Ananova:

Ageing post-punk band The Alarm have scored a top 30 UK chart hit - with a stunt disguising themselves as an unknown younger group.

Recording under the pseudonym The Poppyfields, they are at number 28 after selling more than 4,000 copies of their 1970s-style punk single 45RPM.

In its accompanying video The Alarm are replaced by teenage Chester rockers The Wayriders who mime along to the song.

Singer Mike Peters, 44, said it was done to prove how much image affected sales.

He added: "We wanted the song to be judged on its merits and stir up the water a little bit. We decided we would do something where it was judged purely on its own musical value."

He said The Alarm, most famous for their 1983 hit 68 Guns, are not always taken seriously by DJs because of their age and an image perceived to be outdated.

"The Alarm as an entity have been going for 20-odd years and history can go against you - we wanted to break the barrier down," reports BBC Online.