Hey, everyone!

Well, here we are again. Another year over.

I'd like to thank everyone for showing up and
supporting the recent tour and activities in the UK.
It was great to see you all at the shows.

Things are going well to plan towards getting a new
record out 'round about March/April. Recording is
almost complete--I'm very happy with the results so
far. Can't wait to get it out to you folks.

In the meantime, I'm happy to report that I'll be out
on the East Coast beginning April to do some shows in
the New York area. I hope you'll all be able to
attend. There are plans underway for a possible
appearance at next year's Newport Folk Festival and
the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Watch this space for
details.

I hope you are all getting ready for a well-earned
Christmas vacation. Thanks again for all of your
support in 2000. Looking forward to seeing you in
2001.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

Dave Sharp
Official website www.dave-sharp.co.uk

A big thank you to all of you who showed your support to Mike and the boys
on the recent Second Generation Tour of the UK. The tour drew to a close with a
fantastic triplet of shows in London, Cardiff and Manchester.

The London show was filmed by a six camera shoot and will be available next
year through MPO's 21st Century Recording label... Cardiff was a fantastic 'home'town concert and Manchester was topped off with eleven year old Lewis McElroy being pulled off someone's shoulders in the moshpit and onto the stage by Mike where he joined Mike on an impromptu rap during The Stand (following on in
the tradition of infamous super fan, Barney Rubble). Lewis is from North
Wales band Xell whom Mike has been helping out recently! It was wonderful to see so many new and old faces popping up all over the country. Mike thoroughly enjoyed himself storming through The Alarm's hits and classics and is now all raring to go with new songs for 2001. In between his hectic schedule, Mike has been strumming and humming new songs at every possible moment. A few new songs were even checked out at soundchecks.Hopefully, this will mean a new album for 2001...

Thanks to all of you for all your support through the year 2000. We look forward to welcoming as many of you as possible to Wales next month at the Gathering 9 on the 12th and 13th - the ultimate 'delayed' New Year PARTY!!!! and in the meantime would like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year

Love and life,

From all the folks @ MPO
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Gathering 9 promises to be the best Gathering yet with Mike and the
band primed better than ever before. Expect the unexpected. Due to extra
demand for tickets, 100 extra Gathering tickets have been released. Please
call MPO now on 011 44 (0) 1745 571571 or email mpo@alarmpo.demon.co.uk if
you still wish to make your reservation. Weekend ticket price £26.

For those of you who are unable to attend the whole Gathering weekend, MPO
has been able to release 100 'Saturday night only' tickets priced at £13.
Please call MPO on 01745 571571 or email mpo@alarmpo.demon.co.uk if you wish
to make a reservation

ALARM IN GUITARIST MAGAZINE!

Check out Guitarist magazine for a very interesting and informative
interview with Mike Peters... (a full transcipt of the interview will be available here in the New Year). Here's a taster...

Raise The Alarm...
Lost master tapes bound for the bin have been rescued by The Alarm's Mike Peters after a mammoth treasure hunt. The result, he tells Roger Newell, is a very personal tribute...

If you're one of the many who have been mourning the demise of The Alarm you can now rest a little easier. Front man Mike Peters is currently performing to packed houses in the U.S. on the back of the 'Alarm 2000 Collection' which has taken its own little miracle in pulling together. It's an assembly of the entire recorded history of the band. Researching and finding all that material has meant Peters has been immersed in a mountain of detective work. Job done, he is now offering every individual buyer a bonus CD with a personalised performance of him singing The Alarm song of their own choice...

"It was quite a situation to unravel because IRS records was licensed
through A&M and MCA, then after becoming independent was eventually bought by EMI, so I had to deal with all these corporations. When I tried to clear certain tracks nobody knew who owned what , then I worked out that every single recording was owned by EMI . What the other labels had was the right to the sequence of the songs, so I couldn't use the same running order as the original albums. I wasn't looking to do that so that was fantastic, but there was a lot of paper work missing . EMI had to dig into its archives to find out what stuff wasn't there.

I then went on a detective hunt to find a lot of the master tapes that EMI didn't have, although technically they owned them all. I must've interviewed every ex-employee of IRS between here and Los Angeles, for clues to the masters' whereabouts. I eventually found a security archive in Islington that had masses of stuff that they were about to throw out. It was obviously a treasure trove for EMI..." Mike Peters

Mike Peters' final update his diary of the current UK Tour is here. Read about the final two shows here: http://www.mikepetersweb.com/dispart.asp?id=236

Dispatches From the Front : One Step Closer To Home : Manchester
17.12.00

The final show of the tour. The longest day.

The wake up call was for 5.30 a.m. and by 6.30 I was being picked up at
Junction 32 of the M4 by the Pontypridd Manchester United Supporters Club
Coach for the journey to Manchester to see Man U v Liverpool (thanks to all
concerned). It was a very cold day and an early kick off meant I had to be
at the ground before 12.00. It wasn't the greatest match I've ever seen
although Liverpool played very some effective tactical football and
deservedly beat my boys 1-0. I then spent the rest of the day catching up on
some Christmas Shopping in town before heading to the gig for soundcheck.

Charlie Macintosh, guitarist from Dave Sharp's Hard Travellers, came down
with a message from Dave Sharp himself. Dave wanted Charlie to come up on
stage and thank everyone who had supported Dave on his solo tour.

Together, we decided to play a tribute to Sharpy and sing 'Change' in honour
of the man from Manchester who now resides in New Orleans. When Charlie came
on stage, it brought a lump to my throat when he thanked everyone on Dave's
behalf and also told the audience that Dave Sharp wanted to personally thank
me and the band for helping to keep the spirit of The Alarm alive in the new
millennium. This magnificent gesture on Dave's part has only strengthened my
resolve to follow this current musical path and see where it may lead.

The show was great. I was having flashbacks to the Sound And Fury tour of
1984. It was a similar tour to this one in the sense that we had been
touring the U.K. for years as a best kept secret and all of a sudden we had
a hit single on our hands, an album to be released and we were playing to
larger audiences.

At the time it was a real battle for us and we had to go out and prove
ourselves every night. A lot of UK fans accused us of 'selling out' once
'68' had charted. Some 'fans' used to take offence when a show would sell
out and they couldn't get on the guest list..... and when 'Declaration' came
out loads of 'fans' hated it. This is why I draw the comparison with the
Second Generation Tour and the Sound & Fury. It has been another rite of
passage. We have gone out and proved ourselves every night, we have played
with maximum R&B, sure I've been accused of 'selling out' again, but I know
I've answered the question time and again. I don't tire of playing this
music, I gain strength from it. 99.9% of the feed back from this tour has
been amazing.

That is why it was so heartwarming for me to hear those words from Dave
Sharp. To have Dave's support means everything to me and the fact that Dave
supports this tour and understands all the effort that has gone into it
means that the door is always open for him to join in whenever he feels the
need.

I don't know what the future holds, I never know what the future holds, I
play every show as if it is going to be my last, I write every song as if it
is going to be my last, I make every recording as if it will be my last. I
can sense that everything is changing and to survive change you often have
to do things that are difficult. You have to confront the cliches, you have
to be prepared to contradict yourself. You have to be prepared to make
decisions that are not popular, you have to do things in the short term that
are designed to protect the long term. You have to be prepared to take
chances.

