Update: Sadly Dave Spragg passed away in 2016. He was an inspiration to all who met him. It’s been four months since my last confession. 15 Feb 2015 So after having a particular encouraging couple of months as mentioned in my last update a dark cloud began to form over my life in Nov 2014, namely my fiftieth birthday. Now normally I’m not one for parties but I decided that [read more]
Where to begin? I first came across the Alarm around 1984, hearing Declaration. I immediately gripped by the music – having previously been more attuned to the likes of Status Quo (though please don’t hold that against me!). I was especially taken with “The Stand” having only recently read the book from where the song was derived. Sadly, for one reason and another I didn’t get to see them live [read more]
My name is Martin Flemming and I got involved into the Alarm back in 1988… (I know – very late) I am from Germany and when I was 18 I lived in Hannover and completed my education at this time and started my career as a professional ice hockey player. A team mate gave me the vinyl album of a band called “The Alarm” and said “You have to listen [read more]
Many of you will be familiar with the series of ‘My Alarm Story’ and ‘My Love Hope Strength Story” I invite you to read Alarm fan and LHS volunteer, Dave Spragg’s story. Dave kicked off the Alarm Story series a few years ago with his own illuminating Alarm tale. Dave has recently been diagnosed with cancer and is fighting the battle of his life. Dave is the flag bearer for [read more]
Being born into a large family, music was always going to play a pivotal role in my upbringing through exposure to my sisters Elvis Pressley records and my brothers incessant cassettes of Slade or the vinyl LP covers of Top of the Pop’s compilations. My own tastes developed through the glam years of the Sweet and Alice Cooper before dabbling in Punk and moving through a myriad of changing sounds [read more]
Born a Rocker rising out of the embers of NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) I started playing in bands…heads down no nonsense mindless boogie …spandex, studs and big hair, there was no such thing as guy-liner, we weren’t afraid to don women’s make up…Nay we were but men…loud and proud! This was the 80s!!!!… Then came a new breed … with music that stirred the heart and soul, mixing acoustic [read more]
I guess the fact that I am moved to even write a story, such as the one I have just begun, might be the most fascinating angle of this tale… Let me start it all off this way. I am a man of many lists. For some odd reason, I just like to create, maintain, and share lists. I like to create them, read them, edit them… There’s something about [read more]
Pete and I are both from Liverpool. We grew up here in the city, very close to each other. We met in our late teens through a mutual friend. Our Alarm story started then, we both loved the Alarm’s music – it was the thing we had in common and was the topic of conversation for many months before and while we dated. Life has a habit of getting in [read more]
This is the story of one mans Alarm Journey from seeing ‘The Stand’ on TV many years ago, and his journey from Canada to his very first Gathering in 2013. Like many, my Alarm story begins with “The Stand” video. I saw it on Much Music (Canadian MTV) and was instantly blown away by these young lads with the boots and the punked out hair! It was an amazing mix [read more]
Hello, we are The Wasting Land. Most of you will recognise that as a Mike Peter’s song from his album Rise – which is where this little group of Alarm fans take our name. We’ve not always been known as The Wasting Land but started our days as Distant Warning. Back in 2000 a few folks met via thealarm.com forum page and found that not only did we have a [read more]
The 5th February 1984. A date I will never forget. I was playing a game of pool at the local youth club and ’Where Were You Hiding?’ was playing over the PA system. The friend I was with said, “this band are playing at The Limit (a well known Sheffield venue) next week, do you fancy going?” I was only 14. I had heard ‘68 Guns’ and thought it was [read more]
I first saw the Alarm live, supporting the Boomtown Rats at Leicester University in December 1982. I don’t recall the gig making that great an impression on me. I certainly never imagined that this was the first of countless live performances I would see from what would become my all time favourite band. In fact I don’t even recall the band telling the crowd who they were!! Six months later [read more]
