If the was ever a song or an album that helped me survive this crazy life, this would be it. In my most difficult days I would put this on and gather strength from Mike Peters words and passion for life. Sometimes you need help, this was mine.
This song was a gateway for me to whole new music experience. I had been into metal in my early teen years, but I wasn't really liking the glam direction it seemed to be going in. I saw this video on MTV and it was like a kick in the ass. Pretty soon I was selling my metal cassettes and using the money to buy cassettes by The Alarm, REM, The Replacements, Husker Du, The Cure, etc. Coming up on 40 years later and I'm still listening to those same bands.
In “Strength” (1985), Alarm lead vocalist Mike Peters is looking for someone to give him love, hope, strength, and someone to live for. He stated : “It’s really about depending on someone else to help you be alive, be happy, find love. We can’t find all those things as individuals, we have to find them in pairs or through togetherness or community.” In 2020, Peters explained how the tune came together : “‘Strength’ arrived to me in the middle of the night. It was a bit of a dream song. I woke up in a hotel room after we played a gig in Newcastle, and I had the melody of the chorus and the words in my head. I was rooming with a friend who now works with Bob Dylan [John “Redeye” Edwards]. I woke him up in the middle of the night and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get my guitar out of the band van and bring it up here, because I’ve got a song.’ The song was formed in my imagination and I just had to find the chords on my guitar. That was the only thing that was lacking - I didn’t know what the chords were. We played it at soundcheck the next day and it was all there.” After Mike Peters was diagnosed with leukemia in the mid-‘90s, “Strength” took on new meaning for him, especially the line, “Who will be the life blood coursing through my veins?” 💚🩸💙
Happy 62nd Birthday Michael Leslie Peters 25/02/59 Prestatyn, Wales Your folksy / raspy voice is one of a kind. And so is The Alarm. Born same day as George Harrison too..
Got to hang out backstage with these blokes on the Strength tour when they came through Denver in 1986..These guys were not only amazing live they were gracious and real as human beings as well. I saw them at least 6 times as a kid in the 80's and early 90's..great times! Great Band!
I went through a very acrimonious divorce about 11 years ago as a man in my late 40's. I played this song 20x a day for a few years until God finally gave me the strength to move on. Btw, the 1st time I saw The Alarm was June, 1983 when they opened for U2 at The Pier (next to The Intrepid) in NYC. Those were days. Yes they were.
First time I've heard this song, sadly. I heard 'The Stand' and '68 Guns' back in the 80s, and sought them out as soon as I could on YT. And now I've got another awesome The Alarm song to add.
Memories come flooding back! .. ............ Oh how I wish the original line up had stayed together (no disrespect intended to current/past members). The energy & passion created by The Alarm live throughout the 80's all the way through to Brixton 91 are some of the greatest memories I have. I love watching these videos and reliving it all over again. Much love & best wishes to all members of the The Alarm (past & present) and especially to Mr Peters MBE for keeping the dream alive :)
Extra props for Nigel Twist standing as a drummer with a gong drum and Eddie MacDonald playing acoustic bass guitar. That's a very unique rhythm section sound!
Ive been a fan of the alarm since I was a kid there's something about this band that has inspired, encouraged, and given me hope to be the best I could be
I was in my teens in the 90's but as a guitar player listened to a lot of 80's rock. mostly VH. This is exactly the kind of stuff I look for for my current cover band.. A little Billy Idol, The cult. Cool shit.
When I was in my mid teens they were just as popular among my group of friends. I remember when they opened for Dylan it seemed like half my highschool went. The only other shows I remember that many of us going to were U2 and The Cure.
They were really popular in the late 70's, early 80's, right in line with my HS days, as was U2. Same kind of music. I think the difference between U2 and The Alarm was music selection once they got "older" more mature. The Alarm stood firm to the original and U2 kind of diverged from their roots. This is why today U2 is more well known and The Alarm not so much. Still love The Alarm and early U2 best of all.
I was luck enough to see The Alarm and U2 play in a small center in San Francisco early 80's. I thought The Alarm was better. I still listen to them. U2 not so much. I still have the album Declaration ..
Was expecting the 5m35s version of this. [Still fantastic for this, I presume, 4m08s radio edit]. Full length version has this bridge verse that has slight variations on an earlier verse: "I walk alone across the outskirts of town I can't control what I'm going through now Will you light the fire that I need to survive? Will you donate the life blood coursing through my veins? Will you open up the door and let me out of this place" Full length can be found on the bands YT channel, missing part starts around 3m 26s mark.
