“With an anthemic chorus that begs for a crowd singalong, “Whatever”, is the brand new track by The Alarm that fits perfectly in their oeuvre of earnest and guitar-charged bangers. It’s a return to form for the band, recalling chiming classics like “68 Guns,” “Spirit of ‘76” and “Rescue Me.” The Big Takeover,
MARCH 27, 2023 (Wales, UK) – “Whenever I’ve been in hospital, I have projected my imagination towards recovery and the mountain summit has always been a place I aspire to get to as a sign of recovery,” says Mike Peters, vocalist/guitarist of THE ALARM who release their new single and video “Whatever” today, Marxh 28, 2023. The video, which shows Mike hiking up a mountain during a snowstorm, is symbolic of his struggle to make it back to good health, as Peters continues to rebound from a serious leukemia relapse in 2022. “If I can get back to the mountaintop, I’ll know I am on the right track.”
“I was inspired to write this song after hearing John Lennon sing ‘Whatever Gets You Thru The Night’ on the hospital radio. I thought to myself ‘Never mind the night, what am I going to do to get through life?’,” he told The Big Takeover, who premiered the video. He elaborates, “The song ‘Whatever’ was born soon after and it’s really about the most simple, yet most important things like family, friends and loved ones who help you in the hours of need and an appreciation of life’s fundamental gifts such as being able to breathe, talk and to walk.”
Filmed on Moel Hiraddug, a mountain in North Wales which “is literally right outside my front door in the village of Dyserth where I was born and raised,” the video carries a bit of symbolism in addition to portraying his uphill struggle with cancer. Carrying a retro relic of the ‘80s – the Sony Watchman, a suitcase and a mylar star balloon, Peters struggles amidst adverse conditions to make it up the summit to a television tower.
“All this carried me up the mountain towards an old abandoned tower that I have always been fascinated by,” he explains. “Often, when I look up to the mountain at night, I can sometimes see a light coming from inside the building and wonder who is up there and obviously using the place as a shelter. I tied my silver star (which is a symbol of the new record), to my suitcase of life belongings, and headed for the shelter. The snow was beginning to fall as I walked ever higher, and then with the wind picking up it literally felt like I was climbing through the life storm of recent times. I had brought an old Sony Watchman with me which was another symbol connecting the past to the future. Was this really the first portable screen I had owned, and precursor to the modern screens of devices that feed us news, information and psychobabble 24-7?”
“Whatever” is the third single from The Alarm’s forthcoming album Forwards (out June 2, 2023), following “Next” and title track “Forwards.”
Forwards is being released physically on both CD and Vinyl with the LP release featuring two different record sleeves and coloured vinyl configurations. A classic green and white star white vinyl edition (Mike’s healing colour combo), is being made available to outlets everywhere along with a unique Metallic Green vinyl limited edition available exclusively to independent record stores only.
Forwards is also being released in all digital formats including Hi-Res and Dolby Atmos editions. Pre-sale and pre-save is available here: https://ingrv.es/thealarmforwards.
Described by Bono of U2 as “the second greatest rock and roll band in the world”, Mike Peters has been the driving force behind The Alarm for over forty creative years of new music making, and dedication to presenting the band’s classic songs in ways both imaginative and inventive.
