"Sixty Eight Guns" | ||||
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Single by The Alarm | ||||
from the album Declaration | ||||
B-side | "68 Guns Part II" | |||
Released | August 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, new wave | |||
Length | 3:15 | |||
Label | I.R.S. Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Peters, Eddie MacDonald | |||
Producer(s) | Alan Shacklock | |||
The Alarm singles chronology | ||||
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"Sixty Eight Guns" is a song by Welsh rock band the Alarm that was released as a single in August 1983 and later appeared on the group's debut album Declaration in February 1984. It was written by Alarm members Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald.
The song reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the Alarm's first Top 40 appearance and their highest-ever position on that chart. The song also reached #39 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States, the Alarm's first-ever chart position in that country. Soon after, it "bubbled under" the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at #106, becoming the band's first charting single on the American pop charts.
The song was recorded at Good Earth Studios and mixed at Abbey Road Studios. [1]
The lyrics to "Sixty Eight Guns" were inspired by a book that Peters had read about the 1960s street gangs of Glasgow. [2]
The song's title is written as "Sixty Eight (sic) Guns" and "68 Guns" interchangeably on the various I.R.S. releases. The back cover of Declaration and the front cover of the 7" single show the title as "Sixty Eight Guns" while the labels on the discs themselves show the title as "68 Guns". [3]
All songs written by Mike Peters and Eddie MacDonald.
Chart (1983) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Chart | 17 |
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles | 106 |
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 39 |
The song appeared on several other Alarm releases:
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The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s.
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Michael Leslie Peters is a Welsh musician, best known as the lead singer of The Alarm. After the band split up in 1991, Peters wrote and released solo work, before reconstituting The Alarm in 2000. Additionally, he is co-founder of the Love Hope Strength Foundation. Between 2011 and 2013, Peters was the vocalist for Big Country as well as The Alarm.
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Eye of the Hurricane is the third studio album from The Alarm. It was first released in October 1987 in the US on I.R.S. Records. The album was initially released on vinyl LP and cassette, reaching number 23 in the UK charts and number 77 in the US charts. A CD version was released later the same year and in 2000 an extended re-mastered version was released, including extra tracks.
Change is the fourth studio album by The Alarm. It was released in September 1989 on IRS Records.
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The Poppy Fields were a fictitious teenage group, invented by the Welsh rock band The Alarm. The Poppy Fields scored a hit with the release of "45 RPM" that would become The Alarm's first hit in over a decade. Mike Peters revealed the truth on live radio as Radio 1 was conducting a 2004 broadcast of their then current chart countdown. The story was highlighted by international news outlets with several headlines being published globally.