Declaration was the debut album recorded by the Alarm in 1983 and released worldwide on Monday 13th February 1984. This original release had 12 tracks. 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 22 tracks. In 2014 to mark the 30th anniversary of the original release Mike Peters released a 12 track album with re-imagined versions of the songs. In 2018 a new remastered version of Declaration was released as a double vinyl and CD release with 29 songs.



Declaration 1984
The recording sessions for declaration began at Good Earth Studios, Dean Street, Soho, London at various time between July and November 1983. The first session with producer Alan Shacklock was to be a trial run with the aim of recording two tracks, one of which would become a single. Pre-production sessions were held at Nomis Rehearsal Studios in West London and Blaze of Glory and Sixty Eight Guns were chosen to record as potential singles.

Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Lead Vocals
Dave Sharp – Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Vocals
Eddie Macdonald – Bass, Electric and Bowed Guitar, Vocals
Nigel Twist – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
All keyboards played by Alan Shacklock
Produced by Alan Shacklock
Engineered by Chris Porter
Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London NW8, England and Good Earth Studios, Soho, London W1D, England
Management – Ian Wilson c/o 47 Bernard Street, St Albans, Herts
Design and Art Direction – Michael Ross and Simon Adamczewski
Photography – Stephen Oliver
Illustration – Robert Mason

Released on Monday 13th February 1984 around the World on vinyl and cassette.
A week later the album entered the UK Album charts at number 6.

Side One
1. Declaration
2. Marching On
3. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?
4. Third Light
5. Sixty Eight Guns
6. We Are The Light
Side Two
7. Shout To The Devil
8. Blaze Of Glory
9. Tell Me
10. The Deceiver
11. The Stand (Prophecy)
12. Howling Wind

The album produced three singles
Sixty Eight Guns (September, 1983)
Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? (January, 1984)
The Deceiver (March, 1984)

At the time f the release of Declaration in 1984 this is an extract taken from Boston Rock Magazine with Mike Peters talking about the recording and meaning of the songs that would feature.

The just released debut album, Declaration, is intended to chronicle the Alarm’s growth to date. “We recorded it over seven months, in blocks of two or three songs at a time. We arranged it so there’d be a progression from the first song to the last, and we made a point not to stick with the sound and the instrumentation we’re known for.” Declaration should be in the stores any day now (it’s unreleased at this writing), and it could make considerable impact. Most of the songs should be familiar to anyone who’s seen the band live, and many of them – notably “Blaze of Glory” and “We Are the Light”- plant their hooks at first listen. On the strength of two import singles, it sounds like producer Alan Shacklock has done a brilliant job, filling out the live sound with added instruments (everything from piano to horns) that enhance without overwhelming. Peters was anxious to give the album a track-by-track rundown, commenting on the lyrical ideas and explaining how each track took shape. The opener is a re-recorded version of “Marching On,” the only track repeated from last year’s EP. “We recorded this live in the studio, just belting it out because we needed a really good version. It’s the only nod we make to our past, and since the album is 50 minutes long, we thought we could justify re-recording a song we had already done.”

Where Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke is the latest English single. “We started playing it on the last US tour, but never took it too seriously until we went in the studio. All we had at first was the title, then I wrote the words in about ten minutes. It’s the most spontaneous song”

Third Light, sung by Eddie MacDonald, is another live-in-studio take. “We wrote it as a war story, a song for an unknown soldier. But it turned into an analogy for our early days in London. Our fans took it as an anthem, when they were telling the world about the Alarm. So, to us, they’re the unknown soldiers – not fighting a war with bullets, but fighting one on our behalf.”

68 Guns, was the band’s biggest UK hit, and it took off so quickly that they postponed one Boston show to fly home and sing it on Top of the Pops. “The song was inspired by a book I’d read about Glasgow street gangs, in the year 1968. I always thought that was an important year for young people, it was the first time they really said `no.’ It was just when the hippie thing was ending, when peace and love was all going sour. So, we’re writing about a street gang called the 68 Guns. It’s about how society reacts against the presence of these young people on the street, and how they turn to violence in response.”

We Are the Light, follows with a more optimistic sentiment. “The light is the hope that people have in their hearts, and the message is not to let it be buried. If you’ve got hope, let it shine out of you. I wrote that song on Christmas Day, so it reflects how I was feeling that day.” Peters, points proudly to the song’s string arrangement, the first they’ve done.

