Never Let The Fires Die: The Alarm Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jeff Fulton & Steve Fulton
The official podcast of TheAlarm.com. Steve Fulton and Jeff Fulton take you on a journey through the history and music of their favorite band, The Alarm. No stone un-turned, and all projects treated with the respect they deserve.
Is "Marching On" the Quintessential Alarm Song? Also, hear a "lost" version of the song unearthed for (possibly) the first time. In #29 of the Never Let The Fires Die Alarm podcast, we cover the song Marching On from the album Declaration
Watch the video version here:
Declaration Track 2: Marching On - #29 The Alarm: Never Let Fires Die Podcast (youtube.com)
#28 in the Never Let The Fires Die Alarm podcast, we cover the song Declaration from the album Declaration We will be uploading more of Never Let The Fires Die
See video version here: Declaration Track 1: Declaration - #28 The Alarm: Never Let Fires Die Podcast - YouTube
Our buddy, Mike Peters, of the Alarm, is not well. We have decided we want to send him a 2 hour get well soon by listing and discussing 68 (plus many more) reasons why we love him.
After a year break when there was no need for a podcast because The Alarm was basically podcasting 2 hours of content a week, we are back to discuss the twin earthquakes that shook The Alarm world this week: War and Alarm Central.
In this episode we review Hurricane Of Change: Upstream while comparing and contrasting with the 1989 Change album and thealarm.change.demos. It's like high school English all-over again, but with a ton more great music and a bit of (bleeped) swearing becasue we are just that d*amned passionate about The Alarm's music.
In this episode we have a deep discussion about Mike Peters' 2019 release, Downstream, the first disc in the Hurricane Of Change Collection.
Were the singles picked from the 80's albums by The Alarm the right choices? Join us as we banter about things we can never change, and play a ton of music along the way.
Thanksgiving is the anniversary of our first Alarm show (first concert ever) at Cal State Fullerton in November 1985. In this episode we have a very personal discussion about what that show meant to us as teenagers.
In this discussion we get a few things wrong. It's been 34 years, not 33. The show started with Deeside, not Declaration/Marching On, and we cannot confirm the band played The Chant. The memory of the show has been some what corrupted over the years by listening to "live" tapes. Speaking of "live" tapes, the music in this episode was taken from the following sketchy live bootlegs, chosen to closely approimate the band when wesaw the mthe first time.
-Gaumont Theatre, Southampton 18.12.85
-Marquee, London 16.10.85
-City Hall, Newcastle 13.12.85
Thanks to Pete Cole for providing the audio files, and to The Alarm , of course, for playing on them.
Another in our exclusive series of interview with Mike Peters.
This one is preview of record store day 2019, and a discussion of the Strength album reissues (among other things)
The season 2 finale of Never Let The Fires Die mixes host discussion and fan thoughts of the 2018 USA tour, with an in depth discussion on the state of The Alarm and the music industry with the man Mike Peters himself.
A belated LA Gathering episode plus a short interview with MP from the European tour in June 2018.Includes interview with Alarm super fan Mike Starner.
In this episode we catch up with Mike Peters on the road, to discuss the new album "Equals". Mike breaks down the album song by song, and we also get a preview of the mix of "Crowd Trouble"
In this episode we talk about record store day 2018, and finally reveal the winners of the Mike Peters Harmonica Contest. The podcast features a not-to-be-missed, contest winning personal Alarm story written and recorded by Matt Tremmel.
The Never Let The fires Die Podcast returns from a long hiatus to continue season 2! In this episode Steve And Jeff Fulton attempt to review the new Declaration album reissue, but are thwarted (somewhat) by some unexplained occurrences. Will they get it back on track to finish their review? Also included for absolutely no extra charge: A lesson on how to pronounce a rarely used English word.
In this episode Steve and Jeff Fulton review the brand new Viral Black album. Is it is merely a "great" album or "the Greatest" album. Also, a Harmonica contest update and another chance to enter before November 1st, 2017.
