Latest news with #SixtyEightGuns
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
All welcome at Alarm singer Mike Peters' funeral
An open "come as you are" invite has been extended to anyone who wishes to go to the funeral of The Alarm singer Mike Peters. The front man of the Welsh rock band died last month, aged 66 after having lived with blood cancer for 30 years following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995. Peters formed his band in 1981 in Rhyl, Denbighshire, out of the punk era and had a top 20 hit, Sixty Eight Guns, two years later. His family posted on Facebook that those who could not fit inside the church could hear the service from the grounds outside. Peters' funeral will be held in the Parish Church of St Bridget and St Cwyfan in Dyserth, Denbighshire, on 29 May at 15:00 BST - but attendees are encouraged to arrive before 14:00. Peters was born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, and lived in Dyserth with his wife of 39 years, Jules and their sons Dylan, 20 and Evan, 18. Cancer recovery inspires band's return Alarm singer Mike Peters awarded MBE Rock star recruits bone marrow donors Peters was first diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995, and later diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which returned in 2015. The singer became ill again in 2025, when his Richter syndrome - an aggressive form of lymphoma - returned. Peters returned to his roots before he died, with his wife previously saying: "We brought him home. He passed with us all by his side." Extending the open invitation to the funeral, Mrs Peters said: "There is no dress code - please wear whatever you feel most comfortable in, camo, Alarm, formal, rock'n'roll or Love Hope Strength attire. Come as you are! "It feels profoundly right that Mike's farewell will take place in Dyserth, the village where he was born and he proudly called home." Peters started the band The Toilets in Rhyl in 1977 after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester. After various changes of line-up and name, The Alarm played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981 before going on to sell an estimated five million records and become the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack America.
American Military News
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- American Military News
The Alarm front man Mike Peters dead at 66 after 30-year cancer battle
Mike Peters, the front man of 1980s alternative rock group the Alarm, has died after a decadeslong battle with cancer. He was 66. His death was confirmed in a statement from the group's publicist on Tuesday. A memorial video was also posted on YouTube. The north Wales native co-founded the Alarm with Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist and Eddie McDonald in the early 1980s before landing a record deal with I.R.S. Records, whose roster boasted R.E.M. and the Go-Gos. The group gained traction and built a fan base with the songs 'The Stand,' 'Strength' and 'Sixty Eight Guns,' which charted in the U.K. Other notable tracks include 'Blaze of Glory,' 'Spirit of 76' and 'Marching On.' Peters, who also played with Bruce Springsteen, lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995. Battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia twice, he was a longstanding activist in the fight against cancer. The rocker and his wife Jules — a breast cancer survivor herself — co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation, with a mission to raise awareness on new treatments for cancer patients. The couple were the subject of the 2017 documentary 'Mike and Jules: While We Still Have Time.' Their rock & roll cancer charity's 'Get on the List' campaigns have reportedly helped add 250,000 people to the global stem cell registry. While Peters exited the Alarm in 1991, he revived the band years later, releasing several albums and touring. After going into remission and relapsing several times, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was diagnosed with Richter's syndrome, another aggressive form of lymphoma, shortly before embarking on a string of U.S. concerts last year. According to the BBC, he went into remission again in September, but the cancer came back. Peters is survived by wife, and their sons, Dylan, 20, and Evan, 18. ___ © 2025 New York Daily News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Mike Peters obituary
