Recently I’ve become hooked on Bands Reunited, a show whereby VH1 track down members of defunct ’80s bands who split in acrimonious circumstances and doorstep them into reforming for one night with mixed results. It also, however, serves as a reminder that for every Frankie or Flock Of Seagulls there’s a host of bands who have never stopped, albeit that they ply their trade further and further away from the glare of public interest.
Until now, that is, in the case of The Alarm, as suddenly everybody’s talking about them again, due to their attempt to prove the cynical, stunt driven nature of the music business by pulling a, well, cynical stunt and releasing single ‘45 R.P.M.’ under an assumed name.
In The Poppyfields may well be their best shot at re-establishing themselves as major players. Shame that it’s not more inspired. Nothing here can really fully banish the feeling that this is a band past its prime trying to keep up with the young bucks.
The first half simply tries too hard, mistaking bluster for passion and sounding, of all people, like The Levellers in parts. When they ease up a bit in the second section however, the effect is more engaging. ‘The Rock ‘n’ Roll’ in particular is an eloquent explanation of why, for Mike Peters at least, the spirit of ’76 still burns inside him. Having been responsible for songs of the calibre of ‘68 Guns’ and ‘The Stand’ there’s no doubt about The Alarm’s pedigree. But they’d need to do better than In The Poppyfields to reclaim their constituency.