Mike Peters, Musical Great and Cancer Campaigner - A Tribute

The world lost a great man at the end of April with the passing of Mike Peters, best known as the frontman of Welsh rockers The Alarm but perhaps more importantly a champion of the blood cancer community and co-founder of the Love Hope Strength Foundation - a charity focused on raising funds for, and awareness of, all types of cancer, especially blood cancer and breast cancer.

Mike was always a musical hero of mine - I saw him live many times back in my younger days - but as I became aware of his cancer story he became so much more than just that to me. In every interview I ever saw him give he always seemed positive and thankful for his life, even in the later years when his cancer was worsening.

It was blood cancer, and the complications from it, that eventually led to his death at the age of 66. He was first diagnosed with a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma back in the 1990s, he had to undergo chemotherapy treatment in 2005 when the condition reappeared. In the last couple of years his condition evolved and worsened, passing through stages of chronic lymphoctic leukemia, high grade lymphoma, and eventually to the ultra-aggressive Richter's syndrome. A relatively new treatment, CAR-T cell therapy was tried as a last resort earlier this year but Mike sadly lost his long battle on the 28th April.

Along with his wife Jules and James Chippendale, Mike started the Love Hope Strength Foundation in 2006 to help support families affected by cancer. Since then, LHS has brought together musical artists, medical professionals and volunteers to stage concerts, hikes and other fundraising events around the world which have raised millions of pounds. LHS's 'Get On The List' campaign has added around a quarter of a million people to the blood stem cell register in the UK - several thousand people are thought to be alive today thanks to stem cell donors found through LHS.

Mike founded The Alarm in 1981. They had plenty of success in the 80s with songs like Sixty Eight Guns and Spirit of '76, and supported bands like U2 and Queen on huge stadium tours. He sang with Big Country for a while after Stuart Adamson's death. He was still making music right up to his last few weeks - The Alarm released a brilliant track called Chimera in January this year, written about his latest cancer treatment. It's an awesome and emotional listen.

His legacy is huge. He has a musical back catalogue of anthemic tunes, loved by millions. In the field of campaigners and fundraisers for cancer causes, he is a giant.

He's survived by his wife Jules and their two sons. My thoughts and condolences go out to them. They have made his funeral, on the 29th May in North Wales, a celebration of his life, open to all. Huge crowds are expected there to pay their respects.