Recorded demos for next album

In November 1984, the Alarm recorded demos of nine new songs, including “Absolute Reality”. They played their new material to the American producer Jimmy Iovine , who agreed to come to the UK in January 1985 to begin work on the follow-up to Declaration . During this period, Peters appeared solo at a number of events, including the Greenbelt Festival in Northamptonshire, playing Alarm material as well as some unrecorded personal songs. Studio sessions were booked for early 1985, and a UK headline tour was booked for May 1985 to coincide with the release of the new album. However, Iovine never came to the UK to work with the Alarm, eventually citing personal reasons. The band had to cancel the sessions and look for another producer. Alan Shacklock was unavailable, so Ian Wilson (the band’s manager) convinced I.R.S. to release the Shacklock-produced “Absolute Reality” as a single to promote the UK dates in May. “Absolute Reality” was released on 18 February 1985, entering the top 40 of the UK Singles Chart a week later. After a series of appearances at European festivals and a new producer (Mike Howlett), the Alarm began work on their follow-up album Strength . The band teamed with MTV, I.R.S. Records, and UCLA ‘s Campus Events to present one of the early live satellite broadcasts from UCLA on 12 April 1986. They played at Queen ‘s Live at Wembley ’86 concert on 12 July 1986.