In 1990-1991, my musical career path had become governed not by what I did
or was able to do, but more by what I didn't do. I'm trying not to make the
mistakes I made then - now. I don't know what my next album is going to
sound like or what or who it's going to be by. I might just put it out
without a title or an artist identity and you can call it what you
like......

See you at The Gathering

MP [signing off until further notice......]

As it turned out I never did make it to shoulder level at Wolves. I barely escaped the MPO desk although I did sneak down at one point and wormed my way to the front for one song. I soon fled in panic at the thought of bashing my pink cowboys. It was all a bit rough down there - the boys from Wolves definitely had their heavy boots on.

I do like getting that close though - it's exceptional and for those who haven't dared please do. It's quite incredible to be in touching distance of the band, it's powerful and evocative and in that brief moment Mike feels
like a 'stranger' to me, untouched and beyond.

There were no knickers thrown; a relief, both for me and for Mike:) I loved watching the boys play in such a fitting environment. The Wulfrun Hall was grand and steeped in occasion, well suited to Mike, the boys and their
consequent performance.

I flitted from venue to foyer and was constantly waylaid by people I had become friendly with over the MPO hotline or from previous gigs. It's great to put a name to the face and as I had thought earlier, this tour had definitely taken on the feel of a travelling house party. I'd like to mention Graham Brazier at this point, the first ever person to
call the MPO back in the early nineties when we first set up the office and sat around awaiting our first call... Would anyone even bother? Well, Graham
did and he's still in touch with us to this day, along with 10,000 others...like Steve Binman Broome, another regular who empties the rubbish of the rich and famous of the West Midlands (I think he needs a word with
Mike)...

After the gig, we were all sat on the bus ready to depart (Stevie G and I were desperately fighting the carbo craving as we hadn't eaten since 6pm)
when the bad news was delivered: the van wouldn't start. It was soon realised that whilst we did have diesel, the fact that we were parked on a
slope meant that we were on the road to nowhere.

A brief moment of feeling incredibly pissed off was followed rapidly by a massive urge for chips and curry. Whilst Ladies Man set off in pursuit of
more diesel, I set off into the world of Friday Night UK (short skirts and skimpy tops) in search of ... the British Chippy. Mike was not to be moved from his strict diet of sensible eating and exercise and so in support of
him I abstained. Second wave of feeling really pissed off quickly followed.

These things however are set to try us and instead I concentrated on nice diesel-filled chip-free pleasant thoughts and as if by magic the AA man appeared and set us on our way.

By Saturday, I felt like I was in the middle of battle. Early starts at MPO HQ followed by a full day's work at MPO Merch Towers at the gigs were starting to take their toll and stupidly I was wishing my tour away,
dreaming of sofas, log fires and sleep.......

Liverpool soon perked me up. Tried a bit of shopping in the afternoon with Mike in tow ( I swear to God, he was after a few more shirts!!!!!) but Mike was repeatedly recognised as we wandered between Karen Millen, Oasis and Warehouse. Hey, not that I mind in the slightest but it does put you off your shopping stride, when you're admiring some slinky little number and
asking for 'Glaze-eyed' Peters' opinion, when some geezer pokes his head round and asks if Mike will sing 'Walk Forever' at the gig tonight:)

Mike did, bye the way. Sing Walk Forever. Did I ever tell you that we had 'Walk Forever' played at our wedding? Superb, so I totally understand the significance for those of you out there who requested it as your special
dedication. Only sad thing is that it was written before my time. Can't lay claim to that one :( Mike does assure me though that it wasn't written about
a girl as such, more his stab at a hymn. Hmmm... Presence of Love though… he assures me that was definitely written for me:) We had that played at our
wedding also along with Knockin' on Heavens Door (!!) and Rescue Me (!!!) at the reception. 14 years and they said it wouldn't last... :)

Anyway back to the Lomax, L2 and Liverpool. Historically, in early Alarm days, Liverpool was a difficult territory. Too close to home probably and an inherent belief by the Scousers that The Alarm were sheep shaggers, which
they weren't incidently... as far as I know... in case you were wondering...

Spirit of 76 changed all of that... you know the video where Mike walks about Liverpool town and looks out at the Mersey lights from his beloved Rhyl beach. It was pretty special tonight. Mike had popped in to see Ian
McCulloch of the Bunnymen in the afternoon (Ian's wife is a mega Alarm fan) and so by showtime Mike was a ball of energy once again and the audience was magical. I saw almost one verse of... I can't even remember... I just kept
bumping into so many 'fans'... it was amazing.

The night was topped by the appearance of Pete Wylie, one of Mike's all-time heroes. Pete came to chat by the MPO desk - he really liked the set-up of having such a direct relationship between artist and audience and discussed working with Mike in some way or other. After the show and packing up I finally bumped into Mike who was wandering around the bar. He was whispering
as it was important for him to reserve all his vocal energy. Thankfully Pete took over and Mike was more than happy to just sit and listen to Pete who had seen all his dreams come true.

We were back home tonight what with us North Walians really being Scousers. We were all dead beat especially after the Diesel incident the night previously. The MPO office was bursting at the seams with emails, requests,
merch orders and whilst there is a backroom team of 5 people nowadays at MPO there are still many jobs, telephone calls, emails that only Mike or I can
deal with. It was for this reason that I made the decision to abandon ship and leave the boys on their own for Sheffield.

I really don't like abandoning ship. It is so misery-inducing. You just can't help feeling like Cinderella. 9pm comes and goes and it's like having your guts wrenched out as you 'will' Mike along for his performance. It's strange being married to a musician. Sometimes I think it is more
nervous-making than actually stepping out on stage oneself. I imagine it is how one feels for one's child. You just feel so protective and uneasy until it's all over. Don't get me wrong. We are not a bundle of nerves in the
Peters Household but I can definitely detect Mike withdrawing into his buildup of anticipation for a show and down that path I follow. It's impossible not to, in pursuit of making sure that Mike is ok.

It turned out that Sheffield was a blast from all accounts and I will be forever sad that I missed the boat that night even though much was accomplished and many decks were cleared back in the office.

Monday and Tuesday were 'days off', figuratively speaking. Mike caught up on sleep, running up mountains and recording dedications as well as monitoring
the live recordings of the tour so far with the other hard working man of rock, Mike Jones. The recordings, in the words of 'Mike the Sound' are stunning.

I meanwhile was ensconsed at MPO, making Gathering preparations, organising the Gathering merch (Superstore here we come!!!! :)), advancing the next few
shows, and also attending my Council meeting which made an interesting contrast to the last few days.

I think that's where I'll leave it for now. I'm in bed and it's 1.20am. I'm embarrassed to admit I jumped ship again and missed Nottingham tonight and yes you've guessed it, I'm feeling miserable... cheered though by the
anticipation of three in a row of probably the best concerts yet to come of the Second Generation tour.

The pink cowboy boots are winking at me from the corner of my room and so soon I'll be transported back to the magic Neverland of Rock'n roll. Don't forget your playing cards.

See u at Shepherds Bush Bush Bush... no income tax no vat....

Nos da,

Boob Tube xxx

Again, Jules and mike come through with more great reading!

