards powerful rock and roll. Every song on the album brimmed with dynamics: from thunderous choruses to expertly placed moments of silence. The punk intensity of Declaration had been pared down into cohesive set of brilliantly conceived rock songs. With their second album The Alarm were far from repeating themselves. Each song was distinct and well-crafted, sounding very different from Declaration, yet sharing the common thread of honesty and hope that existed in all of The Alarm's songs since their inception. "Strength" the title track said it all. Organ flows into Mike Peter's pleading vocals "Give Me Love...", that are soon over-ridden by the ensuing rock attack. The song, at once showed the new Alarm: Daring, and unconventional, they now effused personal hopes and fears, while retaining the inspirational rock attack that had garnered them legions of fans. "Strength" was a sizable hit in its own-right reaching the Top-40 in the UK. The "Strength" single was backed with a rather remarkable gem named "Majority". The song was rock fire-storm, filled with introspective lyrics, and insight into The Alarm's experiences in the music world. Many years later, Mike Peters finally admitted regretting that the song never made it on the the Strength album.
Strength also contained the second song in Mike Peters musical-trilogy about friendship, "Spirit Of '76". Quite possibly The Alarm 's finest recording, "Spirit Of '76" follows the "gang" of "Sixty Eight Guns" now grown up and experiencing the liberation of the punk movement in the mid-70's. They all feel the classic struggle between maintaining youthful ideals while facing the cold truth of reality. "Spirit Of '76" is a song of reverie, tragedy, and ultimately hope. It was the single most popular song The Alarm ever recorded, and one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded. Like "Strength", it reached the Top-40 on the UK pop charts. "Strength" had its quieter moments as well, especially the revealing and exquisite "Walk Forever By My Side" and "Only The Thunder". With this song and its counterpart "Dawn Chorus" The Alarm moved further into the territory of love and friendship than they had ever gone before. While parts of Strength may have been quiet, the album was not The Alarm's patented furious rock-attack. "Deeside", a real barn-burner, chronicled steel mill closings, and the value of the working man in the modern world. Eddie MacDonald's flu-hallucination-inspired "The Day The Ravens Left The Tower" signified true growth in the band's songwriting, while the final single from the album, "Knife Edge", bridged the gap between the acoustic sound of Declaration, and The Alarm's new-found electric-rock stance on Strength.
The success of Strength put The Alarm on the "A-List"of music artists in 1986, and soon they were invited to participate on all sorts of projects. They sang "Let It Be" for the "Ferry Aid" single, and for the first time were invited record a song for exclusive use on a movie soundtrack. The song "World On Fire" was ultimately left off the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" soundtrack album, and never re-surfaced again on any Alarm recordings.

'''Spirit Of '86 '''
The 1985 Strength tour and it's 1986 counterpart the Spirit Of '86 tour were a triumph for The Alarm. Massive radio airplay in the UK and USA created steady sales, pushing the album into the Top-40 in the UK and all the way to #31 in the USA.The band treated the new in-flux of fans just like they had treated the die-hard ones that had been with them since the beginning in 1981. No one waiting to for an autograph or to talk to the band after a show was turned away. The band seemed to thrive on their fan-base, and more than mere showmanship, they really wanted to bridge the gap between artists and fan. In the middle of their tour, The Alarm decided o give something back. On April 12, 1986 The Alarm made their most striking mark on the world of rock music. In front of 20,000 fans at UCLA and millions more around the world watching on MTV, they played a free, 75 minute live concert called The Spirit Of '86. They put on the show as a "thank-you" to all the fans who had stuck with them and all the new ones they had gained along the way. The show highlighted most of The Alarm's "hits", and was considered a triumph by most people who witnessed the spectacle, even though there were a few problems. Mid-way through "Marching On", a football thrown by a drunk frat-boy decimated Twists' bass drum, rendering it useless. To the live crowd it made no difference, but it severely crippled the low-end of the audio broadcast, making later songs like Spirit Of '76 sound hallow and lifeless. Furthermore, IRS waited a full six months to release the show on video, missing nearly any chance of capturing the momentum created by the show. Even so, the band was ecstatic after the show. A two-night stand opening for Queen and Status Quo at Wembly Stadium sealed the deal for them. To them The Alarm were finally on their way, super-stardom would soon be within their grasp.

