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OBSCURE SONG OF THE DAY - THE ALARM

Welcome my friends and a very happy Tuesday to you all. As 2009 surges on, may our friendship, like wine, improve as time advances.

Today's Obscure Song of the Day awaits...

The Alarm was formed in Rhyl, Wales in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist Mike Peters, who'd started out in a local punk band called the Toilets along with Alarm drummer Nigel Twist. When that band broke up, Peters - then playing bass - formed a new outfit called Seventeen (after the Sex Pistols song) with guitarists Eddie MacDonald and Dave Sharp, both local scenesters and longtime friends. Seventeen was initially influenced by the Pistols, the Clash, the mod-revival punk of the Jam, and the punk-pop of ex-Pistol Glen Matlock's Rich Kids. As their songwriting interests grew more socially conscious, and in early 1981, the group reinvented itself as the Alarm, taking the name from a Seventeen song called "Alarm Alarm." Later that year, they moved to London and self-released their debut single, a Peters/MacDonald-penned political rocker called "Unsafe Building," backed with Sharp's folk-punk tune "Up for Murder." By this time, MacDonald and Peters had switched instruments, with Peters taking up rhythm guitar and MacDonald moving to bass.

In 1982, the Alarm signed with IRS and issued another single, "Marching On." On the strength of their live shows, U2 tapped them to open their 1983 supporting tour for "War", which helped make the group's next single, the Stephen King retelling "The Stand," into an underground hit. The Alarm's self-titled debut EP appeared later in 1983, compiling previous single releases, and setting the stage for the release of their first proper album, "Declaration", in 1984. A Top Ten U.K. hit, "Declaration" spun off several popular singles, including the Seventeen holdover "Sixty-Eight Guns" (which made the pop Top 20), "Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke?" (which just missed), "The Deceiver," and the live staple "Blaze of Glory." Non-LP singles followed in a cover of "The Bells of Rhymney," the new wave dance tune "The Chant (Has Just Begun)," and the British Top 40 hit "Absolute Reality."

The Alarm's sophomore effort, 1985's "Strength", was another U.K. success, and brought them into the Top 40 of the U.S. album charts for the first time; additionally, the single "Spirit of '76" was a Top 40 U.K. hit. "Strength" displayed greater subtlety and maturity in both their songwriting and arrangements, and was often hailed as the group's best overall album. The Alarm took a break after the supporting tour, and returned in 1987 with "Eye of the Hurricane", which featured more polished, mainstream production reminiscent of U2. The gambit helped them gain some rock radio play in America with the singles "Presence of Love," "Rescue Me," and especially the more danceable "Rain in the Summertime," and they landed a tour slot supporting Bob Dylan. A concert EP, "Electric Folklore: Live", followed in 1988.

1989's "Change" was an homage to the group's native Wales, and was accompanied by an alternate Welsh-language version, "Newid". Produced by Tony Visconti, "Change" spawned the group's biggest modern rock radio hit in America, the bluesy "Sold Me Down the River," which also put them in the U.S. pop Top 50 for the first and only time. "Devolution Working Man Blues" and "Love Don't Come Easy" also earned radio airplay, and the track "A New South Wales" boasted an appearance by the Welsh Symphony Orchestra. Although it was hugely popular in Wales, it didn't sell as well as the group's earlier works, and internal band dissension - exacerbated by deaths in both Peters and Twist's families - made 1991's "Raw" the original Alarm's final effort. "The Road" was their final radio hit, but with the band's impending breakup, IRS found little reason to promote it.

From their 1983 album "Declaration"....here is The Alarm with "Sixty-Eight Guns"....