VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: The Alarm’s Mike Peters Discusses Cancer – And How It Affected His Music & Concerts

Musician Mike Peters, the lead singer of The Alarm, discusses how he dealt with his cancer for the second time and how that inspired his new album Forwards in an exclusive uInterview. 

Peters was diagnosed with pneumonia and was struggling with leukemia during The Alarm’s 40th-anniversary celebration tour. When he was in the hospital he described to uInterview founder Erik Meers how having his guitar helped him get through it. 

“I got my wife Jules to bring my guitar into the [cancer] ward, so I could keep my fingers going and keep my brain active,” he said. “And all of a sudden songs started appearing out of nowhere.”

The album he created features ten different songs that all speak to his struggle with cancer. 

“I was able to channel it into songs and one of the first songs I wrote was ‘Are You Ready For What’s Next?’ and I think that was me asking myself the question are you ready for what’s next. Could it be the end or is it the start of a whole new life? And I wasn’t sure at the time, so the song kind of covers both outcomes.”

He specifically explained how the title Fowards relates to his cancer diagnosis.

“So all the songs that have come out of this experience of wanting to stay alive, and I wanted the record to be about where I was going and not where I’ve been and hence the title Fowards.”

Peter’s wife, Jules, also dealt with cancer and allowed her journey to be filmed for a documentary that was originally supposed to be about Peter’s cancer. It was a grueling process for her and he described how the documentary captures that. 

“We were actually making a documentary for the BBC about myself and Jules’s diagnosis was captured on film and the producer said can we film Jules going through this and Jules was kind enough to let the cameras follow her through all the things a woman has to go through behind the clothes when their breasts get mutilated through surgery and they have to rebuild their bodies and it was amazing,” he said.  

Peters was inspired by Mount Snowden, the highest point in the U.K., because he could see it outside his window while he was getting his treatment. This led to him to host concerts on mountains, including Mount Everest. He donated the funds, through his charity Love Hope Strength, to cancer support, specifically to the nurses who help patients get through their cancer, and also to the countries that didn’t have the resources they needed to help cancer patients. 

“So I thought if I climb that mountain we’ll give all that money to nursing staff here in North Wales to help when other people come in and if it’s kids who need a book or parents that need to understand what their children are going through or vice versa,” he said. “Help buy the books or some extra pillows or seats for people to sit on so when their visiting. Little comforts like that help ease the way through, help ease the path.”

One of the countries they donated the money to was Nepal and that allowed them, “ to buy the first mammography machines for their country in Nepal and it meant that women who needed to have breast cancer screenings could have it be at home with their family, they didn’t have to fly to India.”

Forwards is now on sale.