His band the Alarm, was formed in 1981 in Rhyl, Denbighshire, out of the punk era and had a top 20 hit, Sixty Eight Guns, two years later. It typified an anthemic style of song but their unpretentious and down-to-earth approach earned loyal followings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Peters lived with blood cancer for 30 years, following his diagnosis of lymphoma in 1995, and later having chronic lymphocytic leukaemia twice.
Born in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, and lived in Dyserth with his wife of 39 years, Jules - who had fought her own cancer battle - and their sons Dylan, 20 and Evan, 18. He was awarded the MBE in 2019 for his services to cancer care.
Peters - who had worked in the computer department for Kwik Save supermarket - had started the band The Toilets in Rhyl in 1977, after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Chester. After various changes of line-up, notably the introduction of guitarist Dave Sharp, and changes of name, The Alarm played their first gig in Prestatyn in 1981.
They would go on to sell an estimated five million records and also become the first Welsh musicians since Tom Jones and Bonnie Tyler to crack the US, thanks to a support slot with U2 on their 1983 US tour, The Alarm gained a transatlantic following - not an inconsiderable achievement.
Their debut album Declaration was released in 1984. As well as Sixty Eight Guns, it also included another favourite, Blaze of Glory. The band had honed their live performances by extensive touring, and were also reliable "go-to" support choice for big names - which included Bob Dylan, Queen and U2 again - including an appreciative crowd at Cardiff's National Stadium in 1987.
Despite their travels, The Alarm still had strong bonds with their homeland and Peters was able to live quietly in north Wales. The band also released a Welsh-language version of their 1989 album Change, called Newid.
Peters announced from the stage in London that he was quitting The Alarm in 1991 but continued to work with The Poets Of Justice, the line-up including his wife Jules. He reformed The Alarm in 2000 and also worked as the singer for Big Country for a couple of years from 2011. The Alarm has sold more than five million albums and had 16 UK Top 50 singles.
In 2004, as a humorous stunt aimed at the music industry and its obsession with youth, Peters released a single called 45 RPM - a retro-punk song - under the pseudonym of The Poppy Fields. He pretended his group were teenagers from Chester, who mimed along to the video for the song. It entered the top 30. The storyline was perfect to be translated into a film, Vinyl - directed by Sara Sugarman, incidentally from Rhyl, and an Alarm fan.
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.
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."
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