Emerging in the post-punk era at the start of the 1980s, the Welsh rock group the Alarm came to embody an almost evangelical belief in the power of rock'n'roll that won them hordes of devoted fans around the world. Mike Peters, who has died aged 66 from blood cancer, was a tireless and inspiring frontman and songwriter for the group, always ready to expound the virtues of faith, belief and perseverance. The group's concert performances were ecstatic communal celebrations between band and audience, especially in songs such as the anthemic Blaze of Glory or the Clash-like air-puncher Sixty Eight Guns (1983). At MTV's Spirit of '86 concert, the Alarm played to 25,000 fans at UCLA in California in a performance beamed live around the world by satellite. However, the group's crowd-pulling appeal never quite translated into massive record sales, with Sixty Eight Guns giving them their highest-charting single in the UK, reaching No 17 in 1983. Their debut album, Declaration (1984), on which Sixty Eight Guns featured, reached No 6 on the UK chart (and 50 in the US). Subsequent album releases Strength (1985), Eye of the Hurricane (1987) and Change (1989) all reached the UK Top 30. Strength also gave them their highest US chart position when it reached No 39, while the album's title track reached 12 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. In 1987 they scored a No 6 hit on the same chart with the electronica-flavoured Rain in the Summertime, and reached No 2 the following year with Sold Me Down the River. What would become the Alarm began in 1977 as the Rhyl-based punk band the Toilets, inspired by Peters seeing the Sex Pistols perform. The band name evolved into Seventeen, then Alarm Alarm, and finally the Alarm, the line-up comprising Peters alongside guitarist Dave Sharp, bass player Eddie Macdonald and drummer Nigel Twist, and they played their debut gig at the Victoria hotel, Prestatyn, on 6 June 1981. In September that year they moved to London. They acquired a manager, U2's agent Ian Wilson, which earned the Alarm a support slot with U2 at the Lyceum in December 1981. The next year they signed with I.R.S. records and played further shows with U2, with Bono also joining the Alarm on stage. The two groups shared a Celtic heritage as well as religious faith, with Peters's Christian beliefs reflected in lyrics of songs such as The Stand or Shout to the Devil. In 1983 the Alarm went to the US supporting U2 on their War tour, a visit that successfully launched them in the States. The following year they supported the Pretenders on their stateside Learning to Crawl tour, and in 1986 they supported Queen at two Wembley Stadium concerts. In 1988 they toured the US and Canada supporting Bob Dylan. The Alarm split up in 1991 after Peters announced his departure following a gig at Brixton Academy in south London, though the group would be revived in the new millennium. In 1995 he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The following year he had made a recovery and was able to tour and record again, but in 2005 was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Two years later, Peters founded the cancer charity Love Hope Strength Foundation with an American businessman, James Chippendale, and with assistance from his wife, Jules Jones. In one of many bold endeavours, in October 2007 he trekked to the Mount Everest base camp and performed with musicians including Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze and Slim Jim Phantom from the Stray Cats, to raise money and awareness. Born in Prestatyn in Denbighshire, Mike grew up in Rhyl. His childhood friend Kevin Davies described how they both attended Christchurch primary school and played in the football team: 'Mike lived at the Crescent public house on Edward Henry Street. My family owned The Crescent Egg Packing Station … and we used to play footie in the yard and Subbuteo in one of the buildings.' Some of these recollections would feature in the lyrics of Peters's song Edward Henry Street (2003). Mike met Jules in 1986, when back in Rhyl after touring with Queen. Mike said: 'I was back home and kept bumping into her – but whenever I did it was like electricity. I needed another fix.' They became engaged a week later, and married in 1988. After leaving the band, Peters released his first solo album, Breathe, in 1995. It was the first of a string of frequently live and acoustic releases including new material as well as songs from all stages of his career. On Rise (1998) he experimented with drum machines and various studio effects. In 1999 he formed Coloursound with Billy Duffy from the Cult, and they recorded an eponymous studio album. In 2001 he toured with Dead Men Walking, a British supergroup consisting of fellow veterans Pete Wylie from Wah!, the former Sex Pistol Glen Matlock, Kirk Brandon from Spear of Destiny and Captain Sensible from the Damned. From 2011 for two years, Peters was lead vocalist of the Scottish band Big Country (their original frontman, Stuart Adamson, died in 2001), and appeared on their album The Journey. Peters also revived the Alarm name, although he recruited new musicians to replace the original band members, including members of Stiff Little Fingers, the Cult and the Sisters of Mercy, and Jules on keyboards. He would record 16 new Alarm albums between 2002 and 2023, under the band name the Alarm MM++, using Roman numerals to indicate album release dates. In 2004, they had notched up a Top 30 hit with 45RPM, a blast of punk energy that they released under the pseudonym the Poppy Fields. Peters assumed they would be written off as has-beens if it had been released by the Alarm. He explained: 'I'm 44 but I'm writing new songs as fresh and as vibrant as anything I've ever done. In Britain … if you're over 35 you're dismissed as over the hill.' Sara Sugarman's 2012 film Vinyl was based on the story of Peters and the Alarm, and starred Phil Daniels as Johnny Jones, an old punk-rocker trying to make a comeback. In 2017 BBC One Wales aired the film Mike and Jules: While We Still Have Time, which documented each of their experiences with cancer. After several years in remission, in 2024 Peters was found to have developed Richter's syndrome (an aggressive form of lymphoma). He is survived by Jules and their sons, Dylan and Evan. Michael Leslie Peters, musician, singer and songwriter, born 25 February 1959; died 29 April 2025
