The Red Wall Of Cymru was written especially for the Football Association of Wales being chosen as the official song of the Association for the Euro 2020 football tournament held in June 2021. The song was co-written by Mike Peters and Bryn Law during 2020 and was presented to the Football Association of Wales as a candidate to be the official song. The official studio version features a selection of the “Red Wall”, the name given to the dedicated supporters of Wales, on backing vocals. The song was released on two formats the official recording on the Red Wall Of Cymru EP released on 28th May 2021. A demonstration version of the song on The Spirit of 58 EP released on Record Store Day 12th June 2021

The song features some spoken word section from Wales footballers Gareth Bale and Sophie Ingle


Mike Peters on Dot Davies Show BBC Radio Wales 21st May 2021
Dot : I’ve got such a special teat for you today, to kick off the show it’s an absolute bang for you. I’m now going to speak to a legend of Welsh music and a really good friend of ours here at BBC Radio Wales this is so special, Mike Peters from The Alarm, bore da.
Mike : Bore da, good morning
Dot : The buzz in this studio this morning and in this building when you stepped in
Mike : Around the nation I think
Dot : And around the nation is so exciting, you have written Mike, and we have such a build up all week to this, you have written our official Euro single, The Red Wall Of Cymru. Please tell us all about it. How it came about
Mike : Absolutely, can’t wait to tell you all about it, yes. It’s been quiet a journey, but I think I’ve waited all my life for this moment, as a fan of Wales football and following the team, when we were based more up in the North in Wrexham and then the transition down to South Wales and home and away games. As a musician I have always wanted to write a song that translated into the terraces, so hopefully this is going to be the one.
Dot : I should say that your here obviously dressed. you’ve got your Wales shirt on as well you, you are a Wales fan, what does this mean to you and the fans are a big part of this song as well aren’t they.
Mike : Absolutely, well to me when we qualified for the Euro tournament, the fans were the stars of the show, not just the players, Garth Bale, Ramsey, Robson-Kanu then, 5 years ago now, it seems like yesterday, but it was 5 years but the fans took Europe by storm, please don’t take me home, the colours red, yellow, green. white of Wales. Just seemed to transform Europe into this beautiful colour pageant and I think we really put ourselves on the map globally as a nation, as a community.
Dot : Yes, there was a sense of the dragon really work up in 2016.
Mike : Absolutely, it was incredible and it was, I was on tour, I watched the first game live on the TV in Norway and when I got home we just had all these parties in the house and all the kids playing football in the garden and reenacting the goals, when it was getting to full time, we were hanging on for dear life, we are going to get through going to get through, we all had our noses pressed up against the TV, BBC were there covering some of it for the Mike and Jules documentary. To be part of the journey now in reality, be part of the songwriting process I just thought it was very important that the song reflected the lives of the fans and their passion, how they get to come to the games, what it means to them. I thought there has been enough football songs about the players and that kind of stuff. Not too many about the fans really.
Dot : I just want you to introduce your song, this is the moment, this is the first worldwide exclusive play of the song and the messages are coming in for you as well Mike, it feels like such a moment. You need to introduce it.
Mike : Okay everybody this is an exclusive World Premier liver here at BBC Wales, this is The Alarm and the Red Wall singing the official Wales Euro song for 2020, this is the Red Wall Of Cymru
(Song plays)
Dot : Follow that. I’m joined by Mike Peters from The Alarm, you just heard the official Euro’s FAW single The Red Wall of Cymru played for the very first time, it is an exclusive, how did it feel Mike
Mike : It was such a thrill. an honour and a privilege to be here, hearing it in the real World it takes on another dimension really, when you have been part of the creative process it is just nice now to actually live outside it and listen to it in context and hear the voices of the fans that we recorded in Carmathan, Caernarfon and Rhyl
Dot : The process of recording it, Covid times as well, tell us all about it. How have you managed it.
Mike : I don’t think we could have done it without the dedication of the FAW, Owain Harris , Dave Driscoll, Mark Evans, their connection to fans is true and it is very real and they were able to get the messaging out to The Red Wall themselves the  members of The Red Wall, saying we are going to film something special, they didn’t tell them what was happening, but they asked them to turn up at certain locations, respect the social distancing and come in bubbles and they did. And it was amazing to record them in football grounds in Aberystwyth and down in Newtown and in Wrexham as well and we had microphones and I stood with them all outside the football stadiums and grounds they have gone to all their lives and took that passion to follow Wales. I said just sing your hearts out, here’s the song, I played it to them on my acoustic guitar I had a little speaker and then we recorded them singing, and when you hear the song and everyone is clapping along at the end and going, “We’re The Red Wall of Cymru”, that’s the real people of Wales singing on the record. The fans of our team and through the record they will be able to follow the team into Azerbaijan and into Italy when we enter the tournament in a few weeks’ time.
Dot : It’s that authenticity isn’t it and the things that strike me, the language, our language is a part of it, its anthemic and you name all the legends going back to Southall, Mickey T
Mike : Well they’re my real heroes when I grew up in the 80’s. Mickey Thomas actually came to see our band in 1977 when we were called The Toilets and I was so thrilled that a Wales player had come to see us. Not the fact he played for Manchester United as well, it was like this is Mickey Thomas, oh my goodness what am I going to do and we stayed in contact ever since. Mickey invited me to the famous game in ’85 when we drew with Scotland at Ninian Park and he gave me his short after the game and one day I’ll be able to repay Mickey Thomas that generosity of giving me the shirt he played in, in a massive international game for Wales. He gave me that shirt, I ‘ve always cherished it and to be able to name-check him in the record. This is a real story or real people coming together, all the FAW bringing the fans together, creating the situation were we could all make some music to celebrate our nationality and celebrate our love of our team and let them know we are with them all the way.
