Closer Than Close

Back in 2002 I was the hardcore web master of the official web site for the 80's band The Alarm and lead vocalist Mike Peters.   I had been doing that job since 1996.   In that time, Mike Peters released several solo albums (Breathe, Feel Free, Rise, Flesh And Blood), and an album in band with Billy Duffy of The Cult named ColourSound.   Peters had spent the decade since 1991 (when he left The Alarm), working on a solo career that appeared to be reaching its' zenith in 2001.

So in 2002, I was very surprised when Peters sent me a recording of the song Close.   Close was soaring rocker with a decidedly 80's, new wave feel.  in that echoed The Alarm at their best, and also vintage Icicle Works and A Flock Of Seagulls.  It sounded very little like his solo work up until that point.    It was not too long after that Mike Peters re-imagined  reinvigorated, and restarted The Alarm for the 21st Century.  Since then, The Alarm have released two massive "subscription collections" (In The Poppy Fields Bond in 2002 and The Counter Attack Collective in 2007) and four studio albums (In The Poppy Fields in 2004, Under Attack in 2006, Guerilla Tactics in 2008, and Direct Action in 2010).  Another album is due this year to coincide with the release of the film Vinyl, a fictionalized account of the real-life drama Mike Peters created in 2004 when he released the single "45 RPM" under the name "The Poppy Fields" and fooled the British record industry into thinking it was by a new, young band.

Anyhow, this is the song that convinced me that The Alarm could be a viable band in the 21st Century.

This version of Close is not the one that Mike sent me though.  That demo will hopefully be reissued later this year when The Alarm celebrate the 10th anniversary of the In The Poppy Fields Bond.

The official site for The Alarm is http://www.thealarm.com