The Star
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
The Alarm frontman Mike Peters dies at 66 after 30-year cancer battle
Musician Mike Peters, who also played with Bruce Springsteen, lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995. Photo: TNS Mike Peters, the frontman of 1980s alternative rock group the Alarm, has died after a decadeslong battle with cancer. He was 66. His death was confirmed in a statement from the group's publicist on Tuesday. A memorial video was also posted on YouTube. The north Wales native co-founded the Alarm with Dave Sharp, Nigel Twist and Eddie McDonald in the early 1980s before landing a record deal with I.R.S. Records, whose roster boasted R.E.M. and the Go-Gos. The group gained traction and built a fan base with the songs The Stand, Strength and Sixty Eight Guns , which charted in the UK. Other notable tracks include Blaze Of Glory, Spirit Of 76 and Marching On. Peters, who also played with Bruce Springsteen, lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995. Battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia twice, he was a longstanding activist in the fight against cancer. The rocker and his wife Jules — a breast cancer survivor herself — co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation, with a mission to raise awareness on new treatments for cancer patients. The couple were the subject of the 2017 documentary Mike And Jules: While We Still Have Time. Their rock & roll cancer charity's 'Get on the List' campaigns have reportedly helped add 250,000 people to the global stem cell registry. While Peters exited the Alarm in 1991, he revived the band years later, releasing several albums and touring. After going into remission and relapsing several times, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was diagnosed with Richter's syndrome, another aggressive form of lymphoma, shortly before embarking on a string of US concerts last year. According to the BBC, he went into remission again in September, but the cancer came back. Peters is survived by wife, and their sons, Dylan, 20, and Evan, 18. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
Los Angeles Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Mike Peters, singer for Welsh rockers the Alarm, dead at 66 after cancer battle
Mike Peters, the singer for the Welsh rock group the Alarm, has died. He was 66. Peters died of cancer, which he had battled publicly as an activist and fundraiser for treatments. Peters lived with lymphoma and, later, chronic lymphocytic leukemia. His death was first announced in a statement from his band and his charitable foundation. The Alarm formed in 1981 in Rhyl, Denbighshire, emerging after the U.K. punk wave of the late '70s with a more hook-driven, approachable but fiery sound that won acclaim in the U.K. and abroad. The Alarm sold millions of records and joined a small list of Welsh acts, including Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler, to find worldwide fame. Singles like 'The Stand,' 'Sixty Eight Guns,' 'Blaze of Glory' and 'Rain in the Summertime' embodied the band's rousing songwriting. And the group became a favorite opener for stadium-rock acts of the '80s including Queen and U2, whose 1983 tour introduced the Alarm to the United States. The band, proud of its Welsh heritage, in 1989 released 'Newid,' a Welsh-language version of its 1989 album 'Change.' Peters quit the group in 1991 and performed with his wife Jules — who also fought her own cancer — in the Poets of Justice (he also briefly fronted the Scottish act Big Country). He reunited the Alarm in 2000 and hit the U.K. charts in 2004 when, in a clandestine stunt, he wrote and recorded a single as a fictional teenage punk band, the Poppy Fields. The prank inspired a 2013 feature film, 'Vinyl.' Peters was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1995 and spent two decades undergoing intensive treatment. In 2005, he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which returned in 2015. With his wife, he co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation, which helped recruit bone marrow donors at live concerts. He performed in unconventional locations to raise money for the charity, including Mt. Kilimanjaro and 'Big Busk' walking concerts between cancer wards in Wales. Acts including Bono, Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young joined him onstage for charity events, and in 2019 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his cancer activism. Peters shot a documentary, 'While We Still Have Time,' about his and his wife's cancer battles. This year he fell ill with a recurrence of Richter's syndrome — an especially dangerous form of lymphoma. Peters is survived by his wife and their children, Dylan and Evan.