Between 2001 and 2003, Mike Peters and his new version of The Alarm demoed and recorded 50 songs that formed basis of the next 1/2 decade of music from The Alarm. "The Bond" was the name of the subscription fans could buy-into so they could receive the songs as they were recorded. In all 11 full electric demos (unreleased), and 5 full albums were produced as part of the The bond, plus countless acoustic demos. The songs went-on the form the basis of the albums "In The Poppy Fields" (2004) and "Under Attack" (2006). In the process, some of those tracks got lost in the dustbin of history. In this episode, we dust off some of those tracks "lost to the fog of time", and create an album from the "Forgotten Tracks Of The In The Poppy Fields Bond" . All of the songs mentioned in this episode can be owned by purchasing the "In The Poppy Fields Collected Works" CD/DVD set on thealarm.com : https://thealarm.myshopify.com/produc...
On August 6th, 2017 I took my family to The Van's Warped Tour stop in Pomona, CA. Obviously, we went to see The Alarm, but I also wanted my kids to experience a modern "punk" show and get their reaction. This is the story of our day.
Features:
- Mike Peters Warped Tour Harmonica Lesson
- Mike Peters Interview
- The final few songs of the final show of The Alarm on the 2017 Van's Warped Tour
- Lot's of family commentary about the whole day
- Steve Fulton's review of The Van's Warped Tour and The Alarm's performance.
Season 1 Finale: We interview Mike Peters about Blood Red.
(Note: We have changed our episode numbering scheme to be more in-line with podcast standards. Sorry for any confusion)
Host: Steve Fulton
Guest: Mike Peters
Alarm Podcast host Steve Fulton recites a true story for Father's Day about his dad, himself, and the meaning of The Alarm's music in his short, non-fiction story "A Moment Near Aspen Grove"
Excerpt:
"The Alarm E.P. might be my favorite record ever recorded. It was five slices of what made The Alarm great, and what made them stand-out among their contemporaries. On that record, they sounded like no other band that came before or after. The sound was at once punk and pop and folk played with carefully crafted, wild abandon. It combined harmonicas, barnstorm stomping, electrified acoustic strumming, military style snare drumming, and hoops and hollers into a mix that defied description. If I had to find one, it might have been the Battle Of Little Big Horn, Custer’s Last Stand, if it was thrown into a blender and set to music. To me, the sound was imperfect, organic and life affirming. The minute I first heard it back in 1983, I knew I had found a missing part of my soul, raggedly shoved into place, and for the first time in my life, I felt like whole person."
This week Jeff and Steve Fulton discuss the legendary "lost" Alarm song, "Alarm Alarm". What will they find as they excavate 40 years of Alarm history, looking for what could be, the quintessential Alarm track? Featuring a brand new interview with Mike Peters.
Cast
- Steve Fulton (Host)
- Jeff Fulton (Host)
- Mike Peters
Crew
- Jeff Fulton: Audio wrangler
- Steve Fulton: Engineer, production
In this episode, hosts Jeff and Steve Fulton completely geek out while reviewing the new album from Mike Peters And The Alarm, Blood+Red.
"I may be completely off base here, but I believe this whole record and everything about it was a direct, calculated move by Mike Peters to try to save his wife’s life. From themes and words of the songs, to structure of the song themselves, from the instrumentation, to make-up of the band, I think Mike designed it all to make sure that Jules received the same kind of drive and push and electric thrill that he received when he first pushed out on stage to sing Unalarmed and Unplugged after he was told he had cancer the first time in 1995 I think Mike truly believes the music, the process of making, playing, and even listening to it, could heal Jules. And at the same time, heal himself. It’s the purest, most explicit form of love I can imagine"
Note: Audio Quality is not ideal in this episode, but we have identified the issue, and it will be fixed for the next podcast.
