Bodelwyddan is a village near Rhyl and has been used as the location for a number of special events. As well as these events some demonstration recordings have been made here
29th May 1999 : Coloursound – Faenol Fawr Country Hotel, Bodelwyddan near Rhyl, North Wales
COLOURSØUND Day– Acoustic, Electric and more
Band line up : Mike Peters, Billy Duffy, Craig Adams, Steve Jones
(v) 28th May 2000 : Mike Peters – Faenol Fawr Country Hotel, Bodelwyddan near Rhyl, North Wales
Alarm 2000 Day
Event Press Release announcement
To celebrate the release of The Alarm 2000 collection, Mike Peters will be hosting Alarm 2000 Day in a picturesque country house, the Faenol Fawr, just outside Rhyl, North Wales, the birthplace of The Alarm
Mike Peters will perform all the songs from each Alarm album in sequence, an acoustic marathon taking in the entire works of The Alarm, this will be an epic challenge and every performance of each album will be followed by a Q&A session with Mike whereby he will answer as many questions as possible relating to each of the five eras of Alarm history. Tickets are strictly limited to 200
Alarm 2000 Day was a special and unique kind of day. 200 dedicated MPO members made the trip to North Wales to spend the day with Alarm lead singer, Mike Peters and listen to him spill his innermost feelings and thoughts on his Alarm experiences. It was a very emotional and uplifting day with Mike determined to sing almost every song from the Alarm catalogue. Fatigued by his recent touring exploits with Big Country and overwhelmed with recording a dizzying realm of dedications pouring in from all over the world, Mike was exhausted and fighting off a heavy ‘tour’ cold. At 11am that morning, cocooned on the top floor of the country house and location for the day, the Faenol Fawr, Mike felt for the first time that he was ‘without voice’ and the day ahead loomed ominously. It was even considered by Mike and MPO staff that maybe the day would have to be reset. Like the trooper he is, Mike decided to plunge in to the danger zone of ‘Declaration’ and test his voice to the limit. Buckets of honey and lemon later and aided by a fantastic and supportive audience Mike soon felt his vocals juicing back to life and the day of songs and recollections rolled on into the night. It is pointless to try and recapture Mike’s stories and heartfelt memories here in print as that is an experience all in itself. In the meantime read on through the setlist and imagine a one man 12 hour performance……..
Set lists:
Session 1: The Alarm;
Unsafe Building, Up For Murder, For Freedom, Across The Border, Lie Of The Land, The Stand
Section 2: Declaration;
Declaration, Marching On, Where Were You Hiding, 68 Guns, Tell Me, We Are The Light, Shout To The Devil, Blaze Of Glory, The Deceiver, Pavillion Steps, What Kind Of Hell, Third Light, The Stand (Prophecy), Unbreak The Promise, Howling Wind, The Chant Has Just Begun, Second Generation, Room At The Top, Reason 36, Reason 41, The Bells Of Rhymney, Bound For Glory, Absolute Reality
Section 3: Strength;
Strength, Knife Edge, The Spirit Of ’76, Walk Forever By My Side, Father To Son, Deeside, Majority, One Step Closer To Home (album playback), Caroline Isenberg, Dawn Chorus, The Day The Ravens Left The Tower, Knocking On Heaven’s Door.