Jules has added several new entries to he on-going Jules News column. You can
see them all at
http://www.mikepetersweb.com/juleslatest.asp

Mike Peters continues to update his diary of the current UK Tour. You can read it here: http://www.mikepetersweb.com/dispart.asp?id=236

Jules has added several new entries to he on-going Jules News column. You can
see them all at
http://www.mikepetersweb.com/juleslatest.asp

Mike Peters continues to update his diary of the current UK Tour. You can read it here: http://www.mikepetersweb.com/dispart.asp?id=236

Finally, we now have a Christmas game on the site featuring music by "The Chidren Of The Revolution". The game allows you to decorate a Christmas Tree and email it to a friend. While you decorate, "The Rev" pound out their Xmas favorite "All around The World It's Christmas Time". The game requires the "Flash 5.0" player, which can be downloaded from the game page. You can start playing here: http://www.mikepetersweb.com/rev/xmastree.asp

I'm on merch duties at Leeds the Cockpit. I've been to more glamorous places
it has to be said :) The band have just hit the stage just as the monitor
system decided to crash. This is a nightmare for the band as it becomes
such a struggle for the band to hear themselves on stage as they have to
rely on the 'outfront' sound.

I think we're all feeling wasted today. It's strange how a 'day off' can
disorientate everyone - it's almost better to keep on trucking. Mike in
particular prefers to gig day after day as it keeps his voice juiced up.

I've met some great people tonight once again - the legendary A.D.J. Simpson
who is known in MPO quarters as being the 'first' to purchase almost
everything released on 21st Century Recordings, Gathering ticket etc. Nigel
Timmins, an MPO stalwart , Steve Woodhouse, an RE teacher and Alarm lover
and of course not forgetting the beloved MPO crew, Andy & Sam Greenley, Ian
Francis, Katrina Copping and Jackie Collins (real name, honest!)

Mike conducted an interview for BBC Radio just before he hit the stage. It
had been a long day for Mike with a 7.45 start (I had to KICK him out of
bed). Mike was meeting Johnny, remember, the personal trainer and a few
mountains were calling. Granted, last night, Mike had relaxed in front of
the telly, watching his beloved Reds (he never sees the season tickets these
days) with the rest of the band, who naturally being blokes, all share an
appreciation for footie. Whilst on the run, Mike had an embarrassing
experience when he realised half way up the mountain that one of my pairs of
knickers had become attached to the collar of his training jacket (Must have
happened during my laundry session last night when I experienced the joys of
washing Big Jim's smalls - yeah, I know, glamorous life ). Johnny Marine had
to point it out (they were pink and hanging from his collar!!!! :) Mike
defended himself by claiming to be the new Tom Jones and that all the girls
in Newcastle the previous night had thrown underwear at him on stage.

Newcastle was a great night. It's always been a difficult territory for us
for some reason since Mike 'went solo'. We've never quite captured the heady
days of The Alarm and to be honest the Northeast will always represent the
time we had to play a nightmare gig on the same day Mike had been diagnosed
with lymphoma. Thankfully, Mike was one of the lucky ones. The North east
still makes me feel uneasy (no offence to the MPO Geordies :))

Anyway, Newcastle turned out to be an excellent night and I met so many
'new' Alarm fans who hadn't seen The Alarm since 1991. I spent most of the
night chatting with Kirk Brandon from Spear of Destiny much to the ribbing
of all my crew members who reckon I just have a 'thing' for 'singers' :) I
was still wearing my pvc rock chick trousers and pink cowboy boots and have
decided that this has to be the uniform of the tour. Death to trainers.

Speaking of Newcastle I should make mention of Mark Slater who has supported
Mike faithfully through the years and of course Alan Pearson who keeps in
touch with the MPO hotline on a regular basis.

Back in Leeds the crowd were just loving it. Mike's voice which often starts
a little rusty for the first few numbers had oiled up perfectly. The band
are sounding great. As I have said before, we are all really gelling as an
Alarm 2000 ( or whatever you want to call us) team. Mike played a
dedication, 'Absolute Reality' for a guy's girlfriend I had met. The guy was
a Spear of Destiny fan. The girl was a huge Alarm fan. I hurtled back to the
dressing room (Mike wasn't officially doing dedications on this tour after
much consideration). 'I can't do that' complained Mike. 'Oh shit' thought I.
'Please Mikey Boy Darling' pleaded I. 'But I want to crash straight in to
Absolute Reality' persisted Mike; 'Can't I do 'Walk Forever' instead'....
'Nooooo', pleaded I, all wifely charm and perseverance... she's a
huuuuuggggeee Alllaarrrmmm fan!!!!!!! 'Oh okay' says the guy who always
tried to do the right thing. You should have seen the look on the girl;s
face. She had no idea and was absolutely thrilled. It was all worth it.

It's such a primal thing, being part of the throng, whilst Alarm songs are
attacking your senses. I so desperately wanted to submerge myself down at
the front, but had to content myself with bopping away at the merch stall.
Not quite the same as being perched on someone's shoulders but the next best
thing.

Maybe in Wolves....

JJ

Mike and the boys launched into the start of the Alarm 2000/ Mike Peters UK Second Generation Tour with a vengeance. One hour and 47 minutes of blistering Alarm tunes with a few solo gems thrown in as a Christmas bonus. One onlooker commented that it was the best version of 'High on the Hill' ever! The Glasgow crowd did not disappoint and matched the band song for song with their energy and passion. A night to remember!

Marchin' On
Where were you Hiding
Deeside
Majority
Knifedge
Breathe
One Step -acoustic
Unsafe
Absolute
(Acoustic)
Deceiver
Stand
High on the Hill
Sold Me Down the River
Strength
Rain in the Summertime
Rescue Me
Spirit of 76
Regeneration
68 Guns
-
Up for Murder
Blaze of Glory
My Generation (with Kirk Brandon from Spear of Destiny)

MPO is proud to announce the exclusive filming of the Shepherds Bush Empire show. The London concert will be fimed by a 6 camera crew and will be released at a later date on 21st Century Recordings. If you are attending this show and wish to make your mark for posterity, why not take a flag or banner to be seen. Also, don't forget the playing cards for maximum effect!

It was an early rock'n roll Monday morning as we departed from Wales up the
M6 to a favourite Alarm haunt, Glasgow. 'What do we get up to in the tour
bus,' you ask? Well, it depends on the mood, how sober we are, how tired we
are. Today, we were catching up on the Sunday papers. The beauty of rock'n
roll, is that all the barriers of the normal week disintegrate; the only
structure is 'Glasgow, Newcastle, Day Off' etc.... names of days are
meaningless.

As always, it had been a rabid lead up to the tour and we were all knackered
to start off with, apart from Mike, who was primed and trained up, all
raring to go. I was feeling like I had been on the road for at least week
what with all the late MPO nights and early MPO mornings. Tour 'advancing'
and Gathering preparations make heavy work on top of dealing with over 100
emails, faxes and calls a day. Long may it continue.

The rain was lashing down in sharp contrast to our last show in California.
As we pulled up outside 'The Garage' there was an immediate good vibe in the
air.

Colin, our Rep from DF Concerts (the promoters for the show) was there to
welcome us and we were all quite excited because the Vodka and red bull
which we had requested was on the rider. This, together with an abundance of
posters advertising the show around the city centre (always a good sign)
lended itself to our strengthening spirits.

