THE likes of Fleet, Selby and Tring aren’t usual stops on your average rock tour but then Mike Peters isn’t your usual rock star.

Best known as the lead singer of Welsh post-punk band The Alarm, Mike’s relentless schedule sees him arrive in Darwen this week for the latest show on his Hurricane Of Change Tour, which sees the 60-year-old honour The Alarm’s late 1980s trilogy of album’s Eye Of The Hurricane, Electric Folklore and Change.

“It was an important time historically and the parallels between than and now are obvious,” said Mike remembering the period. “The Berlin Wall was coming down and we were on the way to devolved government in Scotland and Wales and now we seem to be tearing ourselves apart.

“It feels like change is sweeping through Britain, Europe and America. We’ve just got back from America and people are confused and I don’t hear any younger voices calling for change with their music so I felt it was the right time to come out with the acoustic guitar and sing about the hurricane of change because that’s what we’re all experiencing.

“If we were a young band coming out now and I was 18 singing these songs, it would be the equivalent of Bob Dylan coming out with a guitar and singing The Times They Are A Changing, which is why I am so excited. I think there’s something pretty powerful about singing an Alarm song stripped to its core and this will be a tour when the power of those lyrics will come across and the songs will sound like new songs.”

The Hurricane of Change tour will be performed solo with a first set dedicated to Eye Of The Hurricane followed by a second performance of songs from the Change album then a third set featuring music from The Alarm’s classic live recording Electric Folklore.

“I have always seen these three albums as an Alarm trilogy”, said Mike. “A lot happened to the band and the world, during the writing and recording sessions from 1987-1990. As one decade bled into another, the themes of response and resolve to contend with uncertain times are running through the core of each and every album.

“Played together these songs tell their own story, and with the tumultuous times Europe and the world can expect to face in the coming months and years, are still as relevant today as when they were first written.

“I’m not sure if you can change anything with a song but you can create a ripple effect. I have never seen The Alarm as a political band, but I do think we were trying to empower people and say ‘whatever your personal belief is don’t be afraid to say it’ and ‘live the life you want to live’. We’re all going to have to dig deep to come through Brexit intact and as a unified nation so if I can play some songs that give some people strength to cope with the changes than that’s what I’ll do.”

Mike will be performing in many British towns that have never featured on previous tour itineraries, something he believes he is important.

“The Alarm have always had a tremendous rapport with people from all over Britain, and this time I’ll be making the journey to some of those places whose people normally have to travel to hear our music,” he said. “Along the way I’m looking forward to playing in all kinds of auditoriums from theatres to churches, arts centres to music studios. I can’t wait.”

On a personal level, Mike remembers the late 80s as a difficult time for the band as they struggled internally.

“It represented quite a challenge,” he said. “We weren’t strong enough as a band to survive into the 1990s. In the US it was all Nirvana and Pearl Jam and we got swept away for a decade so it was really hard. We were fighting for our existence every step of the way and we had to rediscover ourselves again. Thankfully we’re more equipped now for whatever 2020 holds.”

Mike Peters, Darwen Library Theatre, Saturday, November 9. Details from 0844 847 1664 or www.darwenlibrarytheatre.com