Cast:
- Steve Fulton : Host
- Jeff Fulton: Host
Crew
- Produced, Edited, and Engineered by Jeff Fulton and Steve Fulton
UK Roving Reporters Steve and Amanda Varty take us into a fan's eye view of the 2017 Manchester Alarm Show May 11th at the O2 Ritz. Hear the Steve and Amanda's expert opinions on The Alarm, and Marvel at the Amazing Story of Amanda Varty's illness and recovery
Notes:
Never mind the Buzzsocks Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtlFkdJpAPQ
Full Story of Amanda and Steve Varty : Dance Again : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSfRRUYoe7E Cast:
- Steve Fulton : Host
- Steve Varty: Roving UK Reporter
- Amanda Varty: roving UK Reporter
Crew
- Produced, Edited, and Engineered by Steve Fulton
Music
- Lie Of The Land (live)
- Rose Beyond The Wall (Mike Peters, Second Generation album, 1995)
- Into The 21st Century (demo version) (Mike Peters And The Poets Of Justices, Back Into The System single, 1994)
- Rise (Mike Peters, Rise album version, 1998)
- A New Chapter (Mike Peters And The Poets Of Justice, Back Into The System single, 1994)
- The Rock And Roll (The Alarm, In The Poppy Fields Bond #1, Close, 2003)
- Excerpts from Manchester 02 Ritz, May 11th, 2017
- Time (Mike Peters And The Alarm, Blood Red album, 2017)
- It Just Don't Get Any Better Than This (Mike Peters And The Poets Of Justice single version, 1994)
Crew
- Produced, Edited, and Engineered by Steve Fulton
In this bonus podcast we revisit a few of the previous episodes. We have a full version of the "Georgie" demo from Podcast #1, some additional interviews from Podcast #2, and a version of "The Cross" played that the UCLA LA Gathering that did not make it into episode #2.
Listen as roving UK reporters Gary Overington and Mike Peters himself take you on a unique journey backstage at the 2017 UK Tour Kickoff in Portsmouth. Includes interviews with with the crew and band (including a very intimate personal and interview with Jules Jones conducted by Gary) plus several live performances.
Features:
- Gary Overington
- Mark Warden
- Andi Badgeman
- Mike Peters
- Jules Jones
- James Stevenson
- Smiley
- Alarm super fan Pete Cole.
Songs
- Lie Of The Land
- Brighter Tan The Sun (live)
- Howling Wind (live)
- Time (live)
- Love And Understanding (live)
- There Must Be A Way (live)
- Strength (live)
- Tomorrow (live)
- Kill To Get What You Want (live)
- Peace (live)
- 68 Guns (live)
- 45 RPM (live)
- Blaze Of Glory (live)
- Marching On (live)
- Two Rivers (live)
Notes:
- Recording Engineers: Gary Overington, Mike Peters
- Edited and Mixed by Steve Fulton
In this JUMBO episode, Jeff and Alarm super fan Lily Elsayed discuss the NYC Gathering, the WLIR documentary, The Man In The Camo Jacket, 13 Reasons Why, and for some reason, Mike Peters's 1991 trouser selection. Steve Fulton dials in from the road, and joins at the end.
Hosts:
- Steve Fulton
- Jeff Fulton
Guest:
-Lily Elsayed
Songs Played
- Lie Of The Land
- Big Road Blue (Dave Sharp from his album Hard Travelin)
- Drive These Blues Away (Dave Sharp from his album Downtown America)
- 68 Guns (live) (provided by Peters Simmons)
- A Taste of the gathering acoustic (provided by Steven J Messina)
- Sold Me Down The River (live with Tony Visconti) - (provided by Trudy Gonzalez)
- Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke (taken from Declaration album)
Introduction, Interview, live song from the 2016 30th Anniversary Spirit of '86 UCLA event. Alarm podcast host Steve Fulton interviewed Mike Peters on-stage in a Q&A session. This session was really the true genesis of the Never Let The Fire Die podcast. Jeff and I discussed creating a podcast on the way home after the event, and Mike agreed the next day.
In this episode we visit the first USA Gathering at UCLA on April 22nd, 2017. We discuss the debut of the documentary "The Man In The Camo Jacket", as well as our overall impressions of the first USA Gathering. We also discuss some a few other interesting tidbits that Alarm fans should find interesting.
Hosts
- Steve Fulton
- Jeff Fulton
Guest Host
- Ryan Fulton
Interview Excerpts
- Mike Peters
- Richard Blade
Songs Excerpts Played
- Lie Of The Land (The Alarm eponymous E.P.) (1983)
- Peace (live) from upcoming Blood Red/Viral Black albums (2018)
- Trafficking from In The Poppy Fields album (2004)
- Federal Motor Voter from In The Poppy Fields Album (2004)
- The Road from Raw album (1991)
- Down The Road from The Best Of The Alarm And Mike Peters (1998)
- Road To Mexico by Dave Sharp (unreleased version, original from Downtown America album)
- Coming Backwards from Man In The Camo Jacket soundtrack (2017)