Steve, the drummer and I had concocted a 'How to stay healthy on the Road'
plan on our journey up which involved 'Starch and Carbo' ban after 6pm. We
eyed the Sainsburys 'Be Good to Yourself' crisps hungrily. 'Did beer count
as a starch/carbo in this instance?' we asked ourselves foolishly in a
feeble attempt to bend the rules...

Not that we are all obsessed with drink, you understand. It's just that it
is kind of necessary to ignite and 'sharpen' energy levels somewhat after
the draining effect of being on the road. Ok, so it was only one day but
there was the compounding effect of jet lag to take into consideration.

The gig started to fall into place. The 'humpers' greet our arrival and help
our trusty 'do it all' 'rider' who attends to everbody's needs on stage.
Bobby, 'Ladies Man' Troman, our Tour Manager becomes acquainted with the
promoter (in this case, Colin) and checks that the dressing room is equipped
with all we desire. In this case, vodka and red bull (for Steve, James and
Dick) to perk them up before performance, coke (for Mike Jones, Sound
engineer extraordinaire - one of the non- drinkers on the tour), Diet coke
(for Mike Peters, who claims that this keeps his vocal chords nicely
lubricated), and an assorted abundance of sandwiches, crisps, fruit as well
as the essential 48 bottles of good quality lager!

I begin setting up the MPO Merchandise Desk which is a task and a half due
to the vast amount of CD's and T shirts we carry! I become acquainted with
Liam, Spear of Destiny's manager who is as similarly consumed with all of
Kirk's merchandise.

It's quite strange being the support act, as we have experienced many times
over the years with various bands. You wouldn't believe some of the petty
restrictions placed on you as a support act and so we always try to make
sure that our support acts feel at home.

I first met Kirk at Dave Sharp's gig a few months ago in Manchester and
immediately hit it off with him. He's a great guy, very charming and very
charismatic on stage. If you get chance, come to the show as early as you
can in order to lend your support to Kirk and the Spear of Destiny.

Before you know it, time is speeding up into fast motion and in a blink of
an eye, the rock chick trousers are on (a girl has to make an effort in a
blokes' world :)) and the doors are open.

My time flies by as I meet up with new and old faces. James Newall from
Scotland is first to greet me, an old friend now, so many concerts has he
attended. He also runs the Scottish Gathering bus and does an admirable job
of transporting the Scottish contingent to Wales. Now there's a party!

Martin Smy from Essex who is following the whole UK tour after helping me
admirably in California where he joined us on holiday. Martin even brings
his dog (not an Alarm fan) who waits patiently for Martin back at the hotel
:)

Meanwhile, back in the dressing room, Mike and the boys are revving up.
Tensions, nerves and excitement tighten up and explode into one emotional
outpouring as the boys hit the stage. Mike thrives on the build up, and our
awesome drummer Steve Grantley matches Mike blow for blow as they build
themselves up for the challenge.

It doesn't matter how many gigs you experience, I am always left wanting
more. Despite the responsibility of the 'stall', I cannot resist joining the
crowd and soaking up the atmosphere. For those of you who weren't there, it
reads something like this...

Marchin' On
Where were you Hiding
Deeside
Majority
Knifedge
Breathe
One Step -acoustic
Unsafe
Absolute
(Acoustic)
Deceiver
Stand
High on the Hill
Sold Me Down the River
Strength
Rain in the Summertime
Rescue Me
Spirit of 76
Regeneration
68 Guns
-
Up for Murder
Blaze of Glory
My Generation

See you in Newcastle!

Miss. Jules News

Since the Sharpening Club closed down, it's been busy times back at MPO HQ. 'Mopping up' after the USA, 'setting up' for the Gathering Nine and 'revving up' for the UK Second Generation Tour.

Despite his busy schedule Mike has been 'stepping up' with his personal trainer, Johnny Marine: 'pressing up' in streams and running up local mountains. Performing for two hours a night requires great stamina and so Mike works hard offstage to keep up his strength. Oo er.

When he's not running up mountains Mike can be found strumming a lot these days. You find him in nooks and crannies around the house - just him and his acoustic - jamming new chords - singing new melodies. It's like having Mike Peters radio transmitted 24 hours a day. Glazed looks and mounting bin-bags a go go.

From rehearsal reports, I think you can expect a red hot tour. Mike and the boys have been rehearsing a tonne of Alarm 'specials' and I sense that Mike feels the need to introduce some 'Mike Peters' tunes. I think he's missed playing songs like Regeneration, Burnout Syndrome, High on the Hill... Coincidentally, a lot of callers to MPO in the past few weeks have made similar requests. This will mean longer sets than America so bring a spare T shirt.

I've spoken to some real interesting MPO folk on the phone this week. There was a Mathematician from Oxford, treating himself to Red Acoustic Works, a nine-times Gathereee from Kidderminster who amusingly regaled me with tales of him and his mates preparing to wear their 'heavy' boots to the forthcoming Wolves show in anticipation of frontline pogo-ing... Jose Mendoza from Wyoming who is attending the Gathering for the first time... and of course all our 'regulars' who keep in touch.

Amongst all this MPO madness, I have also been serving 'Our Glorious Leader', he of the Mission fame with T shirts and such finery. It's a dirty job I know and it was with much huffing and puffing that I set off to Paris last week to make sure all was well in Mish World. It was lovely to see the Huss and our dear bass player, Ado doing their Wasteland thing. The Sharpening Club was back in business alongside The Mission's 'Country Club'.

Other highlights of the month included Mike's rendition of 'Happy Xmas war is Over' in Swansea, South Wales for BBC Children in Need whilst Mike's appearance on Janice Long's Radio 2 show was highly memorable. A Mike Peters medley and an attack of emails, calls and faxes from MPO members all across the UK and the world to the BBC Studios! What amazing fans you are.

Well, time to pack the rock chick gear and 'many shirts of Mike' for our Alarming jaunt across the UK. I have a feeling that the Second Generation UK Tour will be rather like an extended Christmas Party. Please come by and say 'hi' and remember that the 'Sharpening Club' starts around 7.00pm.

Mine's a moose drool...

Love and life,

Miss. MPO xxx

Mike and the boys are topping up their tunes with rehearsals in London in preparation for the upcoming UK Second generation Tour. Rumour has it that Mike will be adding some solo compositions after gleaning recent feedback from MPO HQ, requesting the inclusion of Mike Peters' live biggies like Regeneration, Burnout Syndrome, High on the Hill and 21st Century.
Be prepared for a long night!

Other MPO news...The Children of the Revolution have been in touch with MPO to request special passes for the Manchester show on Dec 17th. Mike is overcome with excitement that his hero, Alain Insane is taking the time to check out Alarm 2000 in the flesh.

Please make sure you check in with the MPO Desk if you are attending the UK Tour and fill in a competition flier to win 2 free tickets to the Gathering weekend (12th and 13th Jan 2001) (Existing ticket holders will be reimbursed if they become the lucky winners).

Two new articles have been added to the press/articles section(s):
An interview with SLF/Mike Peters/Alarm 2000 drummer Steve Grantly
A transcription of the recent Yahoo.com video interview with Mike Peters.

Special thanks to Katrina Copping and John O'Donnell for transcribing these.

Yahoo! : We're with Mike Peters, who's currently touring the country with The Alarm 2000. Welcome to yahoo.

