Feb 10 2004
IT MIGHT be more than a decade since he scored his last top 10 hit, but if his loyal fan base has anything to do with it Mike Peters will be on Top of the Pops before the month is out.
The former frontman of the seminal Welsh rock band The Alarm has a new single out this week.
Called 45 RPM, it’s a razor-sharp, punk pop song which retells the joy of buying your first single and hurrying home to play it.
And the song’s theme is also aimed at replicating the a similar sense of excitement felt by Peters’ loyal fans.
They rushed out yesterday to buy the single which was released in three different formats, two CDs and a 7in single under the moniker The Poppy Fields.
Fans from around the world were urged to place their orders en mass via the singer’s website, www.thealarm.com
The internet campaign was set up to encourage fans to buy the single on Monday, wherever they were in the world, in order to give the release a fighting chance of becoming a big hit.
Music lovers from around the globe who were unable to buy the single from their local retailer were also given the opportunity to buy the song online through the singer’s North Wales-based Mike Peters Organisation.
Yesterday staff at MPO went out to buy the singles for foreign fans at chart return shops in Prestatyn in order to secure that all important chart position on Sunday when the singles chart is announced.
Steve Fulton, a spokesman for Peters, said, “The idea was that due to the amount of people in our fanbase, we have a serious chance of a chart position if all fans purchase the three formats of the single.
“We have been humbled by the response so far and the incredible amount of pre-orders that have been made all over the country and from around the world.
“Now we have our fingers crossed we can score a hit.”
In South Wales the single, in all formats, was pre-ordered in large quantities.
A spokesman for HMV in Cardiff said, “We’ve been inundated with orders.
“We made sure we got in plenty of stock to cope with the demand.”
If Peters does score a hit it will mark a memorable start to a year that has already seen him excel in the search to find the greatest Welsh hero.
In the latest update of the 100 Welsh Heroes poll he lies hot on the trail of Owain Glyndwr, Aneurin Bevan and Tom Jones.
Publication::Publication:Western Mai
Author::Hannah Jones
