Mike Peters is best known as the lead singer with one of Wales' most successful rock music exports, The Alarm, but when the band split up in 1991, he went on to solo success.
The Alarm played their first gig in the Victoria Hotel in Prestatyn on 10 June 1981, releasing their first single on their own label in November that year. However, this was neither Mike Peters' first gig nor his first band.
His inauspicious musical debut came on 6 October 1975, when he fronted Hairy Hippie, a band formed with his schoolmates to perform at his sister's birthday party at the Talardy Hotel in St Asaph. His first band proper was Seventeen, formed after he saw the Sex Pistols play Chester in 1976.
In 1981 Seventeen became The Alarm, and moved to London to try and make it. Under the wing of The Police's manager Miles Copeland, they began touring extensively, building up a fanbase in Britain and America.
The hard work paid off, and their single 68 Guns became a chart success. From there the band went on to score several successive hits on both the single and album charts.
After The Alarm split up in 1991, Mike began his solo career, recording new music, participating in various projects with other artists, doing extensive charity work, and archiving and remastering The Alarm's entire recorded output. His work in creating and maintaining the band's official web site also gave him a unique relationship with his many fans.
In 1996 Mike won his battle against lymph cancer, but soon after began recording with The Cult's Billy Duffy, as ColourSound. Two years later he put together a new Alarm line-up for the extensive 'Alarm 2000' tour of America, playing old songs for his loyal fanbase.
Then in 2001 Mike went on the road once again as part of Dead Men Walking, a collective billed as 'a British Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young'. Also featuring Pete Wylie (of The Mighty Wah!), Glen Matlock (former Sex Pistol) and Kirk Brandon (Spear of Destiny), the band played a mixture of old and new material spanning their combined careers.
Mike still plays solo shows, has released a number of recordings and remains an active figure on the Welsh music scene. He has also tried his hand at radio presenting, with a Radio Wales show, Bedrock.
In December 2005, Mike Peters was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Posting on thealarm.com, he said: "I want to reassure all of you that I will be fighting this fight with every ounce of energy I can muster. I have my wife Jules, and son Dylan beside me and they are reason enough to live for. They have both been incredible.
"Be reassured, my outlook for the future is still the same as for any healthy person of my age. The only difference is that now I have to learn how to live with cancer. If I respond well to the chemotherapy, I can hopefully put the cancer into remission for another ten years or even longer."
As of 2008, he has successfully battled the disease.