'''Eye Of The Hurricane'''
When the promotional efforts for the Strength album were finally completed, the band took a rest from a solid year of constant touring and began to face reality. They were flooded with offers from all sides to write soundtracks and perform on albums and tours, but something seemed very wrong. It was as-if every con-man in England had jumped on their band-wagon, and it was very difficult to tell friend from foe. Furthermore in-fighting between band members, caused by road fatigue and friendships stretched to the limit were destroying them, from the inside. A Money squabble with band members pointing fingers at each other and their manager looking for answers to their now empty bank accounts did not help matters. These problems led to a verbal falling out, break-up rumors in the press, an eventual parting of the ways for a "break". Instead of taking up any offers, they took off in different directions. Dave Sharp left for France to write songs, Mike Peters did the same in Wales, while Twist and MacDonald returned to their homes in England. It was time of introspection for all, and especially for Sharp and Peters, a time to return to their roots. Weeks turned into months, and any hope of recording and releasing a quick fallow-up to Strength to capture and hold the territory they had gained, vanished.
Mike Peters spent most of this time in North Wales, travelling the country-side and looking for inspiration from the land and people of Wales. It ended up being a very prolific time for Peters. He wrote over 20 songs, some finding their way onto The Alarm's next album, and others like "A New South Wales" and "Lead Me Through The Darkness" would be recorded for subsequent Alarm albums. Some of the songs, like "Blindfold", "Ghosts Of Rebecca", "I Am What I Am" and "The Darkest Hour", would never see the light of day.
When Dave Sharp returned from France in late 1986, his inspiration led him into the studio with Nigel Twist and members of Wire Train and The Pretenders to record a demo tape. The result was full album's worth of songs, half of which would shape the future of Sharp's Alarm and solo material for years to come. "Homeless Child" ended up on Sharp's first solo album Hard Travellin', "Save Your Cryin'" would be recorded for The Alarm's final studio album, Raw, and "My Land Your Land" and "Vigilante Man", a Woody Guthrie cover, ended up as b-sides of later Alarm singles. "Julia" popped up a few times in Sharps' solo concerts, but was never recorded. The other half of the material, including "Northwinds: A Seafarer's Tale", and four other nearly completed songs, has never surfaced anywhere.

