The Alarm frontman Mike Peters dies aged 66

Mike Peters, frontman of the Welsh rock band The Alarm, has died from blood cancer aged 66.

The musician, who was forced to cancel a US tour last year after being diagnosed with fast-growing lymphoma, had been undergoing treatment at the Christie NHS foundation trust in Manchester.

His death was announced by a spokesperson for the charity he co-founded with his wife.

Peters, who supported U2 and Status Quo on tour and played with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, was first diagnosed with the blood cancer chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) more than 30 years ago.

He underwent numerous drug treatments and rounds of chemotherapy, and had tried experimental therapy to treat his cancer.

Last year, five days before he was due to fly to Chicago for a 50-date US tour, Peters noticed that a lump in his neck had appeared overnight. Doctors quickly diagnosed Richter’s syndrome, where CLL changes into a much more aggressive lymphoma.

Mike Peters in 2019, holding up his MBE awarded for voluntary services to cancer care in north Wales and abroad. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA

Peters is survived by his wife, Jules, 58, and two sons, Dylan, 20, and Evan, 18.

The artist rose to prominence in the early 1980s with The Alarm, with hits including 68 Guns and Strength.

Alongside his wife, he co-founded Love Hope Strength, a cancer charity to encourage stem cell donation. Through its Get On the List campaigns, publicised at rock concerts, the charity has added more than 250,000 people to stem cell registers worldwide.

Born in Prestatyn, north Wales, Peters often played in support of causes close to where he lived.

Last year, in an interview with the PA Media news agency, he credited his thousands of fans with giving him a boost, saying his diagnosis with fast-growing lymphoma had prompted an “incredible” response, with “phenomenal support and prayers from the fans from all directions”.

He added: “I think, with my crazy instinct to try and preserve my life as well as my health, I worked out that I was able to play some British shows in the summer. Luckily for me, they were all at the end of the chemotherapy cycles.

“I couldn’t do them with the band and the crew and the tour buses and all that, but I could stand up on the stage on my own with a small back-up team, so I wasn’t being exposed to any viruses or conditions that would impact on my health.”