RIP Mike Peters of The Alarm

Somewhere in the multiverse, The Alarm is as big as–or bigger–than U2. The Welsh band was one of the most electrifying live acts I ever saw–and the reason for that was frontman Mike Peters. His energy and attitude were incredible.

The Alarm’s music was very much in line with what U2 did: Big, anthemic songs designed to raise the spirit. They should have been far, far bigger than they were. Mike left the band in 1991 after a 10-year run. There was a reunion in 2000 which Mike managed along with a stint as the lead singer for Big Country starting in 2011.

For the last 30 years, Mike had been living with various forms of blood cancer. It began with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1995. Ten years later, there was another diagnosis: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CCL). There was a period of remission, but then it returned in 2005. Last year, he was diagnosed with Richter syndrome lymphoma, something that sometimes happens to people with CCL. Five days before a US tour, he had to cancel.

He was able to keep going for most of that time with both music and raising awareness and money for people who suffer from similar conditions with his organization he co-founded with his wife, the Love Hope Strength Foundation. In 2007, he was part of an expedition up into the Himalayas, followed by a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro to play “the world’s highest gig.” More than three million people watched it online.

In 2019, he was awarded an MBE by the Queen in recognition for all the work he did for cancer charities.

In recent months, he’s been receiving treatment for his fast-growing lymphoma at a hospital in Manchester. Eventually, even the experimental treatments stopped working.

Mike had a sense he was living on borrowed time. His message to everyone was “Stay alive and appreciate every second you’ve got…Live right up to the last breath and stay positive about the world, your family and the environment you live in.”

Mike was 66.