Alarm Photo credit Dave Hooley
By Dave Woodhall.
I’ve been to a few Alarm gigs over the years, and you know what to expect at each one. Big hair (well, not so much now), power chords and singalong choruses. Mike Peters has always won his heart on his sleeve and although it’s easy to mock, he put so much enthusiasm into his performances that it’s equally impossible not to get carried away on the tide of rock’n’roll evangelism.
Having said all that, Wednesday’s gig at the Robin didn’t get off to the best of starts with a few of the Alarm’s folkier tunes opening proceedings, culminating in new single Unbreak the Promise, which to me just didn’t work. The crowd were loving it though, joining in with just about everything.
Gradually the guitars became electric, the songs rockier and the audience even more raucous. Classic Alarm tracks The Stand and Blaze of Glory, newer ones such as Alarm Calling, were eagerly received as audience participation reached such a peak that had the front man nipped off stage nobody would really have noticed.
Alarm Photo credit Dave Hooley
Not that it was ever going to happen, though. Peters & co were rampaging around the stage like youngsters rather than the seasoned veterans they are – this is, after all, a 30th anniversary tour – and with everything he’s experienced in that time, some going through the motions could be excused. But no, every minute is full of the same passion that has been a hallmark of the Alarm since their early days. They may not sell so many records or pack out the venues they once commanded, but this is still the same no holds barred band it always was.
45RPM, the song they got into the charts in 2006 by pretending to be a new band half their age led into the triumphant closing anthem of anthems 68 Guns, with a snatch of Rocking in the Free World, the Neil Young song also covered by Peters’ side project Big Country. There’s been longer sets played on this stage but few with so much packed into them.
Alarm Photo credit Dave Hooley
The encore began with an additional member in the band. When Peters was fighting leukaemia some years ago he set up the Love Hope Strength charity for cancer research, and every night on the tour the chance to perform the song of the same name is auctioned off to a member of the audience. Tonight the opportunity to shake a tambourine and share a microphone raised £100. Deeside followed and a lengthy, rabble-rousing Spirit of 76 concluded proceedings.
It may have started off slowly, but the end result was never in any doubt. The Alarm continue to provide a memorable night out for anyone who feels that music should be a celebration rather than just an experience and doesn’t mind losing their voice to prove it. Long may the Spirit of 76 continue to shine.