Showing incredible resolve, the band managed to overcome their differences, and returned to form in the Spring of 1987. While they had missed a golden opportunity to quickly follow-up Strength with a like-minded effort, repeating themselves was not a common practice for The Alarm , so it fit with their overall perspective about making music. Furthermore, after putting the past 2 years into perspective , it became clear that the Strength album and subsequent did not hold the significance The Alarm had hoped for. With all of their success, they were nearly willing to compromise their ideals for a shot at super-stardom. They had tasted, if for a moment, what that might be like. Sure, the success of Strength was great, but was it what they really wanted? Was it worth it?
They slowly came to the realization that becoming the "greatest band of all time" might not be "Valhalla" that had sought after. If it meant becoming a gear in the corporate machine of rock 'n roll, then they would have no part of it. What seemed so close after the UCLA show now seemed like the hallow dream of a band bent on staying young forever.
For The Alarm to continue they would have to mature as individuals and as a whole, or everything they had worked so hard for over half a decade would have been for nothing.
In the Spring of 1987 The Alarm resurfaced, nearly a year after the end of the Spirit Of '86 tour. Outwardly the band displayed a new solidarity, even though secretly relations were still a bit frayed. They started out full-tilt, bent on showing the world that they were an even better band than the one that had created Strength two years before. They began in the spring of 1987 with the Electric Folklore tour, using it to try out new material for their next album, Eye Of The Hurricane. Still "hot" from the tour, they took their new material directly into the studio to record with John Porter (Roxy Music) producing. The band wanted to create an album for themselves, not for the people pressuring them to re-make Strength. Instead of re-hashing old ideas, they were bent on creating an album that they would be proud of a decade down the road. The tension however, started again as soon as the first tracks were being laid down. The album's worth of material that Dave Sharp brought to the studio was completely rejected by a consortium of record company officials , the band, managers and producers, leaving only the four-year-old "One Step Closer To home" as his lone contribution to Eye Of The Hurricane. Upset by this, Sharp announced that he would play no "overdubs" on the album. Any extra guitar parts would have to played by someone else. He desperately wanted an outlet for his own material, but it was just not right for the band at that moment. No overdubs meant the rest of the band had to push themselves to play better, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For all the tension in the studio, each member began to respect the others musical ability a bit more, and it helped solidify the group as a whole, which was something they desperately needed.
Eye Of The Hurricane turned out strikingly different from The Alarm's two previous albums. Acoustic guitars, missing from Strength were added back into the sound, creating fuller and richer textures. Since Sharp refused to play over-dubs, the basic guitar parts had to be supplemented with more instruments. Along with the acoustic guitars, keyboards and electronic drums were used sparingly to create a brand-new crafted pop sound for the band. This sound could be heard most strikingly on the startlingly track, "Rain In The Summertime". Electronic drums and ringing guitars populate this strikingly beautiful song, showing The Alarm were capable of expertly created pop as well as well as the all-out fist pumping rock of songs like "Rescue Me". Lyrically, Eye of the Hurricane was more focused and creative than previous Alarm albums. The word-smithed brilliance of "One Step Closer To Home" and love-lorn depth of "Presence Of Love" showed just how far the band had matured in the song-writing department. The Alarm were at a musical crossroads. Eye Of The Hurricane mixed echoes of the past like "One Step Closer To Home" with new sounds of "Rain In The Summertime". With a single album, they had revitalized themselves into a force to be reckoned with for the latter half of the 80's.
The Alarm ended up with very few songs to use for b-sides one singles from Eye Of The Hurricane. Because of this, they were forced to enter the recording studio in October of 1987 to record a few more tracks that IRS could use. This studio time became known as the "Hurricane Sessions". From the sessions came Dave Sharp's "My Land Your Land", a cover of Woodie Guthrie's "Pastures Of Plenty", and an early version of "A New South Wales" that was never released. Most notable however, was the song "Elders And Folklore". IRS wanted a title of a song that they could print on the cover of the "Rescue Me" 12" single. The band gave IRS the title "Elders And Folklore", and then started to write the song in the Hurricane Sessions. Before they knew it, "Elders And Folklore" started to shape into pure A-side material. but they couldn't back out. IRS had printed the record sleeves. "Elders And Folklore" ended up on the single, buried for few people to ever hear. However, the song is well know with the ranks of serious fans as one of the best Alarm songs ever recorded.

December of 1987 saw The Alarm touring the USA once more. They lip synched "Rain In The Summertime" on American Bandstand, and sold-out large concert venues filled with a mixture of old fans and new ones won over by "Rain In The Summertime." After playing a free, all-acoustic show at The Roxy in Hollywood, they met Elliot Roberts, manager of the club and friend of Bob Dylan. He was extremely impressed by The Alarm, and showed interest in managing them. Pressure within the band led to The Alarm dumping their longtime manager Ian Wilson and replacing him with Roberts. While Roberts was a real mover and shaker in the music world, he did not possess the genuine affection for the band and honest bullshit detection that was so evident in Wilson. Even though Roberts would shower the band with sudden good fortune (a tour with Bob Dylan, friendship with Neil Young, big-name producers), The Alarm would sorely miss their original manager as the 80's wore on.

