Strength is the second studio album from The Alarm

The Alarm

The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...

. It was released in 1985 on IRS Records. The single "Strength" was released before the album, reaching No.40 in the UK singles chart. This was followed after the album release by "Spirit of '76", which reached No.22 and saw the band on Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

 and various other TV stations. Finally, "Knife Edge" was released, just failing to reach the Top 40.

The album was released initially on vinyl LP, vinyl picture disc and cassette. As technology improved, a CD version was released.

An extended re-mastered version was also released, including extra tracks. Released in 2000, the remastered edition featured a revised track listings, b-sides and previously unreleased recordings, new and original artwork, unseen photos, lyrics, sleeve notes by Mike Peters and interactive programming information to play the album in its original form.

Alt-Strength is the full demos set, released on a double-cd set on 12 November 2001.

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Peters

Mike Peters (musician)

Mike Peters is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer of The Alarm. He currently lives in Dyserth, North Wales with his family. After The Alarm split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, which he has been releasing under the name "The Alarm" since 2000...

 & Eddie MacDonald, except "Strength", which was written by The Alarm

The Alarm

The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a mod band and stayed together for over ten years. As a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...

1. "Knife Edge" - 5:06
2. "Strength" - 5:34
3. "Dawn Chorus" - 5:24
4. "Spirit of '76" - 7:05
5. "Deeside" - 3:08
6. "Father to Son" - 4:04
7. "Only the Thunder" - 4:06
8. "The Day the Ravens Left the Tower" - 4:45
9. "Absolute Reality" - 3:24
10. "Walk Forever by My Side" - 3:32

Remastered release track listing

1. "Strength" - 5:34
2. "Knife Edge" - 5:09
3. "Spirit of '76" - 7:04
4. "Walk Forever by My Side" - 3:34
5. "Father to Son" - 4:05
6. "Deeside" - 3:10
7. "Majority" - 3:22
8. "One Step Closer to Home" (Electric version) - 4:28
9. "Caroline Isenberg" - 2:41
10. "Dawn Chorus" - 5:25
11. "Only the Thunder" - 4:42
12. "The Day the Ravens Left the Tower" - 4:46
13. "Absolute Reality" - 3:31
14. "Where Were You When the Storm Broke?" (live) - 3:30
15. "Deeside" (live) - 3:11
16. "Sixty Eight Guns" (live) - 6:59
17. "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (live) - 4:26

Band members

• Mike Peters
  Mike Peters (musician)
  Mike Peters is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer of The Alarm. He currently lives in Dyserth, North Wales with his family. After The Alarm split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, which he has been releasing under the name "The Alarm" since 2000...
  
   - vocals
• David Sharp
  Dave Sharp
  Dave Sharp is an English guitarist who co-founded, along with Mike Peters, the Welsh punk rock band The Alarm.-Early career:...
  
   - guitars
• Rupert Black - keyboards
• Eddie Macdonald - bass
• Nigel Twist - drums

Alt-Strength

Alt. Strength is a double CD, including demos and warm-up covers from The Strength recording sessions.

Disc 1

Nov. 29th-30th 1984 E-Zee Hire Demos

1. "Knife Edge"
2. "Absolute Reality"
3. "Sons of Divorce"
4. "One Step Closer to Home"
5. "Rose Beyond the Wall"
6. "Steeltown (Deeside)"
7. "We Are Majority"
8. "Black Side of Fortune"
9. "The Day the Ravens Left the Tower"

April 4, 1985 Roundhouse, London Jam Session

1. "Get It On
   Get It On (T. Rex song)
   "Get It On" was covered by the Power Station in 1985. Their version – titled "Get It On " – was released as their second single from their debut album. The track was a hit in both the UK, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and the U.S., where the song peaked at number nine on the...
   
   " (T. Rex
   T. Rex (band)
   T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
   
    cover)
2. "Summertime Blues
   Summertime Blues
   "Summertime Blues" is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American rockabilly artist Eddie Cochran. It was written in the late 1950s by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on...
   