Why so underrated? I relate a lot to their songs, even if I'm not "a man of emotions" I start to feel so powerful and attached to life when I listen to The Alarm. Usually I listen more to synthpop, punk and experimental and I'm very selective with artists, but this really ROCKS. I love them because they arrive to your heart!! Thank you :)))
Someone write me a letter I need to know that I'm still alive Someone give me a telephone call I need to hear a human sound Someone open up a door And let me out of this place I've been caged up for oh so long I don't know if I'm living or dying
One of my all-time favorite bands from the 80’s … think they should have been even bigger than U2 if they hadn’t broken up. I like all the “new” Alarm stuff, but nothing beats the original lineup.
Yeah man. Saw The Alarm 3x in the '80's. The 1st time when they opened for U2 at The Pier in NYC in June, 1983. I've seen U2 43x since 1981. The 80's definitely had the best music.
Are you kidding , please go and wash your mouth out. Surely this should be the other way around. More like U2 (music for the simpletons) sound slightly like the Alarm?! Bono couldn't hold a candle to Mikey Boy.
@@malcolmyoung5230 theres an old saying that applies to you: sometimes it's better to shut your mouth & let everyone think you're a moron than open your mouth & confirm it. Mike Peters couldn't hold Bono's tea.
The last verse of this song is amazing, especially when Peters belts out, "someone open up the door and let me out of this place." They have a U2 vibe, but I think they are better.
Agreed, they are much better. I like some of U2's music but The Alarm are so much better in my view. I have been listening to them for over forty years.
![The Alarm - Spirit of '76 (Official Music Video} Long Version [2019 Remaster]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YSjXvFI0Zsw/mqdefault.jpg)
![The Alarm - Spirit of '76 (Official Music Video} Long Version [2019 Remaster]](/img/tr.png)
I was 16 y.o. when i discovered The Alarm...now i am 56 and i still love them!!!!!
Most underrated 80s song of them all!
I don't care how much time passes, I absolutely LOVE this song.
Right with you
Most definitely. The only thing missing from this remaster is the awesome organ/vocal intro of the original.
Right on! When I play this for people and I talk about the error that this song came from they often drool with envy. Sure glad I was there
This has been one of my favorite songs for many years. The louder I play it the better I like it. I'm thinking my neighbors must like it by now also.
that is funny.. good comment
There is an acoustic version of this song with The Stray Cats band and I think The Cars as backup out there somewhere..
Possibly the best single they released, still amazing in 2019
And2024
CLASSIC..... One Of The BEST SONGS EVER.
If the was ever a song or an album that helped me survive this crazy life, this would be it. In my most difficult days I would put this on and gather strength from Mike Peters words and passion for life. Sometimes you need help, this was mine.
Mike Peters and The Alarm helped me survive this crazy and tough life as well. I thank them for that from the bottom of my heart.
This is like the sound of my soul. This is my emotional survival song. Loved this passionate tune for decades.
I loved this band in 85 and I still love them now. Take me back to better times😊
All time favorite from one of the most underrated bands of all time
I found strength in Jesus!!! Much love, Robert Duggan 🌄 ❤️
Absolutely brilliant....this band have been a massive part of my life since 1983
I seen them on American Bandstand when I first heard this song.
The bass throughout this just kicks ass , superb
This song was a gateway for me to whole new music experience. I had been into metal in my early teen years, but I wasn't really liking the glam direction it seemed to be going in. I saw this video on MTV and it was like a kick in the ass. Pretty soon I was selling my metal cassettes and using the money to buy cassettes by The Alarm, REM, The Replacements, Husker Du, The Cure, etc. Coming up on 40 years later and I'm still listening to those same bands.
My story was very similar. Love this era of music. This song brings back the faded memories.
I definitely feel that and had a similar experience. It's a fantastic era lots of great music and you just reminded me about Husker do
I can also recognize the same story 😊
In “Strength” (1985), Alarm lead vocalist Mike Peters is looking for someone to give him love, hope, strength, and someone to live for. He stated : “It’s really about depending on someone else to help you be alive, be happy, find love. We can’t find all those things as individuals, we have to find them in pairs or through togetherness or community.”
In 2020, Peters explained how the tune came together : “‘Strength’ arrived to me in the middle of the night. It was a bit of a dream song. I woke up in a hotel room after we played a gig in Newcastle, and I had the melody of the chorus and the words in my head. I was rooming with a friend who now works with Bob Dylan [John “Redeye” Edwards]. I woke him up in the middle of the night and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to get my guitar out of the band van and bring it up here, because I’ve got a song.’ The song was formed in my imagination and I just had to find the chords on my guitar. That was the only thing that was lacking - I didn’t know what the chords were. We played it at soundcheck the next day and it was all there.”
After Mike Peters was diagnosed with leukemia in the mid-‘90s, “Strength” took on new meaning for him, especially the line, “Who will be the life blood coursing through my veins?” 💚🩸💙
this song always calms me down when am stressed
This is one great band that never got credit for being so great and played good music when they came out .
