After more than twenty years the long awaited release date for The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 DVD has finally arrived!
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert, the legendary live worldwide broadcast, was first recorded in front of 25,000 Alarm fans at UCLA in Los Angeles on Apr. 12, 1986. The concert, with yours truly in attendance, was transmitted via a historic first-ever satellite transmission to millions of homes around the globe on MTV.
Previously only ever available in the immediate aftermath of the concert, the original video was subsequently withdrawn at the request of the band (who were unhappy with the original unmixed sound quality), and has been out of print for over twenty years.
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert is now available as a special Collectors DVD/CD Digipak featuring a massive amount of content that took Mike Peters the best part of a decade to assemble after relentlessly searching for and eventually finding the original master tapes through the Capitol Records/MTV/Alarm archives.
The Alarm - Spirit Of '86 concert features a complete digital restoration of the original footage re-edited and enhanced into a modern 16:9 widescreen format plus a complete remix of the concert audio into both stereo and 5:1 formats.
The Special Edition Collectors Digipak also includes a full colour 12 page 85/86 Tour Program booklet and also includes a separate audio CD of the complete concert featuring for the first time ever the previously unreleased and legendary lost encore, "We Are The Light."
Special features include a previously unseen 1986 interview with Mike Peters and guitarist Dave Sharp plus the original MTV concert trailer and backstage feature, the Strength album TV advert and all Strength album UK/USA videos together with previously unseen footage of The Alarm in concert at Rutgers University in New Jersey on Mar. 11, 1986. The DVD also includes a restoration feature including a brand new interview with Mike Peters.
Included on the DVD is a special alternative acoustic concert soundtrack recorded by Mike Peters that has been synched to the original footage, providing a unique perspective on this historic Alarm performance.
Individual audio commentaries from all the original group members plus Alarm manager Ian Wilson provide a fascinating insight into the inner workings and dynamic of the band during this period in time.
The complete concert features the following songs:
Declaration/Marching On/Howling Wind/Knife Edge/Blaze Of Glory/Absolute Reality/Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?/Walk Forever By My Side/Spirit Of '76/Sixty Eight Guns/Strength/Knocking On Heaven's Door/We Are The Light
Click here to order.
Material: myspace.com/thealarm
A cancer awareness group and a team of British and US musicians claim to have staged the world's highest concert - on the slopes of Mount Everest.
The US-based Love Hope Strength Foundation said the Everest Rocks concert was held at 18,540ft. Earlier, the group said it intends to register the performance with Guinness World Records.
Six musicians performed at the concert - Mike Peters of The Alarm, Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats, Cy Curnin and Jamie West of the Fixx, and Glenn Tilbrook and Nick Harper of Squeeze.
The group of more than 30 trekked to their performance site at Kalapathar hill, near the base camp used by mountaineers scaling Everest, on October 21.
"Today she (Everest) allowed our Love Hope Strength team to look at her charms from 18,540ft and to share with her some of our humble songs and to break the record for the world's highest concert on land," said Peters, a former cancer patient.
Before leaving for the mountain, organisers said money raised from the performance would be used to buy equipment for the Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital near Kathmandu.
The Colorado-based Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) is an international charity with chapters in the US, UK and Australia. Founded by leukemia survivors Mike Peters of the Welsh rock band the Alarm and President of CSI Entertainment James Chippendale with the goal of providing all cancer patients with the same opportunities that they had, including access to information, quality cancer treatment and the best medication available. The Love Hope Strength Foundation (LHSF) raises funds and awareness for international cancer centers and networks through music-related events and promotions.
Material: The Press Association & lovehopestrength.org
The reunion concert now available on DVD
The complete recorded footage of the events leading up to the concert, held in London in October of 2003, and the full live gig are now available on a 6 hour 3 DVD Set plus Bonus Audio Disc.
The DVD features the complete Alarm Reunion Concert plus extensive footage of all the ambush sequences together with every interview given during the course of the program by Mike Peters, Eddie Macdonald, Dave Sharp and Nigel Twist.
Over 6 hours of unseen footage, including a behind the scenes film of the original Alarm performing for first time in rehearsals leading up to the gig, and the complete group interview during which The Alarm confront the events that broke the band back in 1991.
Also included are hours of programming as The Alarm are followed by cameras every step of the way towards an emotional reunion live on stage with their fans in London on October 28th, 2003.
"And heroes are exactly what they are. It strikes me at that moment, that this is one of the amazing things about these guys. Offstage, whenever I have talked to any of them, they are normal down-to-Earth people. But when they get together on stage and make music, something magical happens. The Alarm is the sum of its parts. An amazing chemistry exists when all four are on stage together, and as they return for possibly their final performance together, I stand in awe - amazed that these four people can still move me as much as they did 20 years ago."
