Dear Alarm Community,
It is with great pleasure that we introduce you to Joe Silva, who will be appearing as Special Guest on Mike Peters’ forthcoming UK Red Poppy Tour. Please read on to discover more about Joe and his link with Mike and The Alarm.
We look forward to seeing you all on the Red Poppy Tour which promises to be a memorable way to celebrate 30 years of the iconic Alarm Poppy!
Love and life,
MPO
The Alarm team
Message from Joe Silva.
Over the years, I have told Mike Peters that he is to me what John Lennon was and is to him, so you may imagine the elation that I felt when I learned that I would be the support artist on Mike’s Red Poppy UK Tour. The Alarm has been my favorite band since I first heard ‘Declaration’, and to perform on this tour, which celebrates 30 Years of Alarm music, is truly another one of my dreams to come true…
For the past 15 years, my band The Threats had the pleasure of playing on tour dates with Alarm in our home country of the United States. We had performed with dozens of international performers during our tenure as The Threats, but each and every time we ended stints with The Alarm, my band-mates and I would talk about how The Alarm is THE best band in the world to work with. Mike and his band always treated us with the utmost respect and kindness, which wasn’t always the case with other groups that we had worked with.
I can’t say enough about The Alarm’s fans. Always attentive to the song & lyrical content, they are the perfect audience for a singer-songwriter like me. Each and every concert I play with The Alarm seems to result in long-lasting friendships with concert-goers. The 2012 Gathering was no exception. I recall touring the main street in Prestatyn and happening upon a pub. My wife and I were getting hungry so we went inside for a pint and some lunch. What we found were twenty or so folks passing around an acoustic guitar, as everyone had a song to share. They were getting primed for that evening’s concert at The Gathering, and when they learned that I was one of the opening acts for The Alarm they absorbed Kim and I into their group. I had so much fun with them that I hadn’t noticed the time passing. Eventually, Kim pointed to her watch in panic and we ran out of the pub, barely making it to sound-check. Those folks and I still communicate, and I look forward to re-connecting with everyone I met at The Gathering, and the many new Alarm fans that I will surely become friends with while touring the UK with Mike.
The Red Poppy Tour coincides well with the release of my new solo CD titled ‘Blue’, which was produced by the Late Show with David Letterman drummer, Anton Fig. It was recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and countless other notables began their legendary careers. The CD will be available at all of the Red Poppy concerts.
See you all very soon!!
Joe Silva