MP : Yes, nice to be online.

Yahoo! : Basically right now basically going around the country, here in America, behind a nine-CD box set which you're selling off your website and also re-issues of the bands entire catalogue that you're been remastering, correct?

MP : Yeah that's right, that's how it came about. I didn't realise how much interest there would be in a body of work which was recorded between '81 & '91. It's been quite phenomenal & sort of led to me putting this whole tour together.

Yahoo! : At this point, what made you decide that it was time to bring The Alarm name back out? I mean you've been working on solo projects on and off the past few years.

MP : Well mainly because there's been so much interest in the songs, because when I left the band at the end of the first generation of The Alarm, the idea was that the three other members would have continued with the band and kept the music alive as a focal point. But that never happened, so as time went by, there was more and more pressure building on me to represent and play The Alarm songs. So rather than fight that, I decided that I would go with it.
I did try to put the original line up back together, but the guys all have other lives and they didn't want to do it so I thought that it was such a big thing to have all our records reissued that it was a good thing to go represent the music in the best and most honest way I could.

Yahoo! : By putting the 2000 at the end of it, you're making sure that people know that it's a different incarnation of The Alarm.

MP : Exactly

Yahoo! : But there are some people who would say that if it's not the full band then it's never the real band. What do you think about that? I know Eddie and all them have been talking about that a little bit I guess or actually Dave and all them have been talking a little bit about it in the press

MP : No it's only Twist. He was cool about it at first, but I think as some of the reviews started coming in and from the fans saying that it's as good as or better than the original line-up, it started to hurt a little bit, which is understandable. I think it was just that certain promoters bill it as The Alarm. It's difficult because I was the original singer in the band people make that assumption, but I'm not going to apologise for that, I wrote most of the songs, sang 99% of them. I think there's more good been done to The Alarm in the last two year than in the eight years when I wasn't in the band in the first place.

Yahoo! : Well tell us about the band that you've assembled for this tour - who's playing with you?

MP : Well it's basically a band which has come out of The Gathering, an event which I've run in Wales for the past 9 years, which is a celebration of the music of The Alarm anyway, and the band that have played at that is the band that is on the road.
It features Steve Grantly, who's the drummer from Stiff Little Fingers and there's James Stevenson on guitar, who's played with Generation X, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Cult, he's played in some good bands. And then Richard Llewelyn, from Wales who's a young bass player who's played on a lot of my solo material as well. The best thing about the band is that they know The Alarm inside out. They're played it to their most hardcore fans for the past nine years.

Yahoo! : It's funny, I was remembering when The Alarm first came out, or at least came to this country to tour, back in '81 / '82, the way you were marketed was that you were a punk band playing acoustic guitars. I remember everybody was "wow a punk band playing acoustic guitars". It's so funny now it's very common for bands to play unplugged and do that, but at the time I guess it was unusual to have a rock band up there not playing electric.

MP : I guess that's what set us apart, what was confusing for a lot of people was that we were a band built around songs. Everything since The Alarm stopped making records, I've been able to play every song live on an acoustic guitar anyway. All the songs I wrote for The Alarm were written on an acoustic guitar. What I felt was that the acoustic guitar live, at that point in the 80s, wasn't developed as a live instrument, it was very hard to get mikes and pick-ups which worked and made it sound good.
We used to drill holes in them and put humbuckers in and amplify the internal sound, the sort of spiritual sound you get from playing the acoustic guitar. I'm sure 99% of songs are written when somebody picks up an acoustic instrument, be it a piano or an acoustic guitar, and that's what inspired people to write the great songs of all time.

Yahoo! : So was that when you decided to go down that route back then, was it a reaction to everything else that was going on, or did it just feel really natural for the kind of songs you were doing at the time?

MP : It was really because we felt that when we were writing our songs and then trying to turn them into the electric environment of a band they didn't sound the way they did up here (in the head). So I thought, hang on, I've written all these songs on the acoustic guitar, why don't we just stick the pick-ups in them and play them. I think when you play loud sounds on the acoustic guitar, you think differently. Pick up a Les Paul or a Fender, you play in a certain way, but when you pick an acoustic guitar, you think differently, you think more "chordly", more power chords, and you can't even get up the high end, it's a deeper kind of thing so that was the kind of thinking behind it.

Yahoo! : I remember at the time there was U2, Big Country, The Alarm, a lot of people thought of you together, not only because you were playing guitars again, but there was a very positive kind of uplifting message to most of the songs that you were doing, which I guess, after the anger of punk, was very different. What were you trying to offer back then that maybe rock wasn't offering at the time?

MP : We just wanted people to believe in themselves, that's all. Even today, now, I tune in the radio and I hear a lot of music that has a very negative, aggressive force behind it. I think America's just got punk for itself again. There's been a rise, since Nirvana really, it's been very aggressive music, and it was similar in Britain, a very negative aggressive force coming through that would spill over in violence and we weren't into that. Our message that we gained from punk, living in the suburbs, was much more positive, it was about doing things for yourself and not just about accepting the status quo, but making small changes. And that's what we were trying to pass on to our audiences to say that no one can make your life for you, you have to go out and make it for yourself.

Yahoo! : And the songs today I think, hearing them now, a lot of them do still resonate. It's interesting to hear if you listen to a lot of the bonus tracks that have been attached to some of the albums, and also some of the box-set rarities, even the stuff that got left in the closet sounds really good. There's a version of One Step Closer To Home that sounds just tremendous. And you've actually been introducing that at some of the shows as your favourite Alarm song, even though you didn't write it, it's one of Dave's songs.

MP : It is, that's right. I wish Dave had written more songs for The Alarm, he's a really talented writer, that's one of the things that I regret about The Alarm, that he didn't really push himself as far as he could do as a writer, within the context of the band.

Yahoo! : So what is it about One Step Closer to Home, for example, that makes it stand up to you, considering it's not even your song?

MP : Well partly that I don't have so much emotional attachment to it if you like. It's very hard about your own songs which you've written to say which is your favourite. They become very much like your little children and it's very hard to differentiate between them, so when I step back and look at The Alarm, I just think that Dave wrote a most incredible song, which has grown over the years, lyrically. As people have lived their journey, a lot of the time we were making that music to appeal to younger fans than ourselves, those fans have gone through life and reached the age where we were writing those songs and gone beyond it - some of the songs have stayed with them. I know from doing all the dedications that I do for the box set, that some of these songs have really saved some people's lives through some of the lyrics. Again, that's why I wanted to play those songs because I felt that over the last ten years, The Alarm's disappeared off the face of the planet, musically, the songs have not been represented, excepting acoustic settings by themselves. So I wanted to put that music back on the map, and put it back where it belongs.

Yahoo! : You mentioned dedications - this is a very unusual element of the box set is that you can buy the single albums in stores, but if you go on thealarm.com you can buy a 9 CD box complete and in addition to the 9 albums you get a bonus CD of rarities and you get a song personally dedicated - how is that working?