Material: myspace.com/thealarm & myspace.com/goldengraz
The Alarm to reissue Spirit Of '86 on DVD
The concert, held at UCLA in 1986, with Waist High and good friend Amy Langfield in attendance, has been held back to accommodate audio commentary from all of the original members. An official release date will be set in the coming weeks once production has been completed.
The Alarm's 1985 Strength tour and it's 1986 counterpart the Spirit Of '86 tour were a triumph. 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 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 to 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, which holds a place in history as being "the very first global satellite concert in front of a live audience."
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.
Photo: Kevin J.R. via thealarm.com
Material: the alarm.com, & hmmagazine.com via chrissyfessler.blogspot.com
Formed in Wales in 1977, The Alarm, originally called The Toilets, moved to London in 1981 and self-released their debut single, "Unsafe Building."
"In 1982, they signed with IRS Records and issued another single, 'Marching On.' On the strength of their live shows, U2 tapped them to open their 1983 supporting tour for War, which helped make the group's next single, the Stephen King retelling 'The Stand' into an underground hit."
The Alarm's self-titled debut EP "appeared later in 1983, compiling previous single releases, and setting the stage for the release of their first proper album, Declaration, in 1984. A top ten U.K. hit, Declaration spun off several popular singles, including 'Sixty-Eight Guns,' (which made the top 20) 'Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?,' 'The Deceiver,' and the live staple 'Blaze of Glory.' Non-LP singles followed in a cover of 'The Bells of Rhymney,' the new wave dance tune 'The Chant (Has Just Begun),' and the British Top 40 hit 'Absolute Reality.'"
The Alarm's sophomore effort, 1985's Strength "was another U.K. success, and brought them into the Top 40 of the U.S. album charts for the first time. Additionally, the single 'Spirit of 76' was a Top 40 U.K. hit. Strength displayed greater subtlety and maturity in both their songwriting and arrangements, and was often hailed as the group's best overall album."
The Alarm took a break after the supporting tour and returned in 1987 with "Eye of the Hurricane, which featured more polished, mainstream production. The album helped them gain some rock radio play in America with the singles 'Presence of Love,' 'Rescue Me,' and especially the more danceable 'Rain in the Summertime.'"
A concert EP, Electric Folklore: Live, followed in 1988.
1989's Change was an "homage to the group's native Wales, and was accompanied by an alternate Welsh-language version, Newid. Produced by Tony Visconti, Change spawned the group's biggest modern rock radio hit in America, 'Sold Me Down the River,' which also put them in the U.S. pop Top 50 for the first and only time."
Raw was The Alarm's final effort, and "The Road" was their final radio hit. The original members of The Alarm appeared together on the VH1 show Bands Reunited in 2005.
In December 2005 Mike learned he had leukaemia, 10 years after beating it the first time. In his first newspaper interview since being diagnosed, Mike revealed he was responding well to chemotherapy. On Feb. 20, 2006, The Alarm released their latest album Under Attack.
PETERS WAS RECENTLY VOTED #11 IN AN ON-LINE POLL OF 100 WELSH HEROES.
God speed.
Quoted material: poemhunter.com
THE ALARM'S new album Under Attack will be released on February 20th. The new single "Superchannel" is scheduled for release on Monday February 6th.
(thealarm.com) I have listened to the album anew and have been shocked by the prescient nature of the lyrical and musical content. This is the first album in a long time where I allowed the content to be driven by the force of the band. I had no lyrics to begin with, only music, and allowed the lyrical content to form during the rehearsal sessions with the band.I then spent hours transcribing recordings of the songs to find the lyrical direction that my endeavours were taking me. My body must have known what I did not. The doctors have said to me that I may have been carrying my cancer for the last twelve months at least. Now I know why my instinct lead me to title the album Under Attack. Now I know why the lyrics for "Without A Fight" mean so much more than they did a few weeks ago. Now I know why it is difficult for me to listen to "This Is The Way We Are." Now I know why I feel calm when I hear "It's Alright/It's O.K." Now I know why I feel Under Attack is the best album I have ever recorded.
When Under Attack comes out, I'm sure it will touch you all as emotionally and as hard as it has hit me. I can't wait to be with you all at The Gathering and perform again with James Stevenson, Craig Adams and Steve Grantley who, like you, have all been dear and true friends to me throughout this difficult time in my life. It has often been said that The Alarm was a band built on friendship; it has never been more true than it is today.
I look forward to sharing good times with you all in 2006.
Love and life,
Mike Peters
Material courtesy: remembertheeighties.com
Photo of The Alarm at UCLA in 1986 courtesy: Amy Langfield via The Waist High Collection