'''Change'''
After a huge tour to support Eye Of The Hurricane, a support slot with Bob Dylan, and the release of a 6-song live album Electric Folklore Live, The Alarm took a short break before locking themselves away in Welsh castle for nine months to develop new ideas. The band returned in 1989 with a batch of new songs inspired by their gorgeous surroundings in Wales. Wales is "The Land Of Inspiration", and it was fitting that a band that tried to inspire so many people would be inspired themselves by the very place that most of them grew up. The effect was felt the most by Eddie MacDonald and Mike Peters, who, as full-blooded Welshman, took pride in writing songs about their native land. Sharp and Twist, were not as comfortable with the concept as they let on, but went along with it anyway. The new songs covered many varied topics, but all of them were bound by the idea of "Change", which became the name of the new album. The songs melded themes of worldwide change (i.e. the accelerating collapse of Eastern Europe), change in the land of Wales itself, change in the people and their attitudes of Wales, and of "Hireath", a Welshman's longing to return to his home country.
Looking for an avenue to re-vitalize his own career, Tony Visconti (David Bowie and T-Rex), approached The Alarm to produce their new album. The band expressed the desire to get back to the "true values of rock n' roll", a phrase created by Dave Sharp, which meant stripping their music down to the basics. More than simply refusing overdubs, the new idea was to use amps, mixing desks, and other vacuum tube-filled equipment from the 60's and 70's to recapture the "live" sound that era. Visconti agreed whole-heartedly, and together they created one of the best sounding records in The Alarm's catalogue.
The first single from Change, "Sold Me Down The River", released in September of 1989 was a shock to the radio. With steady rhythm punctuated by breaths of Dave-Sharp's electric guitar, piano fills, and soaring chorus, it sounded like a song the Rolling Stones would have recorded 20 years earlier. The "back to the basics" approach worked better than anyone could have ever imagined. The songwas recorded live, on top of a warehouse, with Mike Peters and Dave Sharp staring down the Deeside river, and it nearly jumped out of the speakers. "Sold Me Down The River" was a modest hit in the UK, reaching #43, and in the USA it reached #1 on the billboard Modern Rock Chart."

Sold Me Down The River" held the precious #1 spot on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart for nearly 3 weeks in the fall of 1989. While this was a great achievement for The Alarm, it was another instance of bad timing. If they had managed the same feat 2 years later, when Nirvana helped break alternative music into the mainstream, The Alarm would have most likely become a household name. As it was, Dance music dominated the pop charts in 1989, and alternative rock songs were shown a blind-eye by mainstream radio, turning one of The Alarm's greatest breakthroughs into another "could have been".
When the Change album was released in September of 1989, it sold rapidly, charging into the #13 spot in the UK, higher than any album since Declaration. At 14 tracks total, Change was quality album with no filler what-so-ever. The single song that made the case for the album was A "New South Wales" a fully orchestrated homage to Wales that Mike Peters had been working on for the better part of three years. The song was a sure-fire hit, reaching #31 on the UK pop charts, the highest they had charted since "Rain In The Summertime". To lend support to their cause, The Alarm recorded an alternative version of Change named Newid, with all the lyrics sung in Welsh. Instead of mere posturing, The band had started creating change by themselves. Newid was The Alarm's effort to help bridge the gap between the people of Wales trying to hold onto their own heritage, and those who had fully assimilated in the English culture. They used it to support the "Welsh Language Act", that would allow Welsh speakers to conduct their government business In their native tongue. Change's highlights did not stop at "A New South Wales. ". "Hardland", "Prison without Prison Bars", "How the Mighty Fall" and "Rivers to Cross" all showed that The Alarm could rock while holding onto their folk-inspired roots.

