The Alarm releases "Live Today," the final video featuring the late Mike Peters

Make sure to check out the bittersweet video "Live Today,"  - the final music video filmed with the late Alarm frontman Mike Peters. A fantastic song and one that resonates powerfully...Robert Kinsler 

Releases “Live Today” The Final Video Featuring Mike Peters Who Passed Away April 2025 Premieres via Consequence New Album TRANSFORMATION To Be Released May 29, 2026 On Twenty First Century Recordings/Virgin Music Group Click above to watch the newly released "Live Today" music video APRIL 8, 2026 [New York, NY] – “Mike lived a life of beauty and never gave up right to the very end,” says Jules Peters, bandmate and wife of the late Mike Peters of THE ALARM who passed away on April 29, 2025. Following a fearlessly valiant 31-year battle with cancer, his monumental legacy continues with the release of TRANSFORMATION on May 29, 2026 on Twenty First Century Recordings/Virgin Music Group. Its latest single, “Live Today” premieres now via Consequence. Filmed just days before Mike underwent the innovative CAR-T treatment with hopes of eradicating Richter’s Syndrome, an aggressive form of lymphoma, “Live Today” is Mike’s final video. “As the sun rose, watching Mike perform this song with so much optimism and hope will live with me forever,” said Jules as she looks back. “It was a bittersweet day for me as we filmed this incredible joyous film on the beach in the North of England. After filming concluded, we climbed onto the tour bus and drove straight to the Christie Hospital in Manchester, U.K.. We were full of determination that the pioneering CAR-T would save Mike’s life but, at the same time, I was personally terrified as I couldn’t shake off a feeling that cancer had finally caught up with us both.” Mike Peters of The Alarm Photo credit: Andrew Labrow A poignant rallying cry, the video shows Mike performing without any hint of weakness, though his health was ailing at the time. “This video is such a difficult watch,” she says through tears. “It broke my heart… but it captures the eternal essence of Mike Peters that keeps us coming back to him and his incredible songs time after time.” Taken from the upcoming Transformation, “Live Today” is one of 12 prescient tracks that Mike gifts us through his passing. The recording sessions for Transformation began spontaneously on October 7, 2024, and after various life-interventions, it was finally completed on the evening of January 15, 2025 - the night before he began his CAR-T therapy. From the opening call to arms “New Life,” The Alarm roars vibrantly to life. Originally intended as an optimistic song to herald the triumph over cancer to be released after he had beaten cancer successfully again, it instead carries a new sort of poignant breath as he sings “I’ll see you in the new life.” First single “Chimera” was poised as an allegorical rebirth when it was released on January 23, 2025 - the exact day his CAR-T therapy began. Symbolically encapsulating the Greek mythos of a chimera which embodies the characteristics of different animals into one body, Mike envisioned that he himself would become like the fabled creature. “When I have CAR-T therapy I will literally become chimeric,” stated Mike at the time. “There will be two types of blood flowing inside of me. Two individual types of DNA.” Watch the "Chimera" music video  The classic ringing guitar progressions that made The Alarm household names in the ‘80s punctuates “Outlier” with Mike’s vocals showing no signs of wear. The anthemic and earnest “One In A Million” kicks off as a gorgeous hymn with the lyrics “one life, one heart, one soul” before counting down to a fiery chorus. It’s a fist-up outcry, the kind that the band built their initial acclaim with and made fans out of U2, Simple Minds, The Cult, among dozens of other renowned bands. The closing ballad “Love Makes Love” closes the album with a pensive note, the warmth of Mike’s voice acting as a final embrace. “Transformation is the finest Alarm album of all, written through adversity, with lashings of hope to stay strong, to believe, to keep moving forwards, to stay alive, to never be afraid and to welcome transformation,” says Jules. Described by Bono of U2 as “the second greatest rock and roll band in the world,” Mike Peters has been the driving force behind The Alarm for over forty creative years of new music making and dedication to presenting the band’s classic songs in ways both imaginative and inventive. A voice of defiance and hope both on and off the stage, Peters first rose to prominence in the early 1980s with The Alarm, whose powerful anthems like "68 Guns" and "Strength" helped define a generation of alternative rock. Known for their empowering anthems and heartfelt lyrics, The Alarm garnered a devoted international following, with Peters' raw vocals and commanding stage presence at the heart of it all, garnering number one rock album chart hits in the USA / UK and 4 albums in the top 10 with Equals, Sigma, Omega and Forwards. During a music career that spanned five decades, Peters performed with some of music’s greatest artists and bands including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and U2. Diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995 and later with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Peters refused to let his illness silence him. Instead, he turned his fight into a mission to help others. Alongside his wife Jules, he co-founded Love Hope Strength, a music-driven cancer charity that revolutionized awareness and action around stem cell donation that continues beyond his passing. Through its innovative “Get On The List” campaigns—often hosted at rock concerts and even atop mountains—the charity has added over 400,000 people to the global stem cell registry and helped secure thousands of potential life-saving matches for patients worldwide.   While this may seem like the final chapter for The Alarm, Transformation promises that the legacy of The Alarm will transform into something larger. While Mike has gone out in a blaze of glory, his love, hope and strength continues on. Echoing the title of the new single,   Jules concludes, “Mike and the spirit of The Alarm will ‘Live Today,’ forever more. I invite you all to blast Transformation out loud. Imagine Mike in the room with you. Transformation is his battle cry, his resilient love of life. Right to the very end, Mike believed that he was going to live, to be totally free. My last memory is driving him open top along the North Wales coast road, playing Transformation at maximum volume. He was so happy. So full of life. Playing his air drums, bass guitar, already imagining himself on his next world tour. So keep that positive spirit moving forwards. Imagine him as you all knew him best, striding out on to that stage, changing lives one concert at a time. This is an album of hope and a passionate celebration of a life well lived. Please do not be sad. Mike wouldn’t want that. He was so proud of this album and had the best time recording it during the last six months of his life. Blast it out loud like Mike did. Play along to the track list and most of all, be happy that we all had Mike in our lives and continue to do so. The music of Mike and The Alarm will always keep us strong”.   “Live Today” is released, April 8, 2026. TRANSFORMATION will be released on May 29, 2026 via Twenty First Century Recordings/Virgin Music Group and is available for presale at the band's official webstore. album art TRANSFORMATION New Life Chimera Outlier Saviour Metaverse Wired One In A Million Live Today Soul Town In Unity To Be Alive Love Makes Love

