Formed 2008 by Alarm co-founder and guitarist, Dave Sharp.

The AOR was formed to provide a platform for guitarist, Dave Sharp, to revisit the music of the Alarm which continues to find a resonance almost 20 years since the original line-up released its last album in 1990.

During that time, Sharp has repeatedly turned down offers to perform the music of the Alarm outside of its original line-up which appeared together only once since the band’s Brixton Academy show in 1991.

In 2007, Sharp was invited to take part in a voice-over for the re-release of the Alarm’s Spirit of ’86 concert held at UCLA, California. This provided an opportunity for Sharp and Alarm lead vocalist, Mike Peters, to renew their friendship and to re-evaluate the band’s 10-year career.

During the meeting, Sharp and Peters felt strongly that the music of the Alarm continues to be relevant today, and although the two weren’t able to find a way to regroup and join forces, Sharp felt positive enough to move forward and begin performing the band’s music once again.

He approached long-time friend and drummer, Simon Smith, who had toured with Sharp on most of his solo projects and asked him to bring together a group of musicians able to relate intuitively and perform together instinctively.

Smith introduced Sharp to singer Wayne Parry, Hammond player Tom Szakaly, and bassist Dave Black, all of whom have shared a strong and solid background in British classic rock music, something which Sharp feels will be an important factor in bringing a new vitality to the music of the Alarm.

Dave Sharp has always held a firm belief that the Alarm's music, although created in a post-Punk / Alternative environment, has its roots in British rock and has always held the potential to cross musical boundaries. There’s a Blues-based spirituality at the heart of the music which gives the Alarm a timeless energy.

Sharp says, “I’m looking forward very much to performing with the AOR and playing electric guitar in a way that I haven’t done for a very long time. I hope the AOR can bring the pioneering spirit of the Alarm into focus once again.”

The AOR played its debut show in Glasgow in April, 2008. Both the show and the band were received very positively by Alarm fans and British rock fans alike.