Side two’s opener, Shout to the Devil, was written “when I came over to America, and saw how people wear their religion on their sleeves. In England, we always keep religion as a very private thing. That was the first time I’d seen religion on the television. It gave me the idea of a preacher on a train, to wherever he’s going after this life, leaving his impressions to the people he’s left behind.”

Blaze of Glory, is the band’s answer to criticism for being outspoken. “It’s a personal song, written for ourselves and . . . certain famous musician friends of ours. But it’s really for anybody with the guts to take a stand for what they believe.

Tell Me, is Dave Sharp’s song, and one of Peters’ favorites. “I think Twist’s drumming on that track is superb, just the way it starts off with the guitar. I think we captured a special moment on that one.

A treatise on greed, The Deceiver comes next. “We’ve always said `go out and get what you can,’ but I believe there’s a line to be drawn. 1 don’t want to take too much from our audience, or too much out of life. This was a hard song to write, coming from feelings that weren’t quite definable. So, it came out quite obscure, with some strange twists in it.”

The next track, a one-minute fragment of The Stand, takes some explaining. “When we first recorded for IRS, the band didn’t have much money, and neither did the company. So, we recorded ‘The Stand’ twice, one version for the 7-inch and a longer version, with a fourth verse, for the 12-inch. But we never had enough money to put the 12-inch out, so we took the liberty of putting the fourth verse on the album, without the rest of the song. It completes the lyric, and gives a fuller picture.”

Finally, there’s “Howling Wind,” a seven-minute epic that may be the record’s major surprise. “Our producer suggested we use a sequencer on it, which we were set against at first – we thought synthesizers just weren’t us. But I think it came out to good effect – us playing it instead of it playing us. Lyrically, it’s the first song really inspired by our homeland. Maybe Dylan Thomas is in there sub-consciously. I tried to get an exiled or lonely feel, without coming out and saying I was lonely. I think this will show a change for anyone who sees the Alarm as a band of one emotion. It’s still an optimistic song, but from a more personal viewpoint. It’s a beautiful lyric, if I can blow my own trumpet about it.” If the record’s message comes out as overwhelmingly positive, it’s no accident. “At the moment we’ve got great hope for ourselves, and we want to pass that hope on. We’ve come from nowhere; we’ve had people tell us ‘You have no future’ and `you’ll never get anywhere.’ So, if we’ve got a hopeful message, it’s been proven by our own example.”

Reviews.
Reviewed by Mike Wrenn – Soundcheck Magazine.
Your reaction to this album will probably depend upon whether or not you’ve already come to any conclusions regarding one of the most popular touring bands of the last few months. If you’ve decided that the Alarm have come along by way of replacement for the Clash, you’re not only mistaken (on more than one count but you’re also going to be extremity disappointed. Indeed, those who have misinterpreted what the Alarm are about will probably claim that this album effectively chronicles their downfall. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a reasonably honest bunch of blokes who play fairly excitable; certainly accessible, quality pop songs – with a lyrical content stronger than 99 per cent of other chart material – then you need look no further
The Alarm have come clean worth Declaration, proving that they owe much more to the early-Sixties style of protest song than they do to the anarchist charge of the late Seventies. Undeniably Dylan-influenced (right down to the sleeve design complete with cryptic poetical banter) Mike, Dave, Eddie and Twist offer up a collection of songs to guide the new generation through the tunnel of terror created by their predecessors. An immediate favourite, Marching On is a clear and provocative youth anthem which tactfully, or tactically, steers clear of party-political lines. Instead it offers a straightforward chant urging our elders to “Take a look at what you’ve created.” No collection of protest songs could be complete without an anti-war number or two, and the Alarm present us with a scorcher in ‘Third Light’, a song questioning the role of patriots in the nuclear age. Sadly, though they chose to almost totally mix out the lyric concerning the real crux of the matter. With haunting harmonica, numerous hints of winds blowing and the direct reference to his classic ‘Forever Young’ (in ’68 Guns’), The Alarm don’t try to hide their respect for Bob Dylan. With this in mind, I found perhaps the most stimulating song on the album to be ‘Shout To The Devil’. Built upon a backing riff reminiscent of the American’s ‘(Most Likely) You’ll Go Your Way And I’ll Go Mine’, we must assume that the similarity is deliberate and that the Alarm are now seemingly dishing out directives to their “preacher/teacher”, as well as to anyone else who they feel is in need of advice on modern morality
An album which will be remembered, and I hope not regretted, for its bold sense of optimism, ‘Declaration’ can be stamped both intriguing and exciting. More than just a worthy debut, it’s sure to be enough for the time being