Pandemic Can't Stop The Music: The Alarm, Ally Venable, Strawbs

Fans of rising and established artists all have something to celebrate thanks to a trio of amazing studio albums released on Feb. 26, 2021.

Artist: The Alarm

Title: WAЯ (InGrooves)

You might like if you enjoy: The Alarm, early U2, the Waterboys

Tell me more: Written, recorded and released between Jan. 6 and Feb. 26, 2021, the Alarm's newly-released WAЯ is a potent effort that proves that even during a deadly global pandemic great artists will rise to the occasion. Singer-songwriter-guitarist Mike Peters and company (keyboardist Jules Peters, drummer Steve 'Smiley' Barnard, multi-instrumentalist James Stevenson) along with producer George Williams have delivered an album of palpable power and relevance in tune with our troubled times. This is an album that roars, documenting an uncertain era with a fiery and authentic approach; the soaring sonicsphere is matched by Mike Peter's hard-hitting lyrics. The blistering "Protect And Survive," edgy "We Got This" (bolstered by Mike Peters' blasting harmonica work), the atmospheric "Tribes [Stop The War]," beautiful folk rocker "Still Unsafe," electronica-tinged rocker "Warriors" and spirited "Fail" are among the amazing cuts on the masterwork. The aptly-titled WAЯ (which is "RAW" spelled backwards) is a true return to form for the Alarm, all the more impressive given its creation and release took a mere 50 days during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information: TheAlarm.com.

Artist: Ally Venable

Title: Heart Of Fire (Ruf Records)

You might like if you enjoy: Samantha Fish, Sue Foley, Ally Venable's "Texas Honey" LP

Tell me more: Kilgore, Texas-based singer-guitar great Ally Venable's newly-released fourth album Heart Of Fire confirms the 21-year-old prodigy is one of today's most talented young artists. She taps into the past but is able fuse electric blues and roots rock influences into her own infectious contemporary brew across the Jim Gaines-produced disc. The ferocious opener "Heart Of Fire," Delta-immersed foray "Played The Game," Southern blues rocker "Hateful Blues," melodic "Sad Situation" and dynamic reworking of the Bill Withers classic "Use Me" all serve as a showcase for Venable's skills as singer and guitar slinger. Her ambitious nine-minute instrumental tribute to blues guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughan ("Tribute to SRV") is heartfelt and impactful. Likewise, a poignant vocal duet with Southern rock great Devon Allman on "Road To Nowhere" shines bright, the track elevated by nuanced and artful guitar work ranging from ringing harmonics to a forceful lead solo. Guitar hero Kenny Wayne Shepherd lends his own virtuoso skills on the blues rock cut "Bring On The Pain." Information: AllyVenableBand.com.

Artist: Strawbs

Title: Settlement (Esoteric Antenna)

You might like if you enjoy: The Zombies, Supertramp, Marillion

Tell me more: Strawbs are back. The legendary English band – whose self-titled debut album was released in 1969 – has released a slew of acclaimed albums over the past 50+ years. Now the enduring quintet has returned with the stellar wide-ranging album Settlement that celebrates the group's rich history while also reflecting the here and now. The range of on-target selections includes the classic-rock styled title track, beautiful British folk gems "Strange Times" and "Each Manner of Man," yearning "Judgement Day," Celtic-flavored tale "The Visit," and instrumental trips "Flying Free" and "Chorale." Strawbs features founding member Dave Cousins (guitar, vocals, banjo, dulcimer) along with long-time members Dave Lambert (guitar, vocals), Chas Cronk (bass, guitar, vocals), Tony Fernandez (drums) and Dave Bainbridge (keyboards) - all of whom and several top-tier guest players worked with Germany-based producer Blue Weaver (a former keyboardist with Strawbs and long-time member of the Bee Gees' touring and recording band) to complete their parts from remote home studio settings during the pandemic to finish a truly-impressive full-length return. Settlement is available on audio CD and via 180 gram vinyl. Information: strawbsweb.co.uk.

Robert Kinsler