The Alarm toured the USA in 1989 to fanatical and sell-out crowds. Change looked to be the breakthrough album for the band. As 1990 came around, the played a tour of the UK and Europe and preparing to return to the USA when tragedy struck. First, Mike Peters sister was stricken with a brain-aneurysm leaving her unable to speak. Then, soon after, his father died of a heart-attack.
If that wasn't enough, at about the same time Nigel Twist discovered his step-father dead, hanging from a rafter, dead, after committing suicide. Sensing the need to take a real break, The Alarm was put on hiatus, halting all further support of the Change album. A third single, "Love don't Come Easy" was released from the album, but without a support tour it quickly disappeared from the charts, and radio airwaves.
Dave Sharp used this break to take off to America and get his own solo-career going. At first he took a simple song-writing trip, but it turned into more than he expected. On one of his first nights in New York City, he met a rocking hill-billy band name "The Barnstormers". After playing a few shows with them, his musical batteries were recharged. He returned to the USA later in 1990 to continue his solo touring, and made plans to record an album as soon as he could make the time in 1991.

'''Raw'''
The Alarm as a solid unit had been slowly deteriorating since 1986, and by the summer of 1990 the relationship between band members was little more than squabbling and petty feuds. Nigel Twist recalls the summer of 1990 like this: "the honesty and trust which bound The Alarm together and galvanized our efforts from inception was gone". It was obvious that the band needed a break, yet no one was willing to make the first move, so they went on as usual. The Alarm were working without management at the time, as Elliot Roberts had moved on to more lucrative ground with Tracy Chapman. Without a proper manager to help diffuse the situation, The Alarm were left to their own devices.

Mike Peters, bitten by the tragedy of his sister and father, started re-calculating his feelings about The Alarm. He realized that over the previous 10 years, his priorities had changed drastically. The Alarm began in 1981 as a close-knit unit prepared to take on the world and become the greatest band it had ever witnessed. In 1990 he saw the band trying to adjust into a new decade, using up all their energy attempting to stay together from one day to the next. Not willing to throw it all away just yet, he decided to call the band together for one final shot. Peters envisioned a truly alternative approach for a new album, something that would take the band into the new decade and keep them a vital part of the music world.
However, The Alarm were more than just Mike Peters, with 3 other distinct personalities to contend with. Eddie MacDonald was more interested in creating a standard rock album in the vein of earlier Alarm efforts. The solo aspirations of Dave Sharp led he and Nigel Twist to vie for an album of folk and folk-inspired songs with Sharp taking most or all of the lead vocal duties. The only thing they all agreed upon was producing the album themselves. If they were going to create a definitive Alarm album for the 90's, it would have their own stamp of creation, or nothing at all. Things started going wildly wrong almost from the beginning of the recording sessions. No conclusion was ever reached as to the direction of the album. Instead of taking the best songs and recording them, like all their previous albums, they divided the song-writing duties down strict lines. There would be 3 songs written primarily by "MacDonald/Peters", 3 by "Sharp/Twist", 3 by "The Alarm", and a cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World". This sounded fair, but in practice it stifled creativity, and helped create an album that sounded fractured and disjointed. The band members remember the "Raw" sessions in different ways, but they all have a common thread of negativity. Some felt they were horrible and difficult while others saw them as a way for the band to "make a fast buck so that everyone could leave and do their own thing."
The most telling song recorded for the album was "Moments In Time" . "Moments In Time" was Mike Peters farewell to The Alarm, but even as it was recorded his fellow band-mates didn't realize its significance. They complained about the lyrics, focusing on what the words said instead of what they really meant. The band members had become so self-absorbed with their own problems, tragedies and personal goals that they lost sight of how The Alarm had started, and where they had been. The allegorical "four horsemen" from "The Stand" taking on the world with an electrifying wave of acoustic punk, refreshing idealism, and pure honesty no longer existed. In its place was a hallow, bitter shell ready to crack at a moments notice. Peters even went as far as playing the song in rehearsal with alternative lyrics clearly stating his intentions to leave the band, but hid effort went wasted and unnoticed. Instead of bringing the band closer together, the Raw sessions only tore them further apart, and this time it could not be repaired.