MP : It's amazing because I didn't think there's be as much demand as there was, I thought that it would be just the die hard fans who'd want to go all the way. I wanted to personalise it in the same way I try to personalise every show I play, I try to don't say the same things, play the same set, I try to make it different. I thought these are the best fans we've ever had, they've been buying into this, have lived with this music for twenty years - I wanted to make a really big gesture to them I had the technology and the way to do it, so I thought yeah, I'll go that way.
So when everybody buys the box set, they can choose their own song, choose a dedication and I'll record it in the studio, or as is the case on the tour, the Second Generation tour of America right now, people are coming to the shows and requesting them, I'm playing them live and recording the shows, burning them onto CD, they go into the box set and they go home.

Yahoo! : Of the songs, what is number one song that everybody seems to be asking you to dedicate?

MP : To be honest with you, it's probably not one of the big hit singles, it's probably Walk Forever By My Side, which a lot of people have had played at their weddings. I even did a recording the other night for a guy who's going to have it played at his funeral. Then Spirit Of '76 is a big song for a lot of people - it's autobiographical for me, but I think it transfers into a lot of peoples lives - the optimism and looking back and never having any regrets is part of what the song tries to convey and people take a lot from that song, and want to remember the band through that song.

Yahoo! : And you've got this coming out on 21st Century Recordings, which is your own label. Is this designed specifically for The Alarm re-issues or are you going to be doing other things on there?

MP : No , we're up to about twenty titles on there. I started it in '91 when we started the website and it's just grown and grown. Obviously all the music which has come out through it, I'm at the core of it, but I don't just see myself as doing one thing, I see myself being multi-dimensional. I've done acoustic records, I've done a soundtrack for a play which is out there, obviously all the Alarm records are out there. I have a band with Billy Duffy of The Cult called Coloursound, and we put that record out in Europe and that's done amazingly well. Now I've got a lot of labels trying to pick up my catalogue and there's a lot of interest in it all, which is great. It's a real cottage industry which has grown and grown.

Yahoo! : Are there artists signed as well or is it just your projects?

MP : That was really the idea. I have a big communication thing with the fans and I always liked the fact that they were trading stuff, I wasn't really against that because I thought that anyone who trades buys all the official stuff anyway. I always felt that with the internet, the ways of sharing music was opening up on a much wider scale and you could be more of a fan about your own music. You didn't have to impress. I was making certain records for record companies, but I was also making records that were on a smaller scale. I don't think all music has to be made to be global.
I think sometimes you're making music for a smaller dimension than that. Once I started putting those records out, only small numbers, but they have grown obviously since then, but there's something quite nice, something liberating about not having to think that this bit of music is going to go into an A&R meeting or be judged at radio or by the press. It's just something I wanted to share with the fans on a smaller level. We will make other ablums to try and push the button and try and reach a wider audience, but I think it's nice to be able to express yourself that way and not feel too pressurised by the music industry.

Yahoo! : I know that at the end of the year at least the American leg of this Alarm 2000 tour ends, are you going to carry this on into 2001?

MP : I go back from the American leg and we start a British tour in December and that's going to be quite a big affair. The first Alarm 2000 shows were with Big Country at the beginning of the year and it just sort of took off in Britain and Europe. So the plan is now, initially I thought maybe it was only a short term thing, but it's kind of grown and grown and I do feel I want to put the music of the band back into people's minds again. Through doing the box set and the tour, people will re-appraise where The Alarm stood in the musical history that we know. So my aim is to have fun and see where it goes but there'll definitely be more shows in America in 2001.

Yahoo! : Great, well looking forward to seeing the new band tonight, thanks for coming in.

MP : Thanks a lot.

Mike Peters appears on 2 radio shows this week following on from the successful Radio 2 show last week.
 
On Weds Nov 29th, Mike records a special show with Spencer Leigh at BBC Merseyside. For requests/ messages to Mike please call Spencer on 0151 708 5500 for further transmission details.
 
On Weds Nov 29th Mike records a special show for Alan Robson at Metro FM. Transmission takes place at 10pm. For requests/ messages to Mike, please call Alan on 0191 421 0401/ 0191 420 0971
 
Regional newspaper articles on the Alarm 2000 Second Generation Tour are popping up all over the country. Please watch your local press.

Mike Peters rocked Radio 2 with a little help from his MPO friends. As Mike arrived at the Pebble Mill studios, DJ, Janice Long and long-time supporter of The Alarm was thrilled to welcome Mike to her BBC Radio 2 studio.

The mountain of email and faxes awaiting Mike's arrival was amazing - the BBC staff were astounded at the response to Mike's appearance on the show.

After some introductory chat with Janice, Mike played 'The Stand' and then Janice valiantly relayed as many email questions as possible to Mike, leading up to the news.

Emails, faxes and phone calls were bombarding the studio and Janice's assistant struggled vainly to ferry the requests from the control room to the studio where Janice and Mike were catching up on old times like hanging out in Erics, Pete Wylie and the Children of the Revolution.

Mike then played a moving Walk Forever by my Side for a delighted Janice followed by a hastily concocted Alarming Mike Medley which had Ms. Long bouncing around the studio with glee. (Marching On... Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?... 68 Guns...Spirit of 76....Knockin' on Heavens Door)

The BBC World Service meant that many MPO members were able to listen to Mike on air and both Janice and Mike were thrilled to receive emails from as far afield as California, Philadelphia, New York, Florida and even Canada, not forgetting all over the UK...

Mike and the MPO would like to make special thanks to all the MPO members who contributed to the show and helped to make the session such a treat.

CURENT HIGH-BID
£1000 from a bidder in Surrey

NEW SIGS ON ROCK THE CITY AUCTION GUITAR!

Patti Scalfia (Springsteen)
Willie Nile
Joe Grushecky
Joe Durso

(See Below for more info on Rock The City Guitar Auction)

CHARITY SHOW WITH CHARLIE MCINTOSH and THE HARD TRAVELER'S

After a successful "Rock The City" show in September for the Pendlebury Children's Hospital and a recent appearance with Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey for Parkinson's disease, Charlie McIntosh, (Dave Sharp's guitarist and right hand man for ten years) is back, this time again Rockin'and Rollin' for the Pendlebury Children's Hospital Christmas Fund in Manchester, England. This show will raise money to buy the kids some special gifts for Christmas.
CHARLIE MCINTOSH and THE HARD TRAVELER'S
Stage 9:00PM
Sunday December 3rd at the THE TOWN HALL TAVERN, Eccles, Manchester.
Special Charity Christmas show for the Pendlebury Children's Hospital's
Christmas Fund.
There will be NO admission charge, but donations will be taken on the night.

The Town Hall
Church St
Eccles, Manchester
Tel: 0161-707-8106

OLD INFO ABOUT ROCK THE CITY GUITAR AUCTION

Autographed Guitar to be auctioned off for the "Rock The City" charity.
Signatures include:

Joe Bananno
Dave Sharp
Mike Peters
Twist
Kirk Brandon
Toby Bourke
Huey from the Fun Lovin' Criminals
Big Paul Ferguson from Killing Joke
Joe De Lorenzo from the Hard Traveler's
Sonny Barger (the founding father of the HELLS ANGELS)
Charlie McIntosh

Signatures to be added soon will include:
Bruce Springsteen
George Michael
Eddie Macdonald
and more!

A brand new white Fender Telecaster guitar (kindly donated by Bob Bell
from Music Exchange of Manchester/Stockport) is being auctioned off to raise money for the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital as part of the "ROCK
THE CITY" Charity Concerts.