Dot :  Jules is here, Jules you can nod here, This feels to me like this is Mike’s International cap, this feels like he’s got his colours, it feels huge. Everything you’ve achieved, the artistes you’ve played with, we’re talking U2, your success where does this rank?
Mike : Well this has got to be up there with everything, to be honest when I looked at the song, I’m lucky in my life to sing with Bob Dylan in 1988, I sang with him twice and he used to come and watch us play and he stood on the side of the stage and he loved the fact that we came from Wales and he loved that I sang Bells of Rhymney wrote by the poet Idris Davies, he was taken by that and when I sat down to thinking about  how am I going to write a song for Wales what is it going to be about, I always thought one of the great things about our country is our National Anthem, is the greatest pop song  that’s never been released, so I started there, let’s take some of the melody and the spirit of the National Anthem and put it into the rock environment and when I sort of started looking at the song breaking the chord structure down into just a piece of guitar music, I realised actually Bob Dylan possibly took more that just his name from Wales, cause the melody of the National Anthem  appears in “The Times They Are A Changing”, one of his greatest ever songs. So, I thought well if Bob Dylan can do it, we can take it back for ourselves and create an anthem for the fans. So, this is something I think I’ve waited for all my life, there’s never been an Alarm song made it onto the football terraces, but I got into music by going to see Wales and hearing Slade play of the tannoy and T-Rex and thinking what is this music, that took me outside of football into music and here I am as a musician and I’ve made music all my life. So, this is a single honour to be asked to do the song for Wales and not just for the FAW, the players but for the Nation and to deliver it. People have only heard it once, I’m sure once they hear it more and more.
Dot : They’ve heard it once, it will be played throughout the day here on BBC Radio Wales and in the tun up to the tournament. I just want you to get a sense of what this means to the Wales fans and our listeners this morning. I’m reading these message out, there are so many coming in, we do have a caller on the line. “Pete I know you’re in Wrexham, Pete you’ve heard the song here you go your through to Mike Peters”
Pete from Wrexham : Hi Mike You all right
Mike : Bore da Pete
Pete from Wrexham : I have to tell you Mike I was driving my car and I had to pull over as I was in tears
Mike : That means so much, thanks Pete
Mike : Thanks to everybody out there in wales land and listenership here at BBC Radio Wales with you Dot. We couldn’t have made the record without you, Wales wouldn’t be the team it is, it wouldn’t be the Country it is without the sacrifices everybody has made along the way, all the fans have shown their passion and commitment to Wales. It is a shame they can’t go to Azerbaijan like we were able to go 5 years ago but through this record, through the legends that are mentioned, through the spirit that we give out as a Nation we’ll be there with our team.
Dot : I do want to ask you as a Wales fan, you can probably tell me, how are they going to do in this tournament?
Mike : I think we could do okay, we’re really strong balanced team, got some excellent players all through the squad in all the positions and I think that is important, when in the days I mention in the song of Mickey Thomas and Neville Southall, Kevin Ratcliffe it wasn’t quite as balanced then as it is now and I think that is what will stand us in really good stead we’ve got a really good young energy in the team an we’ve got some experienced players now Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale the players that have gone to tournaments now and gone all the way, and I think we’ve never had that in a Wales team before, we’ve got a good management set up, the whole thing set up  right through the whole  team and we’ve got the best fans in the World as we proved 5 years ago.
Dot : What next for you, how do you top this Mike? And we’re coming out of lockdown slowly, is there a chance of you coming out there to playing gigs and how do you feel about that?
Mike : Absolutely, I feel really good about it, we’re entering the time now, it’s The Alarm’s 40^th anniversary coming up this June and we’re announcing a whole massive Alarm tour dates for April and May 2022  and they’ll be appearing on our website throughout the day, playing in Cardiff on January 21^st 2022, that will be the official 40^th Anniversary show, we’re celebrating with a virtual 40^th Anniversary tour that starts this weekend with a live virtual concert from Rhyl, I’ll be hiking Offa’s Dyke linking were we started in Prestatyn and Rhyl back to South Wales where the future continues and we’re doing some of that  for our charity Love Hope Strength, so we’re really looking forward to celebrating 40 years of Alarm music with our fans and being part of the Wales Euro
Dot : So glad you said that because all the proceeds from the single are going to charity as well, we must say that this morning, tell me a little but more about the charity
Mike : Well we started Love Hope Strength our charity in 2007, we’re a Cancer charity  and all the funds we raise here in Wales will support our projects here in Wales. We try to get Cancer funding right to the front line and it really does come to the families who are most affected by Cancer diagnosis.
Dot : Its generally such a thrill having you here Mike and I hope you get to see the messages that have come through here, you’ve seen the reaction in the studio, you’ve heard them on the lines. I know it means so much to our listeners and for Wales fans, we’re going to play The Red Wall of Cymru throughout the day here on BBC Radio Wales and in the run up to the tournament.
Mike : I can’t wait to hear it as I drive back up to North Wales.
Dot : Don’t worry you’re going to hear it a lot, thank you for giving us the first play , we love it, thank you, Diolch yn fawr
Mike : Diolch yn fawr





2021 Rockfield Studios, Wales Official FAW Recording
Running length 2:46
Written by Mike Peters / Bryn Law

Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
James Stevenson – Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals
Steve ‘Smiley’ Barnard – Drums, Backing Vocals
George Williams – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Jules Jones Peters – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Eddie Macdonald – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Benji Webbe – Backing Vocals
The Pumpers – Horns, Backing Vocals
The Red Wall – Backing Vocals

Recorded at Rockfield Studios, Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales February 2021
Produced by George Williams
Engineered by Jack Boston

(Pages updated 31/03/2022)