I suppose I can safely say that my Alarm Story goes back further than most. About five years ago I learned than my parents and Mikes’ used to go out dancing together in Rhyl before we were actually born. That’s pretty early by my books. We could even have been next to each other whilst in the womb. Anyway, a bit later on, we both attended Christ Church Primary school [read more]
Firstly I would like to apologise for my memory. Getting things in chronological order has never been my strong point. The years might be out but trust me this is all true. (Well as true as the alcohol I consumed allowed me to remember it as the truth) My first encounter with The Alarm was late 1984 early 1985 Declaration tour. Guys I went to school with twisted my arm [read more]
I just wanted to write and say that I have loved the music of the Alarm for a very long time. The first cassette tape I ever got (admittedly, I was a bit late to the music scene) was Declaration. I remember my older sister had this mix tape that some boy had made her and there two songs by the Alarm, one which I never found on the albums [read more]
My Alarm Story – Dave Chinery(Chinners) My Alarm story starts back in 1985 when I stumbled across a little known Irish band called ‘U2’ who were beamed into my living room while they performed on stage at ‘Live Aid’, no really sure what it was about them but something just struck a cord with me when I heard the guitar piece during ‘Bad’, I rushed down to the local ‘Our [read more]
My name is marcus, I am living near cologne/germany. in june 1984 I had a girlfriend from the North of London, she lived few years in cologne (hello Cheryl J). it was a great time and we watched a lot of concerts in the aera. one evening she showed me a poster an said “oh look the alarm playing”. I said no, not a concert again ! “. but for all that, we [read more]
My first experience with The Alarm was at the age of 21 on German television. Since 1977 the Rockpalast, a German radio and TV driven initiative, has organized the so-called Rocknacht twice a year in Essen. Up to 4 rock music bands appeared in a single night, which could last until 5am the other day. Every Rocknacht was entirely broadcasted on television, and on radio as well. In Germany a [read more]
My Alarm Story The first record I ever bought was the excellent Stray Cats first album. But the first single I bought was “The Stand” when I was 15. My friends Esa and Stefan and I were amazed by the power of that song and my lifelong love to the band started that day. Then came “Declaration” which still today is my favourite album and one of the best debut [read more]
Accidently Unsafe Back in 1979 through to 1983 at school I was a massive fan of three things. West Ham United FC. 2000 AD comics and punk rock! SLF were my favorite band and without me blatantly plagiarizing “barbed wire love” and “suspect device” in exam papers I would have probably never have passed my English Language and Literature “O” levels with B grades (Hanx Jake!) By 84 SLF were [read more]
My love/obsession for all things Alarm can be traced back to September 1983, when the 15 year old Pete first heard the classic ’68 guns’ on TVam just before leaving for school. The breakfast programme always showed a clip of a music video just before the weather forecast/news and Wincey the Weather (the presenter) was caught dancing when the video ended! The uplifting tune, coupled with the spiky hair and [read more]
My Alarm story began in 1983. I was 15 years of age and heard this amazing song being played on Radio 1 in the UK. A couple of weeks later I got to see my first glimpse of the passion and energy that is The Alarm. They were on national TV on BBC1’s Top of the Pops programme. They were the coolest thing I had ever seen. Using money from [read more]
In 1984 a friend lent me an album. On the cover were four spiky-haired, punk-looking young men. I didn’t have (nor have ever had) spiky hair. I didn’t really like (and still don’t to be honest) punk. I listened to the album. “Take this song of freedom, put it on and arm yourself for the fight. Our hearts must have the courage to keep on marching on and on.” How could a [read more]
My name is Fabiola I live in Santiago de Chile. I met Alarm in 1988, with Rain in the Summertime, a worldwide hit, which sounded loud in Chile at these days. I was 17. I can remember when I bought the Eye of the Hurricane cd, the guy on the record store, one of the only selling cd at that time in Santiago, had only one copy, from his personal [read more]
From Fan to Shadow Clearly to me when I first heard The Alarm, was when I was travelling back to Milford Haven from Aylesbury in 1984 to stay with a mate and he got out of his bag a cassette and said “ you’ve gotta hear this great welsh band they’re brilliant”. It was a copy of Declaration and that was it, I was hooked! Thankyou Tim… little did you [read more]
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