Don't miss out on owning this piece of Rock and Roll memorabilia.
Put your bids in NOW!!
Please E-mail all bids to: charlie@charliemcintosh.co.uk
All bid updates will be listed at www.charliemcintosh.co.uk

As Of 1-10-2000, Top Bid So Far £500 From Paul in London.

Mike Peters will be appearing on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show next Monday night/Tuesday morning (Nov 20th/21st) (approx Midnight - 2am GMT). Janice will be interviewing Mike at length and Mike will be performing live on the show.

Mike would love to hear from you while he is live on air so don 't be shy... please telephone, email Janice Long/Mike Peters at Radio 2.

Phone: 0500 288 291 (open during the show)
Fax: 0121 606 0499
Email: janice.long@bbc.co.uk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/janicel_show.shtml

The show can be also heard on the internet.
BBC Radio 2 webcasts using Real Audio at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/listen_pop.shtml

Dear MPO Member

Following on from the successful release of The Alarm 2000
Collection, and last month's much lauded North American Second Generation tour, Mike Peters and Alarm 2000 continue their blistering performances with a return to
British shores.

The UK tour begins on December 4th until December 15th finishing at
Shepherds Bush Empire, London. The UK tour is being promoted by SJM
Concerts.

MIKE ON THE BBC
RADIO AND TV
In the lead up to the UK tour, Mike and the band will be appearing on
BBC1 TV (approx 5 minutes to midnight) as part of Children in Need (Nov
17th). Mike and the band will be performing Happy Christmas; War is Over as
part of a tribute to 1980 (the year in which Children in Need began) and in
memory of John Lennon whilst Paul Weller will be performing Imagine.

Mike Peters will be appearing on Janice Long's BBC Radio 2 show next
Monday (Nov 20th) (approx 11pm -1am). Janice will be interviewing Mike at
length and Mike will be performing live on the show. Please feel free to
contact Mike whilst he is live on air (please contact www.bbc.co.uk)


MIKE PETERS / ALARM 2000
[SECOND GENERATION UK TOUR]
special guest: SPEAR OF DESTINY
4th Dec Glasgow Garage 0141 339 8383
5th Dec Newcastle Uni 0191 233 0444
7th Dec Leeds Cockpit 0113 244 4600
8th Dec Wolverhampton Wulfrun 01902 552121
9th Dec Liverpool Lomax 0151 707 9977
10th Dec Sheffield Leadmill 0114 275 4500
13th Dec Nottingham Rock City 0115 941 2544
15th Dec London Shep Bush Empire 0207 771 2000
16th Dec Cardiff University 02920 387 421
17th Dec Manchester Uni. 0161 832 1111
National CC Hotline 0115 912 9000 www.gigsandtours.com
**********************************************************************
******
**************************(Please note that Cardiff and Manchester
dates
have been changed to the 16th and 17th respectively as above)
**********************************************************************
******
**************************

ALARM 2000 9CD BOX SET
AVAILABLE TO ORDER NOW:
99.99 + 3 P&P (UK) 5 (EUROPE) $168 + $10 P&P (NORTH AMERICA)
Please submit your choice of Alarm song and dedication with order.
Delivery
takes 21 days.


ALARM 2000 REVIEWS
***** Record Collector "The Alarm are finally being recognised as the
forefathers of Cool Cymru, and not before time!"

***** Classic Rock "amazingly comprehensive"

***** Guitarist Magazine " A truly staggering achievement... a real
credit
to the band..."

*** Q "The Alarm's stomping rock lit up a moribund 80's musical
landscape......10 hour collection with enough demos,
alternative versions and rarities to keep diehard fans in raptures
forever."



ALARM 2000 US REVIEW
Strength, Perseverance Fuel Alarm Return In Los Angeles
Oct 13, 2000, 11:00 am PT


Mike Peters
While only a remnant remains of the original Alarm lineup -
singer-songwriter Mike Peters -- the music of the Welsh-based,
socially-conscious rock outfit is still as powerful as ever, as
evidenced
by the kickoff of the band's 2nd Generation tour at the Key Club in
West
Hollywood, Calif. on Thursday (Oct. 12).

Appropriately enough, Peters and his Alarm 2000 counterparts
(guitarist
James Stevenson [Generation X, Gene Loves Jezebel], drummer Steve
Grantley
[Stiff Little Fingers], and bassist Richard Llewellyn), launched
into
"Marchin' On," from 1984's Declaration, to kick off the first
American
show in nine years billed as the Alarm. For Peters, who has
achieved mild
solo
success in the U.K. since the band's breakup in 1991 and still has
a rabid
fan following across the pond, the sentiment rings especially true.
The
41-year-old Welshman battled throat cancer and a 60 percent chance
of
survival decree by doctors in 1994 and -- in a much less important
fight
by comparison -- I.R.S. Records for control over the entire Alarm
back
catalog, both of which he won.

So to say its been a long and winding road for Peters to Thursday's
show
in West Hollywood would be to say the Pope is Catholic. As the
anthemic
rock
battle cries began spouting forth, many of which concentrated on
1985's
Strength, it became clear the performance would not only be a
lesson in
nostalgia but a seminar in evocative rock and roll as well. In days
where
inconsequential teen pop and uninspiring rage rock rule, true
songwriting
with a message and a meaning goes a long way, even if it comes from
a band
which never could shake comparisons to U2 and hasn't stirred the
masses in
a decade.

As Peters and his Alarm version 2.0 rattled off the first five songs
("Marchin On," "Where Were You When the Storm Broke?" "Knife Edge,"
"Deeside," and "Majority") like rapid-fire semi-automatic machine
guns,
with little or no break between, the Key Club assembly fired lyrics
right
back in
appreciative retaliation. Peters introduced "One Step Closer to
Home" as
his favorite song the band ever did, despite the fact that original
guitarist
Dave Sharp forgot the initial version after a three-day bender.
Despite
that setback, the electric version of the song appeared on
Strength, while
a
gorgeous acoustic version surfaced later on 1987's Eye of the
Hurricane.
Thursday's crowd was treated to the former, which bellowed with as
much
earnest as it did back in 1985.

Even more touching, however, was Peters' fan dedication. For those
who
don't know, Peters has re-released the entire Alarm back catalog in
box
set
fashion at thealarm.com (allstar, Sept. 11) and fans who purchase it
receive a personal dedicated song of their choice, which Peters will
record
especially for the occasion, with their set. Peters aims to handle
as many
of those requests live as possible, so Thursday night Alarm fanatic
Tony
Fox granted his wife the gift of a lifetime -- a poignant rendition
of
"Walk
Forever by My Side," complete with a relayed message from Peters,
which
the couple walked home with in CD form.

As the night worn on past Midnight (the band didn't surface until 11
p.m.), the one-two-three punch of 1987's "Rain in the Summertime"
and
"Rescue Me"
and 1985's autobiographical "Spirit of '76" captured the pure
essence of
the Alarm. If not for being three of the group's most popular
songs, but
for
capturing a moment of days gone by. As Peters sang "We had
something going
once, but that was a such a long, long time ago," one could
imagine -- if
even for a fleeting moment -- that rock and roll was free again.