Section 4: Eye Of The Hurricane;
Rain In The Summertime, Newtown Jericho, Hallowed Ground, One Step Closer To Home, Shelter, Eye Of The Hurricane, Permanence In Change, Only Love Can Set Me Free, Rescue Me
Section 5: Change;
Change I, Sold Me Down The River, Devolution Working Man Blues, Love Don’t Come Easy, Take Me Home (1 chorus only), Change II, Know Me Like I Know You/The Rock, Hardland, No Frontiers, Where A Town Once Stood, Scarlet, Black Sun, A Prison Without Prison Bars, How The Mighty Fall, Corridors Of Power, Breaking Point, Rivers To Cross, Hwylio Dros Y Mor
Section 6: Raw;
Raw, The Road, Rockin’ In The Free World, The Wind Blows Away My Words, God Save Somebody, Moments In Time, Let The River Run It’s Course, Lead Me Through The Darkness, Hell Of High Water, Wonderful World, Save Your Crying, Merry Xmas (War Is Over), Maggie May (not on CD), Only The Thunder (Due to accidental omission from Strength section), Walk Forever By My Side
Encore;
Breathe
Review :
For years we’ve all known and loved Mike Peters as singer, songwriter, rock star and general all-round good guy. Now add another to the list: Raconteur. At Alarm Day 2000 Mike treated a lucky few of his fans (though surely more than the 200 expected?) to a string of stories, some well known, some not so, between the songs. The format of the day was Mike, solo and acoustic, running through almost the entire Alarm back catalogue, with commentary, album by album, taking a short break at the end of each album’s-worth. To be truthful Mike’s voice wasn’t at it’s best. He was suffering from cold and it showed, but it didn’t really matter. His obvious love for the subject matter, along with ours, carried him through it and his voice did improve considerably as the day went on
Taking breaks into account, Mike was onstage for around nine hours, although the stage changed location as he took us outside for the Eye Of The Hurricane section. Musical highlights were many – snippets of Take Me Home and Alarm Alarm, a beautiful Welsh language version of A New South Wales, Rain In The Summertime sung outdoors under threatening skies – and a surprising high point when he stood back and simply played the CD of the fabulous “new” electric version of One Step Closer. It received the loudest cheer of the day, and rightly so. As a toast to absent friends, it couldn’t be bettered
The advertised question and answer sessions never really materialised, although Mike fully responded to the few questions that were posed from the floor. But it didn’t need to, as he brought up everything that any Alarm fan would have reasonably asked anyway. How the band started, how they wrote songs, what his relationship with Dave Sharp was (and is), what really happened at Brixton; All of these and many more questions didn’t need to be asked – he offered the information willingly though, at times, painfully
Mike took us through a whole range of emotions from roaring laughter (when recounting being asked to look after a “huge bag of white powder” by one of The Stray Cats) to tears (more than one person left the room during Moments
in Time). The things that stood out more than anything though was his immense love and respect for the three other band members, and his pride in the body of work that they had produced. As a backstage look into the birth, life and death of a successful rock group, the day was an eye-opener. As a celebration of the music of The Alarm, it was simply beautiful
Fan Comments – Sam & Andy Greenley – Thanks to Mike and all who organised the day for a great event and to the people who gather to these events that make it so much more enjoyable
Fan Comments – Travis Tiffin – Hats off to you and company for a fantastic day of looking back…a Retrospective Deluxe whose value cannot be measured, and whose rewards will continue to be reaped long after this week, month and year have passed. A life changing day
Fan Comments – Paul Wilcox – Well – what can I say about Alarm Day? This must surely go down as one of the most impressive days of Mikes’ career. Sore throat or not, MP gave it his all and gave those few of us lucky enough to be there, one helluva day. The mix of music and stories was brilliant, despite the drunken calls from the back for another song – the stories gave a truly unique insight to the songs
(v) 19th October 2002 : Mike Peters – Faenol Fawr Country Hotel, Bodelwyddan near Rhyl, North Wales
In The Poppy Fields Day
Event Press Release announcement
In The Poppy Fields Day With Mike Peters
Be amongst the first to hear In The Poppy Fields the brand new album by Mike Peters and The Alarm. .To be held on Saturday October 19th at The Faenol Fawr Country Hotel, Bodelwyddan near Rhyl, North Wales. In The Poppy Fields Day will feature a unique live performance of the new album by Mike Peters mixed using a special quadraphonic surround sound audio system. In The Poppy Fields Day will also feature oRCHESTRaLARM – a unique acoustic performance of Alarm classics by Mike Peters and The Alarm Orchestra. In The Poppy Fields Day promises to be an intimate 12 hour day in the company of Mike Peters
(v) 8th July 2010 : Mike Peters- Ysbyty Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, Wales
Hospital Rocks – Acoustic Buskathon for Love Hope Strength
(Page updated 02/03/2024)