Reviewed by Henke via their onelouder.reviews website
Welsh early eighties rock phenomena discovered in an old record bin. Back in the eighties I listened a lot to the Welch band The Alarm. Today, listening to their first full-length album was like a stroll down memory lane. In January 1986 me and my sister took my car and drove down to Gothenburg and saw them live at Konserhuset. I remember I had the flu but we didn’t want to miss the concert and it was great! I was on my last legs on the two hours’ drive back home in the middle of the night, but the adrenaline from the show kept me upright. The band started out, as many did back then, as a punk rock band. I do not like pure punk rock, but I like a lot of the bands that developed from that scene. The Alarm and more well-known acts like The Cure and Simple Minds. Another thing I remember from back then is the frustrating thing with the fifth track of the second side of the album! The song “The Stand” was a live favourite and a great song. It was released in its full length on their debut EP the year before, but here we only got a teaser of one minute, like fading in and fading out right away. I was so frustrated! Not cool guys
Anyway, some of the songs are still quite alright. At this 2020 listening session of the album I liked “Sixty Eight Guns” the most. As far as I remember it was not the best song 35 years ago! The song “Where were you hiding when the storm broke?” was the most well-known song on the album, and it’s still enjoyable, but my pulse didn’t increase. On the second side of the record we have the infamous short teaser of “The Stand” but there may be something else that’s fun? The first track “Shout to the Devil” is rather engaging, don’t you think? “Blaze of Glory” is too pompous, and it gives a sign of the direction they were going into, and that would be the boring path, as some of these bands did. Was it the “big brothers” in U2 that led the way on the path towards boring? Big stadium rock of “important” music. When they were heading towards the middle of the road I went to the ditch, looking for Neil and other outsiders. “The Deceiver” was a single and it is also one of the fresher songs on the album today. It is a great song to hum along to. The last song “Howling wind” is also righteous, it’s heavy
It was fun to listen to this album today. I have literally not heard it since the eighties. It was a strange feeling. But in the end, this will not be an awakening for me. I don’t think I will re-discover the band. Except for another nostalgic trip via a recently released live album from 1985. But that is another review completely.
My rating: 5/10. Best songs: “Sixty Eight guns”, “Shout to the Devil” and “The Deceiver”

Declaration 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. 21C011. 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
1. The Peace Train (Previously unreleased)
2. Declaration
3. Marching On 3
4. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?
5. Sixty Eight Guns
6. Tell Me
7. We Are The Light
8. Shout To The Devil
9. Blaze Of Glory
10. The Deceiver
11. Pavilion Steps (Previously unreleased on CD)
12. What Kind Of Hell (Previously unreleased on CD)
13. Third Light
14. The Stand (Prophecy)
15. Unbreak The Promise (Previously unreleased on CD)
16. Howling Wind
17. The Chant Has Just Begun (Previously unavailable on album)
18. Second Generation (Previously unreleased on CD)
19. Reason 41 Previously unreleased on CD)
20. Bells Of Rhymney (Previously unreleased on CD)
21. Bound For Glory (Previously unreleased on CD)
22. Absolute Reality

Additional musicians & credits that did not appear on the original 1984 sleeve notes
Tin Whistle on Bells Of Rhymney played by Twist
Ian “The Rockin’ Rev” Kewley – Hammond Organ (on Sixty Eight Guns, Blaze Of Glory, Howling Wind & Absolute Reality)
Arthur Fairlie – Trumpet (on Sixty Eight Guns, Blaze Of Glory & Howling Wind)
Alan Shacklock – Banjo (on Blaze of Glory)
Road Crew – Clapping & Stomping (on Unbreak The Promise)
The Chant Has Just Begun & Absolute Reality – Engineered by Rafe McKenna
Reason 41 & Second Generation – Produced by Alan Shacklock, Dave Sharp & Eddie Macdonald
Bells Of Rhymney & Bound For Glory – Produced by The Alarm, engineered by Phil Bush at Pluto Studios, Manchester 1984
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

