THE ALARM:
The Clicks Have Just Begun
by Tim Frommer
Ah, the Alarm. Indeed, Wales finest were one with the 80s: defiant, at times bombastic, those 'dos, and they wore really cool boots. Great moments are back in your memory, I'm sure of it: "68 Guns," touring with U2, the "Spirit of '86" gig in LA, the exploding poppy, "Rain in the Summertime." What was it about the heroic guitar bands from the 80s who wore their hearts on their sleeves (Big Country anyone?).
The Alarm's twentieth anniversary is this year and Mike Peters has taken an outfit on the road for about a year now known as Alarm 2000 in part to acknowledge that Dave Sharp, Eddie MacDonald and Twist weren't anywhere to be seen. The absolute reality of all this is discussed in at the Alarm's official site, a great compendium for all things Alarm. The solo careers of Sharp and Peters are treated here as well with news, history, releases as are other side projects and Peters' new outfit Dead Men Walking featuring some guy named Glen Matlock on bass. Never mind the poppies...
Peters is some sort of Welsh cross of Woody Guthrie and Johnny Appleseed. He's taken his acoustic guitar all over the planet and spread his word of rock, commitment, spirituality and responsibility. To celebrate the reconstituted Alarm, all of the band's albums were remastered for CD and bolster with many extra tracks. Total diehards can buy a boxed set of all eight albums and Peters would record an extra song of your choice with its own dedication for you. Nothing like showing the fans a little love. This set is still available at the site as is plenty of other merchandise with cheques payable to the Mike Peters Organisation. Following in the footsteps of Pearl Jam (although at twice the price), Peters has released all of the recent concerts in limited edition quantities.
The news and discography sections of the site are the most comprehensive. If you think you're an Alarm completist, I'd wager you're missing something. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any sound or video clips anywhere though. What about an Alarm (clock) radio feature since there are a few hundred songs to choose from for a streaming audio experience? Even the photo section was somewhat disappointing, especially considering that Peters has been dragging a laptop and projection screen around with him on his US dates telling stories and sharing photos of the old times. Outside of the song archive that is searchable, the only real web-related features are a downloadable screen saver with that omnipresent poppy and a message board that requires free registration to read or post.
Certainly a place to get lost in for a little while, particularly for those who went marching on so long ago.
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