In Autumn of 1990 IRS records put together an Alarm singles collection named Standards. They wanted a new song the album, and tapped The Alarm for "The Road", one of the better songs recorded for Raw. IRS was extremely excited about the song, and prepared to back it up with full support and an expensive music video. They wanted The Alarm to tour to support "The Road", but without a manager to pull the band together they could not get everyone to agree to it. Dave Sharp had already planned a solo tour of America, and recording sessions with famed Dylan producer Bob Johnson, that coincided with the planned tour for "The Road". The tour and video fell through, and IRS was left with a bitter taste in its mouth for one of its most treasured artists. Their support for The Alarm dwindled away from that point forward.

Raw was released in May of 1991 and quickly hit #33 on the UK album charts before plummeting out of site. IRS records was still supporting The Alarm's Standards , and were hard-pressed to fully promote a new album that might cut into the sales of the extremely successful retrospective. In the USA, IRS's half-hearted promotional effort left the band without a single from Raw (although the title-track was a mild radio-hit), and failed to create any sort of excitement about the band's return. For all the agony that went into the making the Raw, it was not a total disaster. It was a testament to the power of The Alarm's music that the album turned out listenable. Along with "Moments In Time", the other memorable tunes included the sweepingly beautiful of "The Wind Blows Away My Words", and Dave Sharp's cynical masterpiece "Wonderful World".
To support the album, the band embarked on a tour of the USA, Europe, and the UK culminating in a final show, June 30th, at Brixton Academy. The tour had gone amazingly well. The band was in top form, playing a sweaty, blistering set of their best live material night in and out. Fans who had been dismayed by circulating rumors of The Alarm's imminent demise were re-invigorated by the quality of the live shows. However, it would not last long. The behind-the-scenes feuds continued throughout the entire tour, and by the time the Brixton show arrived Mike Peters had decided to leave the band. Instead of announcing his decision to the papers, or quietly telling his band-mates, he decided to first tell the people that mattered to him most, the fans, even if it meant leaving the rest of the band in the dark until the last possible second. During the show, he substituted the lyrics in "Moments In Time" with more revealing ones, adding "This Is My Swan Song" to the chorus. When the band started playing the final song of the night, "Blaze Of Glory", Peters told the audience "this is my final moment with The Alarm". He finished the song, and as the strains of the audience shouted the song's timeless refrain over and over, he left the stage and The Alarm forever.
Aftermath...
And so it was, When the final chord of "Blaze Of Glory" was struck that night at Brixton, it spelled the end of the line for The Alarm. Mike Peters jumped into a car immediately after the show and was whisked back to Wales where he stayed out of the public eye for more than 18 months. The rest of the band was shocked and furious. They hadn't noticed the subtle hints Peters had been sending out,it was all a surprise to them. Since the "Raw" tour had ended, the remaining three split, as Twist put it "to the ends of the earth".

'''Recent History'''
Rumours abounded in the 90's that The alarm would reform, but nothing ever came of them. [[Nigel Twist]] once did join Mike Peters on stage for a gig in San Francisco, and Eddie Macdonald joined Mike Peters on stage for [[The Gathering]] in 1998, but neither event resulted in any kind of lasting reunion.
Mike Peters reformed The Alarm himself in 2000 as [[The Alarm 2000]] with Eddie Macdonald as the only other original member (playing rhythmn guitar). MacDonald left soon after, and Peters continued the band with new members Craig Adams (bass), [[James Stevenson]] (guitar) and Steve Grantley (drums).
In 2004, VH1 featured The Alarm on the first season of the show Bands Reunited. The Alarm reformed for one night and played 8 songs. That was the last time all original members were on stage together.
The "new" Alarm to alter its' name as each year passed (The Alarm MMIII, The Alarm MMV, [[The Alarm MMVI), but by 2007, after settling issues with the original band members, is now simply known as The Alarm.