On This Day 19/12/1985 The Alarm

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On this day, 12 December 1985, Welsh rockers The Alarm played Cardiff’s St David’s Hall on the band’s Strength Tour.

Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.

The Alarm's highest charting single in Britain is 1983's "Sixty Eight Guns", which reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Their 1984 album Declaration, which contained "Sixty Eight Guns", peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart.

Tour Setlist

• Deeside

• Declaration

• Marching On

• Howling Wind

• Knife Edge

• Dawn Chorus

• The Deceiver

• The Day the Ravens Left the Tower

• Third Light

• Absolute Reality

• Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke

• One Step Closer to Home

• Walk Forever by My Side

• Spirit of ’76

• Blaze of Glory

• Strength

• Encore: Sixty Eight Guns, The Stand (Prophecy)

• Encore 2: This Train Is Bound for Glory, We Are the Light

On this day 20/11/1982 The Belle Stars

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On this day, 20 November 1982, all female British pop/rock band The Belle Stars played Cardiff University with support provided by Welsh rockers The Alarm.

The band were about to release their biggest hit “Sign Of The Times” after moderate success with three cover versions: "Iko Iko" by The Dixie Cups, "The Clapping Song" by Shirley Ellis, and "Mockingbird" by Inez & Charlie Foxx.

Dave Robinson at Stiff Records, the band's record company, suggested that the band ought to perform covers to attract audiences, then after three covers write their own song, and it would be a hit. This happened to come true when the band released "Sign of the Times".

The song's music video, showing the Belle Stars in dinner jackets, was also played frequently by MTV in the United States. The song went on to become the 30th-best selling single of 1983 in the UK.

"Sign of the Times" was produced by Peter Collins for Loose Ends Productions, a company managed by Pete Waterman before he became famous as a third of the Stock/Aitken/Waterman production team a few years later.

"Sign of the Times" was followed a month later by the band's eponymous debut album, which reached number 15 on the UK Albums Chart. As with the band's singles, it was a mix of original songs and cover versions, including Bob and Earl's "Harlem Shuffle" (covered three years later by the Rolling Stones on Dirty Work) and Al Wilson's "The Snake".

On this day 4/08/06 The Alarm

On this day, 4 August 2006, North Wales rockers The Alarm played Cardiff’s Big Weekend festival.

Formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, The Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture.

By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.

The Alarm's highest charting single in Britain was 1983's "Sixty Eight Guns", which reached number 17 in the UK Singles Chart. Their 1984 album, Declaration, which contained "Sixty Eight Guns", peaked at number six in the UK Albums Chart.

In 2006, the new version of Alarm MM++ released a second studio album, Under Attack. It spawned another UK Top 30 hit, "Superchannel".

In 2008 A third studio album entitled Guerrilla Tactics was released. The Alarm's song "Sixty Eight Guns" has been featured in a Heineken television advertisement in the U.S. In April, 2008 Sharp launched his own version of the band, AOR – Spirit of The Alarm, to showcase the band's American set lists from the late 1980s.