Thoughts Of A Young Man (Part 1) was written in a letter form with the idea of it being sent to the President of The United States in the response to American nuclear weapons being based in the UK.
Around this time the Greenham Common protest would often feature in the newspapers. Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began in September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on Earth, arrived at Greenham to protest against the decision of the British government to allow cruise missiles to be stored there. After realising that the march alone was not going to get them the attention that they needed to have the missiles removed, women began to stay at Greenham to continue their protest. The first blockade of the base occurred in March 1982 with 250 women protesting. The camp was active for 19 years and disbanded in 2000.
Thoughts Of A Young Man (Part 1) in was first released as the B side of the 12″ single release of Sixty Eight Guns on 12th September 1983. It never appeared on an album until the Alarm 2000 collection box set when a remastered version was included and then again on the 2018 release of Eponymous appeared. Mike has since recorded 2 new acoustic versions for the Acoustic Works 1981-1986 CD and Peace Train in 2014.
I think we only played Thoughts Of A Young Man live once or twice. It was definitely written as a B-side to go with Blaze Of Glory. We didn’t want to use up any more of our original core of songs as extra tracks for Blaze. We had used some really strong tracks with The Stand, and wanted to hold back all our other live songs for the album, so instead we wrote something specific. I was really into Dexy’s Midnight Runners at the time and Kevin Rowland used to write some of his lyrics in letter form. – Mike Peters, Alarm 2000 collection liner notes
1983 Recording for Sixty Eight Guns single release
Running length : 2:50
Written By: Macdonald/Peters
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar
Nigel Twist – Drums, Tambourine
Recorded at Redan Studios, Westbourne Grove, London W2, England 29th April 1983.
Produced and engineered by Mick Glossop.
Studio recording releases – Acoustic, Remastered, Reimanged
1997 – Mike Peters – Acoustic Works 1981-1986
Running length : 2:51
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Recorded in 1997 by Gethyn Evans at Mountain & Sea Studios, Wales.
Produced by Michael Peters
2000 – The Alarm – The Alarm 2000 Collection Box Set : Eponymous 1981-1983 remastered
Running length : 2:56
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar
Nigel Twist – Drums, Tambourine
Remastered from the 1983 original recording by Mike Peters.
Remastering Engineered by Gary Butler @ RTS Liverpool in 2000.
2014 – The Alarm – Peace Train
Running length : 3:04
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, drums & percussion
Recorded and mixed by Mark Warden at Bethel Chapel Studios, North Wales 2014.
Produced by Michael Peters
2018 – The Alarm – Eponymous 1981-1983 remastered
Running length : 2:55
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Dave Sharp – Electric Guitar
Eddie Macdonald – Bass Guitar
Nigel Twist – Drums, Tambourine
Remastered from the 1983 original recording by Pete Maher.
Remastering supervised by Mike Peters.
Album appearances and discography for studio recordings
28th October 1997 – Mike Peters – Acoustic Works 1981-1986 – Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C004 (CD). 1997 Mountain & Sea, Wales Recording
2000 – The Alarm – Eponymous (1981-1983) – Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C010. Appearing as part of the Alarm 2000 collection box set and then later as an individual disc. (This is a remaster of the original 1983 recording.)
2014 – The Alarm – Peace Train – Twenty First Century Recording Company, Cat. No. 21C066. (CD) (2014 Bethel Chapel Studios recording)
16th March 2018 – The Alarm – Eponymous (1981-1983) remastered – Twenty First Century Recording Company, Cat No. double vinyl LP 21C093 and double CD 21C095. (This is a remaster of the version of the original 1983 recording. (This is a remaster of the original 1983 recording.)
Single appearances and discography for studio recordings
UK Release
September 1983 – 12″ vinyl single – B-Side of Sixty Eight Guns – IRS Records Catalogue number. PFSX 1023
Europe Release
September 1983 – 12″ vinyl single – B-Side of Sixty Eight Guns – IRS Records Catalogue number. ILSA 12.3881
Japan Release
December 1984 – 12″ vinyl 5 track EP – B-Side of The Chant has Just Begun – CBS/Sony – Catalogue number 20AP 2957
Officially released live recordings – Audio
All the following are Worldwide releases on Twenty First Century Recording Company
(Except where stated)
24th August 2003. Recorded at William Aston Hall, NEWI, Wrexham, Wales.
Running Length 2:17. Mike Peters Solo acoustic.
Released in 2003 on Alarmstock vol 6 – A Road Less Travelled
6th August 2005. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London NW8, England.
Running Length 5:00. Mike Peters Solo acoustic.
Released in 2005 on Alarmstock III vol 1 – London
Lyrics – 1983 Recording
I am a young man of modest income
I hope this will get through, there’s a lot of people here
Who would like to have the chance of writing this letter to you.
I share a dream and I pray that it will come true
One day, we will see a better land.
Until that day
We will watch men play the games of fire as if there is no tomorrow
And then we’ll laugh and then we’ll cry at the play that is set ‘fore their eyes.
I’ve got a ticket for the show that theatre show
That show is playing in my home.
When you sent my ticket did you not know I had no desire to see the show
And I can’t get a refund when you give me the reason “the management’s not responsible
I need some answers to these questions of mine
I need a quick reply
As the pace gets quicker, the plot gets thicker.
The end is all so easy to see, and I would like to leave
But I’m stuck to my seat, no I can’t see the exit signs.
‘Fire’ but no one seems to know what it means
‘Fire’, no water can stop these flames.
So when get my letter,
And I think you’d better, take heed of everything that you read
‘Cause when the fighting’s over and no one has won
Who’ll be left to ask where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where’d it all begin?
Audio & Visual Sources
Video Link – Acoustic live version from Canal Room, New York, USA July 2009
Images
Alternative Lyrics – 1997 Acoustic Works
I am a young man of modest income
I hope this will get through, there’s a lot of people here
Who would like to have the chance of writing this letter to you.
I share a dream and I pray that it will come true
One day, we will see a better land.
So until that day
We will watch men play the games of fire as if there is no tomorrow
And then we’ll laugh and then we’ll cry at the play that is set ‘fore their eyes.
I’ve got a ticket for the show that theatre show
That show is playing in my home.
When you sent my ticket did you not know I had no desire to see the show
And I can’t get a refund when you give me the reason “the management’s not responsible”
I need some answers to these questions of mine
I need a quick reply
As the pace gets quicker, the plot gets thicker.
The end is all so easy to see, and I would like to leave
But I’m stuck to my seat, I can’t see the exit signs.
‘Fire’ but no one seems to know what it means
‘Fire’, no water can stop these flames.
So when you read my letter,
And I think you’d better, take heed of everything that you read
‘Cause when the fighting’s over and no one has won
Who’ll be left to ask where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
Where did this all begin?
(Page updated 25/04/2021)