For a few years in the mid-80's, The Alarm could do no wrong in my eyes. They pushed buttons I didn't realize I had. The music was triumphant. The live shows were cathartic. They opened for Dylan and I could have gone home before Dylan took the stage. I'm 40 years removed from those days, and yet the news of Mike Peters losing his battle with fucking cancer shook me. But it hit harder when I saw a few friends posting about how hard it hit them.
That said, I'll be off the grid for a few days. I'll do my best to keep the sidebars active, though I'm not sure how much music I'll be listening to, so the "Now Playing" site might turn into "Not Playing."
Oh, and I'm selling all of my records, though for what I am asking, it's hardly "selling." I've had it. It used to be fun. Now, now so much. Here's the link if you have any interest.
See you soon.
20 comments:
As Turtle said about Johnny Drama: "Fredo is angry"
I was a big fan of the Alarm, too, and it was hard to hear this. There used to be a free annual concert in Union County, NJ, every year, and he would be there every year--I think he might have been involved in booking the shows too, I don't know. He did different performances each year and promoted bone marrow donation.
My favorite year there was a big hurricane forecast. This was 2008. The rain for the most part held out for Mike's performance, which was accompanied by a bunch of members of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, was amazing. Later I was in the tent promoting the bone marrow thing with the show stopped because of the weather, and word came in that Mike was going to do an extra acoustic performance in a covered area. I mean, literally acoustic, not even a microphone! Just Mike surrounded by dozens of fans. He asked for requests so I mentioned the b-side "My Land Your Land". He said to give him a minute to remember it and later did do a short version of it. A great memory. He will be missed.
Hang in there, my friend.
We are at an age where we attend more funerals than weddings. I love the Alarm, thought they were better than U2 and Mike just wanted to perform. I have to say he didn't use Cancer as an excuse and yes whilst we reflect on the memories and play those records again it's time to get the younger generation into his music so his legacy carries on.
Please know that there's people who care.
Agree with Jimbo...I enjoyed the Alarm more than U2 and Mike Peters always gave 110% during shows. Happy I got to the the original Alarm quite a bit in the 80's and then a whole lot since he formed the new Y2K version. Band or solo I always looked forward to seeing him live. And as everyone is saying online he was just a nice guy always willing to talk. This one hurts a bit more.
Mike Peters death (while not a surprise due to the problems he's had for many years) hit me hard as well. The Alarm were one of my first real college-era band discoveries -- better than U2 IMO even though they were lumped in with them -- and their first three albums are great and full of the definition of "anthem" songs. You can find the Alarm's episode of VH-1s "Bands Reunited" on YouTube -- and it's great!
I was fortunate to see The Alarm in late 1989, a couple months after the release of Change - the Tony Visconti-produced album they made after touring with Dylan. It was a small club and the band tore the place up. Mike Peters brilliantly led the assembled over the edge to nirvana. High energy and anthems is what I vividly remember.
I never really compared the band to
U2 or Big Country. More folk influenced to me. More blue collar, maybe. Loved the band!
R.I.P. Mike. Thank you for the memories. :)
P.S. Thanks again for all you do, Sal! Namaste
Really saddened to read the news about Mike Peters. There was a point in my life where bands like The Alarm and Big Country (who Mike fronted for a time after Stuart's passing) were everything. He brought a lot of joy to a lot of people for a long time. That's saying something, quite a legacy. May he rest in peace.
Also saddened to hear that you're getting out of the record selling business. I've enjoyed buying records from you over the past few years. You're a terrific seller. Unfortunately due to fairly sudden and rapidly declining hearing, I'm probably just about out of my record buying days. Not sure what the future holds, but it's physically tough to listen these days. Hoping for some medical answers soon.
In the meantime, I wish you the best in whatever you do and hope you get your book published. And please keep BW open for as long as you can. It's nice to have a music community to chat with. Peace.
I remember I saw them live more than fourty years ago with Wire Train as support band. It didn't really do it for me just like the Levellers or Big Country. Sad to hear about Mike Peters' passing though.
I'm sorry you're bummed but don't do anything rash. Wait a few days. If you still feel the same, I have first dibs :-)
So sorry, my friend. Its weird times.
Thank you for the Mike Peters appreciation. I did not know any of the health issues and I was inspired to find the BBC obit article which was amazing and enlightening. Sometime in ‘83 or ‘84, my band, The Rescue, opened for The Alarm and I remember loving them and Mike’s voice and energy. R.I.P.
Hey Sal.
We live in goofy times.
Always remember you are much appreciated and much loved!
Sal:
Sorry about your business. The very best luck with whatever you move on to.
Allan Rosenberg
Sal, I'm sorry about your business. And about these strange and maddening days we are journeying through. I truly think things will get better, but admittedly, not right away. I hope you are considering other ways to make a living, to be able to maintain things you hold dear, especially music.
Noel
Sal- I'm sorry to read about your business shutting down. A 100% approval rating from 5,600 buyers is very impressive! I hope you find something else you enjoy.
I want to thank everyone for your kind words. But I also want to clear something up. I’m not shutting down my business. I’m frustrated and fed up with up with not selling good records at fair prices. “I’ve had it” with watching good records priced cheaper than anyone else with the same records go unsold. So I’ve decided in order to drum up business, to sell my own personal collection for a pittance. That my friends, is far worse than shutting down completely. I’ll still be doing the “record thing.” I just hope it gets better because right now it couldn’t get worse.
Oh that's tough. I've regretted every book and cd and BluRay I ever sold. Wish I had them all, even the bad ones.
Sal, I wish you could consider another path instead of that. But, I don't know the details, and you may feel like there is no other path forward. I get that. Is there any possibility of getting another source of income? I'm thinking retail job, etc.
My wife worked at a coffee shop for 6 years until recently, so I know that path is tough too, believe me. But I hate to see you sell your own records. I had a friend who worked as a night watchman for years, all kinds of jobs like that that are not preferred but make ends meet.
And please know that I am aware suggestions like this can seem out of touch or unwanted - and if so, I apologize! Just thinking out loud, the way I would if we were having a beer and talking about this.
Sending you positive energy, because you deserve the best.
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