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North Wales Live
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Live
Mike Peters' heartbroken wife on her 'true love' and honouring his final wish
The heartbroken wife of The Alarm frontman Mike Peters has paid a moving tribute to her late husband, who died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, April 29. Jules Peters said Mike, 66, died at home and was now 'totally free' after a 30-year battle against lymphoma. The North Wales star had been undergoing treatment at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester. In recent weeks he had been taking part in a clinical trial in the hope of finding new ways to treat aggressive lymphoma. In a social media post, Jules said Mike had been brought back to the family home in Dyserth, Denbighshire, to spend his final moments with his family. 'He passed with us all by his side,' she wrote. 'Michael Peters' dying wishes were for us to be happy, to live our lives, to keep on moving forwards. He told me the other day that he would always be in the other room. Whilst my heart is forever broken after losing my true love in the early hours of this morning, I remain committed to living the best life ever in honour of our beloved Michael Leslie Peters, 1959-2025.' The Prestatyn-born musician was working in Kwik Save's IT department when he saw the Sex Pistols play in Chester. Inspired, he launched his own band, The Toilets, in Rhyl in 1977. After several line-up and name changes, The Alarm played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981. They would go on to sell around five million records, becoming the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack the US market, supporting big names such as U2, Queen, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995, Mike later twice battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. He and Jules – who fought her own cancer battle - were married for 39 years, having sons Dylan, 20 and Evan, 18. Despite Mike's overseas touring, he always felt the call of his homeland. Jules said he 'gravitated back to North Wales at any potential opportunity', adding: 'Lucky for me, as that's how I bumped into him in August 1986 and, boom, just like that, we were engaged within a week!' 'I was made for loving him. Aged nineteen he swept me off my feet and I never looked back. We always joked that I was the kisser and he was the kissed… "He always had his eye on the next tune, the next adventure and kept me wanting more. He was my Alpha Male.' Urging Mike's fans to 'be happy' for a life well lived, Jules added: 'I will forever be his kisser and will do my best to fulfil all of his desires, heading into the Next Life. Thanks for loving him so much.' Alongside Jules, he co-founded Love Hope Strength, a cancer charity to encourage action around stem cell donation. Mike himself underwent numerous drug treatments, trying novel therapies to keep his cancer at bay. Last year, he noticed a lump in his neck five days before he was due to fly to Chicago for a 50-date US tour, and a more aggressive form of lymphoma was diagnosed. Despite everything, Mike often played gigs in support of local causes, and co-arranged events such as Snowdon Rocks and Zip World Rocks. Following his death, tributes flooded in from musicians and bands around the world. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox In a heartfelt message, rock legends The Stranglers said: 'So sad to hear about the passing of our friend Mike Peters. A passionate artist and true gent, it was always a pleasure to see and tour with him, and he was easy, genial company. A fighter right to the end... Rest in peace Mike."
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Alarm singer Mike Peters dies aged 66
Mike Peters, front man of Welsh rockers The Alarm and a long-standing cancer campaigner and fundraiser, has died aged 66. His band was formed in 1981 in Rhyl, Denbighshire, out of the punk era and had a top 20 hit, Sixty Eight Guns, two years later. It typified an anthemic style of song but their unpretentious and down-to-earth approach earned loyal followings on both sides of the Atlantic. Peters lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995, and later having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia twice. He was born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, and lived in Dyserth with his wife of 39 years, Jules - who had fought her own cancer battle - and their sons Dylan, 20 and Evan, 18. He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer care. Peters - who had worked in the computer department for Kwik Save supermarket - had started a band The Toilets in Rhyl in 1977, after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester. After various changes of line-up, notably the introduction of guitarist Dave Sharp, and changes of name, The Alarm played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981. They would go on to sell an estimated five million records and also become the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack America. Rock star hopes therapy will end 30 years of cancer Rock star in cancer remission after drug trial Cancer recovery inspires band's return Thanks to a support slot with U2 on their 1983 US tour, The Alarm gained a transatlantic following - not an inconsiderable achievement. Their debut album Declaration was released in 1984. As well as Sixty Eight Guns, it also included another favourite, Blaze of Glory. The band had honed their live performances by extensive touring, and were also reliable "go-to" support choice for big names - which included Bob Dylan, Queen and U2 again - including an appreciative crowd at Cardiff's National Stadium in 1987. Despite their travels, The Alarm still had strong bonds with their homeland and Peters was able to live quietly in north Wales. The band also released a Welsh-language version of their 1989 album Change, called Newid. Peters announced from the stage in London that he was quitting The Alarm in 1991 but continued to work with The Poets Of Justice, the line-up including his wife Jules. He reformed The Alarm in 2000 and also worked as the singer for Big Country for a couple of years from 2011. The Alarm has sold more than five million albums and had 16 UK Top 50 singles. In 2004, as a humorous stunt aimed at the music industry and its obsession with youth, Peters released a single called 45 RPM - a retro-punk song - under the pseudonym of The Poppy Fields. He pretended his group were teenagers from Chester, who mimed along to the video for the song. It entered the top 30. The storyline was perfect to be translated into a film, Vinyl - directed by Sara Sugarman, incidentally from Rhyl, and an Alarm fan. Peters was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1995 and described his relationship with the cancer over the next two decades as like "fighting a war". At the end of 2005, the singer was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which returned in 2015 before he went into remission. He co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation alongside his wife to help recruit bone marrow donors at live music shows. It also involved Peters and fellow musicians taking treks to the Himalayas, to peaks including Mount Kilimanjaro and Snowdon in his native Wales. The 2007 concert was billed the "world's highest", watched by 3m online. In 2017, his Big Busk involved a walk between cancer wards at each north Wales hospital and ended on the summit of Snowdon. He would take his message to Washington and Westminster. Peters also filmed a documentary about his cancer fight and one with his wife Jules for BBC Wales about a year in their lives and her recovery from breast cancer, While We Still Have Time. Peters joined Bruce Springsteen on stage at charity concert in 2014 and musicians who had joined The Alarm for impromptu appearances ranged from Bono to Neil Young. Peters was affable and approachable and tireless in both his campaigning - and in continuing to tour with his music across Europe and the United States, as well as writing new material. There were also annual weekend events in Llandudno - The Gathering - which brought together fans from all over to celebrate the music of Peters and The Alarm. In March 2018, part of a tour of Germany was postponed after Peters suffered an allergic reaction to his medication. In 2025, he became ill again when his Richter syndrome - an aggressive form of lymphoma - returned. He said it would have killed him within two months if left untreated, adding music had kept him alive since his latest diagnosis. Peters said he hoped a highly specialised therapy which "re-programmes" his immune cells would lead to a "cancer free life". "It was devastating because it all happened in an instant," he said. "There was no chance to even think about it." In 2018, he told Guitar World magazine that his "simple message" was "to stay alive and appreciate every second you've got". "Live right up to the last breath and stay positive about the world, your family and the environment you live in." Stars come out for youth festival Daddy 'will only have seven more years'
