A brief word in honour of Mike Peters from The Alarm, who lost his battle against cancer earlier this week. Peters was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 30 years ago and he's been campaigning for cancer charities ever since, to the point that he was awarded an MBE in 2019 for his work in that area.
I reckon he deserved one for his services to music too...
Some great rockers there, but my absolute favourite Alarm song is the one where the brought the Morriston Orpheus choir in for a tribute to Welsh mining communities. Released as a double A side with The Rock, it only made #31 in the UK charts.. It should have been Number One.
In 2004, long after The Alarm's heyday, Peters snuck back into the UK Top 40, disguising his band for this little gem...
At this point in the proceedings of Celebrity Jukebox, I usually check to see if anyone else has mentioned our late star in one of their songs. I didn't expect to find any name-checks for Mike Peters... but I should have known Nigel Blackwell would save the day. It's perhaps a little bit snarky (though more towards Runrig - the Peters mention is perhaps because The Alarm were known for being a reliable support act to the biggest bands of the 80s and 90s), but personally I can think of no higher tribute than a mention in a Half Man Half Biscuit songs, whatever the reason...
Runrig with special guest Mike Peters
Red and white, black and white, blue and white bandanas
See what we’ve gone and done
To the band who got a bit pompous
They called their fan club an Information Service
I was never a fan of The Alarm, but there is no doubt, going by the many tributes that have been written in recent days, that Mike Peters was one of the genuinely good guys.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Rol. And yes, I'm inclined to think Nigel was directing his ire at the Scottish folk-rockers.
There is nothing worse than being at some sort of party/celebration (weddings tend to be the worst) and the DJ closes the night by playing Runrig's live take on 'Loch Lomond',
Same as JC. Never really a fan but the more I learn about him the more I admire him.
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