Change was the fourth studio album from the Alarm being recorded in 1989 at The Skylight Suite, London and BBC Wales, Cardiff. The original release formats were vinyl, CD and cassette. The vinyl album was unusual as it contained 12 songs on the album and came with a bonus free 7″ vinyl single with 2 extra tracks How The Mighty Fall and Black Sun which did not fit onto the album due to the limit of running time. The album was released in the UK on 18th September 1989

In 2000 Mike Peters remastered these original recordings as part of The Alarm 2000 collection, this was an extended version including tracks from the b-sides of the singles released and also non album singles and has 17 tracks. In 2019 a re-imaged recording of the songs on the album were recorded as part of the Stream CD release



Change – 1989
The recording sessions for declaration began on 5th April 1988 when Mike Peters and Eddie Macdonald took some time out from The Alarm’s Eye of The Hurricane your in the USA and cut some acoustic demos at a Los Angeles recording studio. the demo stage of the album continued from October 1988 to March 1989 at Kinmel Hall. Ste George, Abergele, Wales as full band electric demos prior to starting work with Tony Visconti on the recording session in London in April and May 1989

Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Slide Guitars
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar, Synth Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Mark Taylor – Piano, Hammond Organ, Korg M1 Synthesiser
Tony Visconti – Backing Vocals
The Morriston Orpheus Male Voice Choir – Vocals
The Welsh Symphony Orchestra – Strings

Produced & Engineered by Tony Visconti
Recorded at The Skylight Suite, Wapping Dock, London E1W, England April to May 1989 and BBC Wales, Cardiff, Wales June 1989
Mixed at Good Earth Studio, London W1D, England June to July 1989
Management :Lookout Management Elliot Roberts, Barry Dickens
Design : Greg Horton
Photography : Russell Young, Jules Jones

Released on Monday 18th September 1989 1984 around the World on vinyl, CD and cassette.
The album entered the official UK Album charts at number xx on

Track Listing 1989 UK Vinyl
A-Side
1. Sold Me Down The River
2. The Rock
3. Devolution Workin’ Man Blues
4. Love Don’t Come Easy
5. Hardland
6. Change II
B-side
1. No Frontiers
2. Scarlet
3. Where a Town Once Stood
4. Prison Without Prison Bars
5. Rivers To Cross
6. A New South Wales

Track Listing 1989 UK CD
1. Sold Me Down The River
2. The Rock
3. Devolution Workin’ Man Blues
4. Love Don’t Come Easy
5. Hardland
6. Change II
7. No Frontiers
8. Scarlet
9. Where a Town Once Stood
10. Black Sun
11. Prison Without Prison Bars
12. How The Mighty Fall
13. Rivers To Cross
14. A New South Wales

The album produced three singles released in the UK
Sold Me Down The River (4th September 1989)
A New South Wales (23rd October 1989)
Love Don’t Come Easy (January 1990)

Reviews
The album title tells it. The Alarm, once ardent sons of ’68 Guns’ have, in their time, hopped, skipped, and straddled most conceivable and accepted rock styles – falling in and out of favour as they’ve done so. If ‘Change” does transcend their solid base of appreciation, then it will almost certainly be helped by Mike Peters’ stark, homespun words streaked with apparent Welsh pride and tarnished emotion. “The valley is ripped and the mountain scarred/Torn apart/A house is ablaze on the hillside/A sign says ‘This land is not for sale’” (‘Hardland’) It would be inspiring and shyly brilliant if I wasn’t constantly struck by the cynical thought that these (un)reliable memoirs of a homeland were not just mere fodder to feign depth at the heart of an album. “The slack heap stares, it blocks out the sky/It keeps this Rhondda grey”(‘A New South Wales’) Where these grandiose aspirations will sit, show wise, next to something as humdrum as ‘Rain In The Summertime; remains to be seen. But until then, until that carnival rolls into town, I’ll keep a grip on my reservations and expectations, and watch for how high the dragon flies live. There could be trouble… – Phil Wilding. Kerrang! Magazine 1989

“You are hereby warned: The Alarm will become one of the leading rock bands in the 90’s. If you don’t want to sit not knowing with your beard in the mailbox you should invest in the Change – album immediately and learn all of the 12 tunes (14 on CD) by heart before advent starts. The Alarm are no longer U2-copyists. Their last LP, in the Eye of the Hurricane, was just a middle station to Change – an LP that builds directly on the group’s musical roots. And the roots are closer to 50’s rock than people have been aware of the undersigned included While U2 had to go on pilgrim-tour to the US searching for roots they never had, The Alarm just dug up their own. This reflects in one great song after another: Sold Me Down The River is an explosive opening. Devolution Workin’ Man Blues gets the record really going. Change 11 makes it impossible not to turn the LP, and the final A new South Wales makes you want to listen to the entire record one more time. This is strong work that we seldom see, from a band that still believes in rock’n roll without technical effects. Halleluja! – Source unnamed local newspaper 1989

Change 1989-1990 – 2000 Remaster
In 2000 Declaration was remastered by Mike Peters with remastering engineering by Gary Butler at RTS Liverpool. This was released by Twenty First Century Recording Company on CD as Cat.No. 21C015. Originally only available as part of the collection box set (Cat No 21C018) it was later made available for sale at gigs as a single disc

Track Listing Change 1989-1990 Remastered CD
1. Change I
2. Sold Me Down The River
3. Devolution Workin’ Man Blues
4. Love Don’t Come Easy
5. Change II
6. Hardland
7. The Rock
8. No Frontiers
9. Where a Town Once Stood
10. Scarlet
11. Black Sun
12. Prison Without Prison Bars
13. How The Mighty Fall
14. Corridors OF Power
15. Breaking Point
16. Rivers To Cross
17. A New South Wales

The Alarm 2000 collection credits.
Remastered by Mike Peters
Remastering engineering by Gary Butler @ RTS Liverpool, England
Alarm 2000 artwork by Karl “The Design Doctor” Parsons & Mike Peters
Sleeve notes by Trashcan, edited by Danny Cohen.


Change – 2019
Vinyl album
Released by The Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C111

Track listing
A-Side
1. Sold Me Down The River
2. The Rock
3. Devolution Working Man Blues
4. Love Don’t Come Easy
5. Hardland
6. Change II
B-side
1. New Frontiers
2. Scarlet
3. Where A Town Once Stood
4. Prison Without Prison Bars
5. Rivers To Cross
6. A New South Wales

(Page updated 11/11/2022)