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 (and which I cannot remember the name of, sadly) and “68 Guns”. Since the Internet did not exist back then, I put time in at the record store in the mall trying to find out just who this band was. It was around Christmas time in 1986 and I finally found what I was looking for. Being a boy of 12 with no job and no money to speak of, when my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her that I wanted The Alarm “Declaration” on cassette. I tell you, from the first moment that I heard the album, I was in love. I’ve listened to the Alarm quite a bit since then. I put on Declaration earlier this evening and let it play through. It’s like coming home, every time I hear it. The love and hope contained in that album, as well as all of the others, just pours out and, I swear, it makes my heart feel a few sizes too big. It isn’t the greatest story but, I wanted to share. Great music deserves to be recognized.
I saw the Alarm at the Boathouse in Norfolk, Virginia many years ago. It was the first concert that I’d ever been to. You know something? It’s still the best show that I’ve seen. Thanks for so many years of great music. I’m going to drift off to sleep now, as “Spirit of ’76” plays.
God bless you.
Rob Walton
USA