The Alarm frontman Mike Peters dies from blood cancer aged 66
He was diagnosed with leukaemia 30 years ago.
The frontman of Welsh rock band The Alarm, Mike Peters, has died aged 66.
A spokesperson for his charity, Love Strength Hope Foundation (LHS), confirmed he died from blood cancer three decades after his first diagnosis.
He told fans he was in remission after taking part in a clinical trial in September last year.
However, in October his Richter syndrome – an aggressive form of lymphoma – returned and he started treatment once again.
He planned to undergo Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy (CART).
Discussing the treatment, he said in January: ‘My white lymphocytes were harvested in December. Those were then sent to a laboratory where each blood cell was re-engineered by scientists and then targeted to seek and destroy the Richter’s syndrome.’
The late musician had cancer for several years (Picture: Getty)This would then be followed by 40 days of isolation while his immune system restored itself.
Peters’ cancer returned in an aggressive form just before he was set to embark on a 50-date tour and he spoke about his devastation at the time.
Per the BBC, he explained: ‘It was devastating because it all happened in an instant. There was no chance to even think about it.”
‘Untreated I probably had two months to live and to then have to think about stopping the tour, communicating all that to the fans, trying to hold the family together while we are dealing with this devastation, it was intense,’ he shared.
The Alarm formed in the 80s and had a successful stint (Picture: Getty)In a message on the LHS website, founded in 2006, the charity’s co-founder and wife, Jules, wrote about the mission.
She said: ‘We wanted to help spread love, hope and strength because that’s what had got us through our own experiences of dealing with a cancer diagnosis. We were ambitious and were determined to actually save lives.
‘We agreed we’d harness the support of family and friends, fans and fantastic people within both the music industry and the medical world. And we’d achieve our mission one concert at a time.’
In 2007, LHS hosted the world’s highest concert on land at 18,536 feet on Mount Everest, witnessed by over 3 million people over the internet.
As a result of these efforts the charity has registered more than 250,000 people onto blood stem cell registries
The music artist was awarded an MBE in 2019 for services to cancer care.
The band was set to go on a tour before an aggressive form of his cancer returned (Picture: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival) Peters shared two sons with his wife of four-decades, Jules (Picture: Desiree Navarro/WireImage)Jules has also opened up about her diagnosis with breast cancer. In 2017, the pair shared a documentary about their experiences with the disease, Mike and Jules: While We Still Have Time.
Jules and Peters were married for 39 years and he is survived by their two sons, Dylan, 20, and Evan, 18.
The lead singer was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1995 and then was later diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
The Alarm – currently also comprised of James Stevenson, Jules Jones Peters, Steve “Smiley” Barnard – was formed in Rhyl, Denbighshire in 1981 and went on to sell more than five million albums and had several top 50 UK singles.
This included top 20 hit Sixty Eight Guns from 1983 with their fame rising both in the UK and across the US.
After quitting the band in 1991, he reformed The Alarm in 2000.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