Reviews
Mick Mercer – The Mick June 2006
Easily one of the best debuts of the 80’s this album doesn’t just stand the test of time, it’s a testament to their songwriting ability and sheer verve, whereby their spirit becomes infectious and both the anthemic quality have a tingling emotional depth, and the angst is finely honed
The opening acoustic shivers of ‘Declaration’ pile into a seemingly polite ‘Marching On’ but the beefed-up pop sensibility surges steadily, assuming greater potency and sweeps you up into the big chorus
The guitar really comes through in the quiet phase as they wait slyly to smash back into your face. ‘Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?’ has an exhilarating zeal which is soon spilling out. The plain lyrical attack is given mighty drum strength as a buttress, which is also how the guitars swim so well, as they are projected above such solid matter. Third Light’ is wigglier and always one of my favourites. It has a darker energy and more sleek drama, even if the vocals sound weird ricocheting around. ‘Sixty Eight Guns’ is boiling melodrama, like Gen X on steroids, and brilliantly evocative with a heavier ending than the single, all hyperactivity and hypertension …. rolling on and on. (The clarion call of trumpets does seem weird!) ‘We Are The Light’ seems twee after the rest; the imagery too heavy -handed when highlighting the lot of the have-nots. ‘Shout To The Devil’ is, quite literally, shouty over bumpier drums, but impressively stark with warmth from the acoustic drizzling through, but this is harder again and as angular as it was agitated. ‘Blaze Of Glory’ is almost too huge to record, and this epic should surely have closed the album. Bells, martial drums, then an elegant guitar glide, harmonica…it never stops, with new stages of effervescent energy pouring out. Grand vocal drama and more brass gradually calms, with backing vocals lulling you into false security as it becomes still, then they’re rasping back. ‘Tell Me’ is a vast Mott The Hoople explosion. ‘The Deceiver’ brings desolation through the harmonica, and a springy guitar firmament. Angst flies in staggered bursts and yet it’s still singalong; ‘The Stand (Prophecy)’ even more so, short and mysteriously sweet. ‘Howling Wind’ finishes with squashed rocky grandeur par excellence. Very simple and steady, with a little choppy nonchalance about it; weird extended guitar then mild raunch as they clip back into place. It sort of dribbles away by itself, which is a very weird closing sequence
So that was the original, but in the Alarm 2000 boxset you get the re-mastered versions of everything which Mike has honed in the studio, and what a difference an era makes
In Marching On you notice the thinner tinny sounds have been beefed up, so the drums have a simple deeper impact, with the vocals calmer, fuller, the guitar clearer, and it’s a more vigorous dignity which then sweeps through ‘Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?’, and the rest. Third Light becomes hectic, ‘We Are The Light’ bustles along in a portly fashion, ‘Shout To The Devil’ is more robust and ‘Tell Me’ brings the guitars forward in a livelier way, the vocals too as the original album seemed to lack any emphasis on this. There’s more atmosphere and you feel closer to it all. You find a thumpier ‘The Deceiver’, firmer ‘The Stand (Prophecy)’ and nicely exultant take on morose with ‘Howling Wind.’
It’s not a massive change which has taken place. Certain 80’s sounds have been taken off: anything which was a cheap addition, to enhance the listener’s need for exciting sounds replaced by simply easing off anything unnecessary and then sharpening the focus on what makes the songs work. It all works extremely well, and then you get all the extras. The Peace Train is a weird compilation of sounds over a train journey motif, chugging along, often used as their intro tape live, followed by a slew of old B-sides. The cute sea-softened nostalgia of Pavilion Steps is gorgeous, What Kind Of Hell is a rowdy stomp, Unbreak The Promise quivers with an oddly touching sorrowful optimism, which isn’t easy to pull off for obvious reasons as it could fall into maudlin territory. ‘Second Generation’ actually comes close to flossy pop, Reason 41 is wistful blues gambolling along, while Bells Of Rhymney has gentle acoustic flow and (This Train Is) Bound For Glory is punky skiffle. You also get two singles, where Absolute Reality is prickly rocky pop and the big time really does beckon, plus the still dated studio-diseased The Chant Has Just Begun. A mighty, mighty collection




Declaration 2014 – Re-imagined
In 2014 Mike Peters went into the studio to revisit Declaration to celebrate 30 years since it’s original release. Rather than remaster earlier recording these were brand new interpretations of the songs that features with new musical arrangements.

Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead vocals, acoustic & electric acoustic guitar, bass guitar, RC300 loop station, Ebow and harmonica
Steve “Smiley” Barnard – Drums, percussion, mandolin and backing vocals
Steve Allan Jones – Backing vocals
Jules Jones Peters – Backing vocals
Choral arrangements arranged by Steve Allan Jones performed by Acquire choir under musical director Leslie Churchill Ward
The Ghost Buskers playing guitar, ukulele and mandolin
The album was recorded at Aerial Studios, Wrexham, Wales, Bethel Chapel Studios, Dyseth, Wales and Tape Studios, North Wales
Produced by Michael Peters. Associate Producers Smiley, Mark Warden & Andrea Wright
Recorded by Andrea Wright & Mark Warden. Mixed and mastered by Andrea Wright
Artwork by Karl Parsons Marketing. Illustrations by Daniel Shearn
Released by Twenty First Century Recording Company on CD and Recd vinyl as Cat.No. 21C065

Declaration 2014 – CD track listing
1. Shout To The Devil 3:41
2. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? 3:31
3. The Stand (Full Length Version) 4:00
4. Tell Me 3:38
5. Howling Wind 5:09
6. Blaze Of Glory 4:00
7. Third Light 2:29
8. The Deceiver (Long Version) 4::44
9. Sixty Eight Guns (Long Version) 5:42
10. Declaration 0:33
11. Marching On 4:29
12. We Are The Light 3:24

Declaration 2014 – LP track listing
Side One
1. Declaration
2. Marching On
3. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?
4. Third Light
5. Sixty Eight Guns (Original Lyric Version)
6. We Are The Light
Side Two
7. Shout To The Devil
8. Blaze Of Glory
9. Tell Me
10. The Deceiver (Original Lyric Version)
11. The Stand (Prophecy Version)
12. Howling Wind



Declaration 2018 – Remaster
In 2018 Declaration was remastered using the latest technology available with some additional tracks added. This was released by Twenty First Century Recording Company on Double Vinyl Album – Declaration 1984-1985 remastered, catalogue Number 21C094 and Double CD Album – Declaration 1984-1985 remastered, catalogue Number 21C096

CD 1 – Track listing
1. Declaration
2. Marching On
3. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?
4. Third Light
5. Sixty Eight Guns
6. We Are The Light
7. Shout To The Devil
8. Blaze Of Glory
9. Tell Me
10. The Deceiver
11. The Stand (Prophecy)
12. Howling Wind

CD 2 – Track listing
1. Peace Train
2. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? (Take One)
3. Sixty Eight Guns (Original Drum Take version)
4. Unbreak The Promise (Acoustic version)
5. Howling Wind (Acoustic version)
6. What Kind Of Hell
7. Pavilion Steps
8. Reason 41
9. Second Generation
10. The Chant Has Just Begun (Single version)
11. Bells Of Rhymney
12. Bound For Glory
13. The Chant Has Just Begun (12″version)
14. Absolute Reality (Single version)
15. Reason 36
16. Room At The Top


Vinyl Album
Side One
1. Declaration
2. Marching On
3. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?
4. Third Light
5. Sixty Eight Guns
6. We Are The Light
Side Two
1. Shout To The Devil
2. Blaze Of Glory
3. Tell Me
4. The Deceiver
5. The Stand (Prophecy)
6. Howling Wind
Side Three
1. Peace Train
2. Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? (Take One)
3. Unbreak The Promise (Acoustic version)
4. What Kind Of Hell
5. Pavilion Steps
6. Reason 41
7. Second Generation
Side Four
1. The Chant Has Just Begun (Single version)
2. Bells Of Rhymney
3. Bound For Glory
4. Absolute Reality (Single version)
5. Reason 36
6. Room At The Top

2018 Remaster additional credits
Remastered by Peter Maher
Remastering supervised by Mike Peters
Artwork & layout by Dan Shearn
Cover photography by Virginia Turbett

(Page updated 05/03/2023)

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