Tributes paid after death of The Alarm’s Mike Peters, age 66: “Totally free”

Mike Peters of the Welsh new wave band The Alarm has died aged 66.

The news was announced by The Alarm’s official Instagram page, writing that Peters is now “totally free”. No cause of death was shared, but Peters had lived with blood cancer on and off for 30 years since being first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1995. He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer care through his foundation Love Hope Strength.

Most recently, he had announced his cancer had returned on April 29 last year, sharing that his Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia had transformed into a High Grade Lymphoma. Shortly afterwards, he said that his leukemia had undergone “an overnight transformation into a rare and aggressive form of lymphoma known as Richter’s Syndrome”.

In a personal message posted on The Alarm’s Facebook page, Peters wrote: “I’m writing personally to thank you for the love and understanding shown to me and my family during my trials at The Christie Hospital, Manchester, throughout these challenging last few months.”

Born in Prestatyn, North Wales, Peters formed The Alarm in 1981 after its members had previously played together in punk band The Toilets. They scored a UK Top 20 hit in 1983 with ‘Sixty Eight Guns’, and would sell an estimated five million records in their career, along with being the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack America.

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That same year, The Alarm joined U2 on their US arena tour, and would go on to support huge names like Bob Dylan, The Police and Queen. They went on to secure a further eight UK Top 40 singles, with their most recent studio album being 2021’s ‘WAЯ’. 

Tributes to Peters have been posted on social media, with the Football Association of Wales (FAW) also paying tribute in a lengthy statement. Peters recorded Wales’ EURO 2020 song, ‘The Red Wall of Cymru’, and was a lifelong fan of Welsh football.

Ian Gwyn Hughes, the FAW’s Head of Public Relations & Culture, wrote that Peters was “so passionate and genuine”, adding that he was a “natural choice” to compose ‘The Red Wall Of Cymru’, “a song he described as a story of real people coming together.” He travelled the length and breadth of the country meeting members of the Red Wall in eleven different locations.

“Often seen at the side of the pitch at the Cardiff City stadium before matches, Mike was humble, always positive and smiling. He will not only be remembered for his music but also as just a proper, genuine football fan who made a huge contribution to the culture of The Red Wall. Our sympathies to his family”.

Find more tributes to Peters below:

RIP the Welsh legend Mike Peters

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