Manchester is a city in England, where Seventeen, The Alarm, Dave Sharp (solo), Mike Peters & Poets of Justice, Mike Peters (solo) have played live at various venues.
Guitarist Dave Sharp was born and lived in Salford, Manchester.
Recording history
(v) 4th September 1981 : The Alarm recorded the original Unsafe Building / Up For Murder single at Pluto Studios Manchester, produced by The Alarm and Scratch. The recording of what would become The Alarm’s first release, 2000 copies are pressed on their own “White Cross” label to sell at gigs & use as demos
Eddie Macdonald and Dave Sharp during the recording session for Unsafe Building, these were released in 1990 as part of the Unsafe Building 1990 single release
(v) 14th August 1984 : The Alarm recorded The Bells of Rhymney and This Train Is Bound For Glory at Pluto Studios Manchester on engineered by Phil Bush to be released as B-sides for The Chant Has Just Begun release in October 1984
(v) May 17th, 1985 : During a day off on the Absolute Tour Mike Peters and Eddie Macdonald record “In The Cold Light Of Day” at Pluto Studios, Manchester for Alan Shacklock as a possible song consideration for Roger Daltrey, whom Shacklock was producing at the time (Under A Raging Moon). It was not used as by the time the tape got to London, all the songs titles for recording have been chosen (including After The Fire’ written for Roger Daltrey by Pete Townshend)
The first Alarm Fan Club Convention was held at The Gallery, Manchester
Live Gigs and events
30th July 1980 : Seventeen – Cyprus Bar, Manchester, England
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Buckle
31st July 1980 : Seventeen – Portland Bar, Manchester, England
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Buckle
8th October 1982 : The Alarm – Salford University, Manchester, England
Supporting The Beat on the Special Beat Tour
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist
(v) 8th October 1983 : The Alarm – Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester, England
Marching on Through October Tour
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist
Set list : Shout To The Devil, For Freedom, Marching On, Reason 41, Up For Murder, The Deceiver, Blaze Of Glory, The Stand/The Chant Has Just Begun, Third Light, Across The Border, Sixty Eight Guns, Lie Of The Land, Maggie May, Breakdown, We Are The Light
(v) 28th January 1990 : The Alarm – Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist, Mark Taylor
No Frontiers Tour
With Support from Salvation
(v) 29th March 1991 : The Alarm – International II, Manchester, England
Raw Tour
Support from Looking For Adam
Band line up : Mike Peters, Dave Sharp, Eddie Macdonald, Nigel Twist
21st November 1992 : Mike Peters and The Poets of Justice – Hope & Grape, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
Exodus Tour
Band line up : Mike Peters, Ethan Johns, Dave Watkins-Clarke, Martyn Barker, Jules Jones-Peters
8th June 1995 : Mike Peters – Academy, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
Supporting The Stranglers on their 20th Anniversary Tour
(V) 17th December 2000 : The Alarm 2000 – Manchester University Students Union, Manchester, England
Article:“Dispatches From The Front”, Mike Peters Alarm 2000 UK Tour Diary
Dispatches From the Front : One Step Closer To Home : Manchester, 17.12.00
The final show of the tour. The longest day.
The wake up call was for 5.30 a.m. and by 6.30 I was being picked up at Junction 32 of the M4 by the Pontypridd Manchester United Supporters Club Coach for the journey to Manchester to see Man U v Liverpool (thanks to all
concerned). It was a very cold day and an early kick off meant I had to be at the ground before 12.00. It wasn’t the greatest match I’ve ever seen although Liverpool played very some effective tactical football and deservedly beat my boys 1-0. I then spent the rest of the day catching up on some Christmas Shopping in town before heading to the gig for soundcheck.
Charlie Macintosh, guitarist from Dave Sharp’s Hard Travellers, came down with a message from Dave Sharp himself. Dave wanted Charlie to come up on stage and thank everyone who had supported Dave on his solo tour. Together, we decided to play a tribute to Sharpy and sing ‘Change’ in honour of the man from Manchester who now resides in New Orleans. When Charlie came on stage, it brought a lump to my throat when he thanked everyone on Dave’s behalf and also told the audience that Dave Sharp wanted to personally thank me and the band for helping to keep the spirit of The Alarm alive in the new millennium. This magnificent gesture on Dave’s part has only strengthened my resolve to follow this current musical path and see where it may lead.
The show was great. I was having flashbacks to the Sound And Fury tour of 1984. It was a similar tour to this one in the sense that we had been touring the U.K. for years as a best kept secret and all of a sudden we had a hit single on our hands, an album to be released and we were playing to larger audiences.
At the time it was a real battle for us and we had to go out and prove ourselves every night. A lot of UK fans accused us of ‘selling out’ once ’68’ had charted. Some ‘fans’ used to take offence when a show would sell out and they couldn’t get on the guest list….. and when ‘Declaration’ came out loads of ‘fans’ hated it. This is why I draw the comparison with the Second Generation Tour and the Sound & Fury. It has been another rite of passage. We have gone out and proved ourselves every night, we have played with maximum R&B, sure I’ve been accused of ‘selling out’ again, but I know I’ve answered the question time and again. I don’t tire of playing this music, I gain strength from it. 99.9% of the feed back from this tour has been amazing.
That is why it was so heartwarming for me to hear those words from Dave Sharp. To have Dave’s support means everything to me and the fact that Dave supports this tour and understands all the effort that has gone into it means that the door is always open for him to join in whenever he feels the need.
I don’t know what the future holds, I never know what the future holds, I play every show as if it is going to be my last, I write every song as if it is going to be my last, I make every recording as if it will be my last. I can sense that everything is changing and to survive change you often have to do things that are difficult. You have to confront the cliches, you have to be prepared to contradict yourself. You have to be prepared to make decisions that are not popular, you have to do things in the short term that are designed to protect the long term. You have to be prepared to take chances.
In 1990-1991, my musical career path had become governed not by what I did or was able to do, but more by what I didn’t do. I’m trying not to make the mistakes I made then – now. I don’t know what my next album is going to sound like or what or who it’s going to be by. I might just put it out without a title or an artist identity and you can call it what you like……
See you at The Gathering
MP [signing off until further notice……]
9th April 2011 : Big Country – Academy 2, University of Manchester, Manchester, England
Dreams Stay With Me Tour
Band line up : Mike Peters, Bruce Watson, Jamie Watson, Tony Butler, Mark Brzezicki
(v) 13th April 2024 : Eddie Macdonald – Retro Bar, Manchester, England
Support from Sam Smith
Set list included : Declaration, Marching On, Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?, Third Light, Sixty Eight Guns, We Are The Light, Shout To The Devil, Tell Me, The Deceiver, The Stand (Prophecy), Howling Wind, Blaze Of Glory, Pavilion Steps (with vocals from John Ramsey), Strength, Rain In The Summertime, Deeside, Smalltown Glory, Broken Heart Of a Northern Soul, Can’t Stop The Waterfall, Making The Angels Cry 
(Photos by Andrew Lovibond, Jane Manley)
(Page updated 14/04/2024)