U2, The Alarm, Big Country, INXS, Everton, Bill Hicks, etc i Loved the 1980s
Happy 62nd Birthday Michael Leslie Peters
25/02/59 Prestatyn, Wales
Your folksy / raspy voice is one of a kind. And so is The Alarm.
Born same day as George Harrison too..
Still sounds fresh after all these years
A blaster !! Can you feel it in 24?
Got to hang out backstage with these blokes on the Strength tour when they came through Denver in 1986..These guys were not only amazing live they were gracious and real as human beings as well. I saw them at least 6 times as a kid in the 80's and early 90's..great times! Great Band!
Please send me back to the 80's.
I went through a very acrimonious divorce about 11 years ago as a man in my late 40's. I played this song 20x a day for a few years until God finally gave me the strength to move on. Btw, the 1st time I saw The Alarm was June, 1983 when they opened for U2 at The Pier (next to The Intrepid) in NYC. Those were days. Yes they were.
I saw The Alarm open for U2 on March 17, 1985 at the old McNichols Area in Denver
U2 shudda opened for them.
This vato would be cruisin' along streets of the South Bay in his retro 1970 VW Squareback with the radio blastin' this tune and others on KROQ 106.7.
In 86 my friends did this song for the school talent show…it just hit on mt v and they won big!
It must have been a difficult song to perform as it sounds quite complicated with a lot going on.
First time I've heard this song, sadly. I heard 'The Stand' and '68 Guns' back in the 80s, and sought them out as soon as I could on YT. And now I've got another awesome The Alarm song to add.
Saw the MTV concert with this song. The Alarm sound so good live,
and that is the trademark of any good band.
This band should’ve been WAY bigger than they were. A few songs on the radio but not nearly enough.
It’s inspiring !!
Memories come flooding back! .. ............ Oh how I wish the original line up had stayed together (no disrespect intended to current/past members). The energy & passion created by The Alarm live throughout the 80's all the way through to Brixton 91 are some of the greatest memories I have. I love watching these videos and reliving it all over again. Much love & best wishes to all members of the The Alarm (past & present) and especially to Mr Peters MBE for keeping the dream alive :)
Saw them all through the 80’s. AMAZING live!
Absolutely agree with you!
The singer left the band, then started a new one one with different members.
Well said paul
Still relevant today in 2024. Cool jam!
Extra props for Nigel Twist standing as a drummer with a gong drum and Eddie MacDonald playing acoustic bass guitar. That's a very unique rhythm section sound!
Loved when first came out Still rocks today😎👍
Loved it then , love it now ! i remember going to buy the cassette.
English bands in the 80.s rule there songs meant something ‘!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ive been a fan of the alarm since I was a kid there's something about this band that has inspired, encouraged, and given me hope to be the best I could be
..cool.. :)
The best song U2 never wrote!
You nailed that one, chuckles!!!
Well said.
What the other two before me said in comments. Perfectly well said.
Absolutely true 💯
They are so much more than U2
The Alarm could actually make more than one great album.
What a powerful song makes me really think about life 😮🙊🙉🙈👍💪🙏Amen brothers and sisters!
Makes me feel like surfing perfect waves!
Just Discovered This In September 2024 ❤🎉😊
It's a great era, lots of gems keep digging there's a lot more to be found
Guadalcanal Diary-Liturgy was another lightning in a bottle song from mid-80s...I think...I used to kind of mix these two up thinking of them.
I was in my teens in the 90's but as a guitar player listened to a lot of 80's rock. mostly VH. This is exactly the kind of stuff I look for for my current cover band.. A little Billy Idol, The cult. Cool shit.
You've got good taste.
Excellent. Also try ministry 'jesus built my hot rod' and any songs from Twitch.
For me The most underated band of the 80s
THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD!!! Never sounded better, really. Congratulations, Mike and co.!
This is fabulous. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fondest memories. Thank you so much. Love to all. Xx
The alarm are my favourite band of all time brilliant musicians Mike Peters is an absolute legend stay safe janine x
Fantastic song!😮
This Song is more Relevant Now, than it Woz All My Years ago! 👍😎🤩🏴
Many a time at a live gig has this song brought me to tears x
Most underrated band of all of em awesome live Mike Peters is a legend
I seen them as an opening band for U2 in SF and they were better...
@@jgz003 have seen them loads of yimes they never disappoint
Man The alarm should have been more popular, like u2 or echo and the bunnymen
When I was in my mid teens they were just as popular among my group of friends. I remember when they opened for Dylan it seemed like half my highschool went. The only other shows I remember that many of us going to were U2 and The Cure.