Alarm set list:
1. "Marchin' On"
2. "Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?"
3. "Knife Edge"
4. "Deeside"
5. "Majority"
6. "One Step Closer to Home"
7. "Unsafe Building"
8. "Absolute Reality"
9. "We Are the Light"
10. "Walk Forever by My Side"
11. "The Deceiver"
12. "The Stand"
13. "Sold Me Down the River"
14. "Strength"
15. "Rain in the Summertime"
16. "Rescue Me"
17. "Spirit of '76"

Encore:
18. "68 Guns"
19. "Blaze of Glory"
-- Kevin Raub



Alarming 2000
FEEDBACK!!!!


I'm certain many will be writing in on this show....I just got back
and all
I can say is "#$%@ 'n BRILLIANT !!!!!"
I've been to a lot of shows... It was so incredible to have him do
that
outside acoustic number... what other
artist would do such a thing! that's why we admire him, and that was
just
an incredible moment for me.... it was like I was at a Gathering
or a campfire (since I haven't been to a Gathering!).. Not to mention
the
ENTHUSIASTIC crowd! I've never seen so many HYPED up
people in a long time!!!!
You guys are in for a real treat! Thanks M.P. !!
Mike S, Brave Bull, San Gabriel, California (last U.S. show this year)

I wanted to send a note to let you know how much I enjoyed the show at
the Galaxy last Friday night. You were as incredible as ever and I
can
honestly say that show was one of the highlights of my life. After
not
seeing/hearing from you here in the States for sooo many years, it was
actually quite an emotional experience. "A long time coming", my
friend.
k Gallagher, Galaxy Theatre, California


It is great to be able to stand right in front of the stage and get
what
seemed like a personal show. I've been around since Declaration and a
turning
point in my life was being in the front on Jan Steps at UCLA for the
Spirit
of 86. With this last show, I have had the honor of seeing you 24
times.
Any chance I can get a pick?
I can play your entire song list It would be nice to have a pick from
the
songwriter that carries the torch handed to him by Bob Dylan and Woody
Guthrie before him\Keep it up
Henry, Buffalo Rose, Golden Colorado


Everything an Alarm fan would want to hear was played. Where
Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke? was supercharged, and 68 Guns
had
everyone in the crowd screaming along to the anthem! ...a non stop
barrage
of fired up rockers like Strength, Absolute Reality, Unsafe Building
The
Stand, Rescue Me, a wet Rain in the Summertime thanksto the bottled
water
onstage (Mike Peters spit on me!) and of course the
crowd favorite Spirit of '76. The crowd was singing along all night,
but
Peters stepped away from the mic to allow us our turn at lead vocals
on
'76 and the full house did not disappoint, screaming out "I can
hearthem
now!" in the appropriate spot!
R,P Buffalo Rose, Golden Colorado


Saw you in Missoula, Montana --- it was great!!!!!!
Carl, The Ritz, Missoula, Montana

Hey Mike, are there plans to come to the Atlanta area during this
tour?
I'm a huge fan of The Alarm dating back to your EPs release in 1983.
I have
to admit, I
sort of lost touch after Change but have recently been experiencing
an Alarm
renaissance. This is my first time to your website and I'm
distraught to
learn that I missed you in my home town when you played in Hollywood
and at
the Galaxy.
Wesley G, California


It looks like 2001 is finally the year for me to make the Gathering!
Erik F, New York


I am so happy that you are keeping The Alarm alive and well. The
Spokane
show was great. I felt all of the powerful feelings that I felt 10
years
ago. I wish that I would have known you do dedications before the
show. I
definately would have requested one for Walk Forever By My Side. I'm
very
moved ever time I hear it. Please keep the spirit alive for those of
us who
remember The Stand on MtV and for the new generation. Thanks again
for a
great show and I hope to see you back on the road soon.
Tracy, Boomerangs Spokane, Washington

Terrific show last night at Dallas' club dada! How your voice never
cracks is a total mystery. Needless to say, you sounded great and
were a
gracious frontman. I first saw you guys on the "Strength" tour at the
Bronco Bowl. Anyhow, I just wanted to thank you for an evening of
memorably
heartfelt, impassioned, fun music.
A. L Graham, Club Da da, Dallas, Texas


We all had a great time at the Lincoln, Neb. show on Saturday. It was
an
amazing set, and thanks so much for the dedication. My fiance Nikki
and I
really appreciated your playing "Walk Forever..." for us, it made for
a
truly special moment. You definitely made the drive down from
Minneapolis
worth while!
J Wood Lincoln, Nebraska (Minneapolis)

I just wanted to congratulate you on a great show last weekend...I was
really impressed I was by the show. The new band was
tight, but what I really thought was great was the way you busted
your ass
on stage for that crowd. I then checked out your website. I didn't
know how
"eventful" the '90's
had been for you. But I'm glad your health is back and that you were
able
to track down all those elusive IRS master recordings. I think the
2000
tour is a great idea, and I hope it's been a load of fun for you.
Finally, I
saw a bunch of locals at the show (who, as I overheard before
the show, didn't know anything about The Alarm) up on their feet,
dancing,
as soon as you roared through the first few tunes. The point being--
just in
case you were wondering--the songs still sound
fucking great. Best of luck,
Corbet H Omaha, NE



CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
Mike Peters' all time favourite band, CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION
have just
announced that they have signed to Mike's label, 21st Century.
Their new
album 'IV' (including the classic 'Allthe World It's
Christmas
Time' written by Mike Peters) is available now, just in time for
Christmas.

Order your copy from
MPO now Tel: 01745 571571 [Price 14.99 + 1 p&p]
TO CONTACT MPO:
TEL 00 44 (0)1745 571571 FAX 00 44 (0)1745 571577 EMAIL
mpo@a... www.mikepetersweb.com

HOW TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FOLK AT
MPO



MPO P.O. Box 709, Prestatyn, Denbighshire, Ll19 9YR, Wales, U.K.
Tel: 011 44 (0) 1745 571571
Tel: 011 44 (0) 1745 571577

email mpo@a...

www.thealarm.com
www.coloursound.com
www.mikepetersweb.com

MIKE PETERS AND ALARM 2000 ON BBC TV
This week on November 17th you will be able to see Mike Peters and Alarm
2000 performing on BBC1 as part of Children in Need. This special
performance will be broadcast across the UK at approximately 5 minutes to
midnight. Mike and the band have been chosen to represent Wales by
performing Lennon's 'Happy Christmas; War is Over' as a contribution to the
1980 theme of this year's Children in Need which commemorates John Lennon's
tragic death in December that year. Paul Weller will be representing
Englaand performing Lennon's 'Imagine'.

The date for the "Rock The City" show at the legendary Stone Pony in New Jersey, USA has been set for Saturday April 7.

Acts confirmed so far are:
Dave Sharp and the Hard Travler's
Charlie Macintosh
Toby Bourke
Bruce Tunkle (www.brucetunkel.com)
Joe D'Urso(www.jdcaravan.com)

The rest of the lineup is not yet confirmed, but it will be a good one, a real Jersey Shore party!
Ticket details to be confirmed.

There is the possibly of a few more shows in N.Y. during that same week/weekend. Nothing confirmed as of yet, but it is still early days, check this site or www.dave-sharp.co.uk regularly for developments.

Anyone needing info about travel and etc. to New Jersey, can email Charlie Mcintosh at charlie@charliemcintosh.co.uk

A great video interview has been posted on yahoo.com with Mike Peters.
View it here:


Yahoo Interview