   " (Eddie Cochran
   Eddie Cochran
   Eddie Cochran , was an American rock and roll pioneer who in his brief career had a small but lasting influence on rock music through his guitar playing. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the...
   
    cover)
3. "Gimme All Your Lovin'
   Gimme All Your Lovin'
   "Gimme All Your Lovin" is a song by ZZ Top from their 1983 album Eliminator. The song was released as the album's first single in 1983 ....
   
   " (ZZ Top
   ZZ Top
   ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...
   
    cover)
4. "Alarm Alarm" (Toilets/17 cover)
5. "Radar Love
   Radar Love
   "Radar Love" is a song by the Dutch rock band Golden Earring. Music critic Bill Lamb rates this among his "top 10 driving songs" due to its lyrics about driving all night and its pulse-quickening, up-tempo beat. The single version of "Radar Love" reached #13 in the US...
   
   " (Golden Earring
   Golden Earring
   Golden Earring are a Dutch rock band, founded in 1961 in The Hague as the Golden Earrings . They had international chart success with the songs "Radar Love" in 1973, "Twilight Zone" in 1982, and "When the Lady Smiles" in 1984. In their home country, they had over 40 hits and made over 30 gold and...
   
    cover)
6. "Burn
   Burn (Deep Purple song)
   "Burn" is a song by British rock band Deep Purple. It was released on the album of the same name in 1974, and was the first song by the Mark III lineup.The song remained the band's concert opener for the next two years, taking over from "Highway Star". It opened Deep Purple's set on the California...
   
   " (Deep Purple
   Deep Purple
   Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
   
    cover)
7. "Black Night
   Black Night
   "Black Night" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple, first released as a single in June 1970 and later included on the 25th Year Anniversary version of their 1970 album, In Rock. The song became a hit following its release, peaking at #2 on UK charts, and to this day remains Deep Purple's...
   
   " (Deep Purple cover)
8. "You Can't Always Get What You Want
   You Can't Always Get What You Want
   "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by The Rolling Stones released on their 1969 album Let It Bleed. Written primarily by Mick Jagger with assistance from Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in its 2004 list of "500 Greatest Songs of All...
   
   " (The Rolling Stones
   The Rolling Stones
   The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
   
    cover)
9. "Walk on the Wild Side" (Lou Reed
   Lou Reed
   Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
   
    cover)
10. "Vicious" (Lou Reed cover)
11. "All Right Now
    All Right Now
    "All Right Now" is a rock single by the English rock band Free. The song, released in mid-1970, hit #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. "All Right Now" originally appeared on the album Fire And Water, which Free recorded on the Island Records label, formed...
    
    " (Free
    Free (band)
    Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums; lead guitarist Paul Kossoff died from a...
    
     cover)
12. "Communication Breakdown
    Communication Breakdown
    "Communication Breakdown" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin.- Structure :The pounding guitar riff was played by Page through a small, miked Supro amplifier throughout; and ran his Fender Telecaster through a fully closed Vox wah pedal to...
    
    " (Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
    
    cover)
13. "It's in the Charts"
14. "Maggie May/Maggies Farm/Stand Down Margret"

April 4–10, 1985 Roundhouse Demos/Mixes

1. "Dawn Chorus"
2. "Knife Edge"

Disc 2

May 10, 1985: Birmingham Odeon Sound Check

1. "Give Me Love (Strength)"

May 17, 1985 Pluto Studios Recording Sessions

1. "In the Cold Light of Day"

June/July 1985: Main Recording Sessions, Marcus Studios

1. "River Still to Cross"

June 27, 1985 Rough Mixes

1. "Strength"
2. "Spirit of '76"
3. "Deeside"
4. "For Tomorrow (Father to Son)"
5. "Majority"
6. "Absolute Reality"
7. "One Step Closer to Home"
8. "Only the Thunder"
9. "Day the Ravens Left the Tower"
10. "Walk Forever by My Side"

July 15, 1985 Marcus Studios Rough Mixes

1. "Strength"
2. "Spirit of '76"