They were really popular in the late 70's, early 80's, right in line with my HS days, as was U2. Same kind of music. I think the difference between U2 and The Alarm was music selection once they got "older" more mature. The Alarm stood firm to the original and U2 kind of diverged from their roots. This is why today U2 is more well known and The Alarm not so much. Still love The Alarm and early U2 best of all.
Still kickin' ass!
Newcastle City Hall 1985 I think, one of the great live bands. Lucky to have a signed Strength album.
I met him in Kansas City and he told me about his battle with leukemia back in 2007. I just read that its come back. Get well my man!
Times of 😮?
Gets better with age still brings hope
I was luck enough to see The Alarm and U2 play in a small center in San Francisco early 80's. I thought The Alarm was better. I still listen to them. U2 not so much. I still have the album Declaration ..
24 " still listening ❤
I NEED IT NOW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fantastic song! Love it! Thanks all around!
Who will light the fires that the world needs to survive? I will my friends!!!!!
Was expecting the 5m35s version of this. [Still fantastic for this, I presume, 4m08s radio edit].
Full length version has this bridge verse that has slight variations on an earlier verse:
"I walk alone across the outskirts of town
I can't control what I'm going through now
Will you light the fire that I need to survive?
Will you donate the life blood coursing through my veins?
Will you open up the door and let me out of this place"
Full length can be found on the bands YT channel, missing part starts around 3m 26s mark.
Saw the Alarm "supporting" U2 at Cardiff Arms Park in the 80's. I think it was the Alarm who was doing the supporting that day.
LOVE IT! Sounds A LOT like U2!
Why so underrated? I relate a lot to their songs, even if I'm not "a man of emotions" I start to feel so powerful and attached to life when I listen to The Alarm. Usually I listen more to synthpop, punk and experimental and I'm very selective with artists, but this really ROCKS. I love them because they arrive to your heart!! Thank you :)))
1970 listening here. Timeless.
熱い❗️
MTV Flashback MTV Top 20 Video countdown December 13 1985 . YES FOLKS 34 years ago this video DEBUTED at #19
Someone write me a letter
I need to know that I'm still alive
Someone give me a telephone call
I need to hear a human sound
Someone open up a door
And let me out of this place
I've been caged up for oh so long
I don't know if I'm living or dying
a little poignant now a days I think
and forget not those who've been cast into prison
Right to rock on 😊
I just love u2 and bono
Great
Great Band! Liked it Lots.
Fukin yes.
One of my all-time favorite bands from the 80’s … think they should have been even bigger than U2 if they hadn’t broken up. I like all the “new” Alarm stuff, but nothing beats the original lineup.
I was 7 yo and i wanted to learn to play guitar thanks to this riff..🤟🎸
As massive fan of U2's first three albums, I always loved when another band sounded like their early material...and this song is every bit as good.
Yeah man. Saw The Alarm 3x in the '80's. The 1st time when they opened for U2 at The Pier in NYC in June, 1983. I've seen U2 43x since 1981. The 80's definitely had the best music.
Are you kidding , please go and wash your mouth out. Surely this should be the other way around. More like U2 (music for the simpletons) sound slightly like the Alarm?! Bono couldn't hold a candle to Mikey Boy.
@@malcolmyoung5230 theres an old saying that applies to you: sometimes it's better to shut your mouth & let everyone think you're a moron than open your mouth & confirm it. Mike Peters couldn't hold Bono's tea.
The Alarm are playing in FL in April
Who will light the fire
still as gr8 as it ever was... LHS xx
The last verse of this song is amazing, especially when Peters belts out, "someone open up the door and let me out of this place." They have a U2 vibe, but I think they are better.
Agreed, they are much better. I like some of U2's music but The Alarm are so much better in my view. I have been listening to them for over forty years.
I love this iconic 80's song
You shouldn't have cut this down to widescreen format :( One of my favourite tracks though..
Wake up neighbors,💪🤗
Yea, I’ve been good at that, and twice if they get smart about it 😊
3:18 Y are flower petals rainin on him?
Not sure but I think I may have made out to this song. Probably why I liked it.
I think this single version was sped up slightly by IRS before release.
What's not to like?
lo malo es ke pa buscarlos hay ke tener tiempo estan bien escondidos
Always one of my favs…. Crank this shit up!!
Wales forevermore 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴😉😎👍🏻x
They should have been bigger.
f8ci yaaaa
Always blew away U2. They had more talent better songs. Deserve more credit and recognition.
Dave Sharp.
Makes me want to hop in my BBC powered Velle and bang some gears.
Should be considered an anthem for the pandemic times! 🤣
Netflix, do you here this? Do you thing
Is this song about God?
it's a prayer for companionship
@@christopherschultz6434 To be in the company of God?
@@insertgoodname4809 no, but through this song god reminds us to remember and visit those who've been cast into prison
Caerelon'artyr myrdwren