So…. where do I start? Today, December 15 2011 is my 28th year anniversary of seeing The Alarm for the first time and to mark that occasion it has come full circle as I look forward to seeing Mike play tonight in NY once again so many, many years later. If it wasn’t for my then 13 year old sister Dahlia, so passionately convincing me to see the band, this would all be so different now..
I have been rather reflective & emotional the past few days in writing this because of what has been such a life altering experience for me and I felt I wanted to put in words as a testimony of what power music has in our lives.
As the stage lights came up in a club called The Ritz on a cold December night in 1983, little could I have imagined what would become the soundtrack of my life for nearly 3 decades. From the beginning intro of Declaration and those guitars held high I was absolutely blown away and never turned back.
Who knew it would ever last this long and have such an impact.
I was a 17 year old girl naive to that huge world out there, & it was this band that taught me invaluable lessons about faith & love & integrity & courage & at times about pain & injustice, as well as the hurts that we must all go through.
It was through Mike & Dave’s,& Nige & Eddie’s words & actions that made me a better person, made me who I am & embodied permanently in me the “Spirit of the Alarm” that forever runs through my blood, and I only hope I honour that spirit by sharing that every day in my small way with every person that I meet in this life.
Hundreds of shows, dozens of cities around the world, planes, trains, automobiles and tour buses have given me hands down the most priceless education in the school of life.
So many acquaintances I met along the way have become lifelong friends and those are the things that truly embodies the spirit of this band for me.
I thank the Alarm for these miraculous bonds of friendship that I and many of us share with people all over the world ,for it was their words that broke down the barriers of geographic borders and made us the Alarm “Family”. One that is celebrated at every gig and every Gathering and every time even two of us meet.
What a tremendous gift we have all been bestowed with. It’s been about a connection, a divine fate, & a destiny that we all have come together. All because 4 lads in North Wales had a vision & a most beautiful dream. It was that vision has given me the power to stand up, to speak out, & do my best to make a difference in this world. It’s about relating to each other, and not to be cliche’, but it truly is about “Love, Hope, & Strength”.
I will always remain grateful & humbled for the impact the band has had in my life.
They have saved me from many dark moments,within myself & from the hurts that this life has delivered at times. Those words spoke to me in ways that made me feel like I wasn’t alone. And at the same time those same songs allow us all to sing and dance and celebrate the human spirit and the life we share.
So many of my life events have been defined by those songs, and each with an intense & personal meaning that goes beyond literary semantics.They are words that have become my life’s philosophies. Words of justice,anger, sadness, hope, comradery,enlightenment, love, war, politics, poetry, comfort, freedom and individuality. Those words have changed LIVES for so many.
The Alarm truly are, and continue to be ,the voice of our generation. So many things have changed and yet have stayed the same. Births, Deaths, Break-ups, Line Up’s, 1983, 1991, 2011… yet at the core the message has never lost the integrity & passion that they shared with us and their personal friendship has transcended the music.
Although my role in the past few years is a bit more official, these days I’m as excited as ever when I hear those opening chords and those first few notes that take me right back to a NYC stage in 1983..
The writer Edward George Bulwer wrote that Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a spirit of sorts, one which never dies..
And so as I reflect on all of these years and memories my most heartfelt gratitude for giving me this lifetime of wonderful gifts & friendship of Mike and Jules and the Family,and the MPO team,the band both past and present and of course my fellow fans. I am both honoured & proud, & undoubtedly Blessed to have shared this hard travellin’ road & celebration of life. It’s been quite an amazing journey,& one that will remain with me “until the day that I die”
Lily Elsayed-15th Dec 2011
New Jersey