The Alarm - Early Years

Early Years

A punk band was formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1977, billed as The Toilets. It contained Mike Peters (aka Eddie Bop), Glyn Crossley (aka Steve Shock), Richard 'O'Malley' Jones (aka Bo Larks) and Nigel Buckle (aka Des Troy). In 1978 the band ceased to exist and a new group was formed named Seventeen. with both Mike Peters and Nigel Buckle alongside Eddie Macdonald (who had been Mike Peters' next door but one neighbour in Edward Henry Street, Rhyl). Seventeen began as a three piece but were soon joined by guitarist David Kitchingman (who changed his name to Dave Sharp) and were a power pop mod band who released a single ("Don't Let Go" / "Bank Holiday Weekend") in March 1980 and toured with the Stray Cats later that year. They played their last concert together under the new name of Alarm Alarm in January 1981 at the Half Moon, Herne Hill, Dulwich, London but this would also be the last time this name was used.

The band soon reformed under the new name of The Alarm (with Nigel Buckle changing his surname to Twist), and played their first gig at The Victoria Hotel, Prestatyn, North Wales on 10 June 1981, opening with "Shout to the Devil", which would later appear on the Declaration LP.

They moved from North Wales to London in September 1981, and the band recorded a one-off 7" single. One thousand copies were pressed that month, featuring "Unsafe Building" on the 'electric' side and "Up For Murder" on the 'acoustic' side. The single was noticed by Mick Mercer, who featured it as his single of the month in his ZigZag magazine. The band played a show with The Fall in December 1981, where a journalist from Sounds noticed them. This journalist attended the band's next show, at Upstairs at Ronnie's in London's West End. Also at this show was a representative of Wasted Talent, who arranged a meeting between the band and Ian Wilson, U2's agent. Wilson arranged another show in order to assess the band's quality, was impressed, and became the band's manager soon after. To celebrate, The Alarm played with U2 at the Lyceum Ballroom on 22 December 1981.

In 1982, the band began to record demos for various record labels, but had little success. At this point, they were playing with three acoustic guitarists. The band were eventually offered a deal by I.R.S. Records. This forced them to make a decision on who was to play which musical instrument, and it was decided that Peters would concentrate on singing, with Sharp on guitar and Macdonald playing bass.

"Marching On" was released as a single in October 1982, and the band's sound started to become clear. On stage, they would almost always begin gigs acoustically, before finishing with electric guitars. Constant gigging in London helped the band build up a following, and in December 1982, they played four shows with U2. These shows were the first time that Bono joined The Alarm on stage.

A new song, "The Stand", was recorded in Battersea in April 1983, and was released in the UK as a single. The song's lyrics were inspired by Stephen King's novel of the same name. Outside the UK, the song was released as part of a five-track EP, entitled The Alarm. The EP was released to coincide with The Alarm's first tour of the U.S. in June 1983. Following the success of the sessions that produced "The Stand", I.R.S. picked up their recording option on the band, signalling the start of work on an album. Another session with producer Mick Glossop was arranged to produce a new single, with "Blaze of Glory" recorded and released.

In June 1983, The Alarm embarked on their first tour of the U.S., supporting U2 on the War Tour. The 18-date tour went a long way in establishing the band in the U.S. "The Stand" was quickly released by I.R.S. to capitalise on this, supported by TV appearances on The Cutting Edge and American Bandstand.

Following the tour, the band returned to the UK to begin working with producer Alan Shacklock on the new album. They focused on re-recording "Blaze of Glory" and "Sixty Eight Guns". After the sessions, the band recorded a video for "Sixty Eight Guns" and flew back to America to begin their first headline American tour. "Sixty Eight Guns" was released as a single on 12 September 1983, and charted the following week at number 50. The same week, the band performed the song on the BBC Television music show Top of the Pops. The song subsequently climbed into the Top 20 and remains their highest charting single, peaking at No. 17.