Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STILL GOING STRONG
The youngest fan is 14 and she’s got her hair bleached and spiked for the occasion. The most senior guy is of pensionable age, his Dr. Marten boots are well-seasoned and he still carries an air of menace. Yet when the punk music starts they all smile and shout out the words. Welcome to Barrowland, Glasgow, one of the great rock and roll venues. And greetings to Stiff Little Fingers from Belfast, roaring into their 40th year with gusto.
Back in 1977, the band ditched the name Highway Star and decommissioned their Deep Purple cover versions. They became a born-again punk combo, taking a sense of rage from the Sex Pistols and their name from a Vibrators song. Also, they heard The Clash and realised the power of singing about the stresses and frustrations of your own space.
And so SLF wrote about life in a divided city, about the sectarianism that had caused thousands to die. Jake Burns sang himself hoarse and the music had a passionate clang.
Their first album, ‘Inflammable
Material’ was a fierce bit of work.
Down in Dublin, an early version of U2 were talking notes. Then in
2008 Bono and his mates met with Green Day at the Abbey Road studios. They marked the occasion by jamming some SLF tunes. The Americans were already on it. The music will always inspire.
The Barrowland gig sold out months ago. Glasgow has always held a torch for SLF and the band put together a live album here last year, sure that the crowd would play a rowdy part in the recordings. The long-term supporters have the fading tattoos and decades of merchandise – T-shirts, Harrington jackets, vintage badges and patches. There’s a London away firm, singing West Ham songs, while some Belfast punters
look especially proud. Thoughtful, epic, beautiful - just like the entirety of that wonderful debut album, ‘The Longest Day in History’. It’s a mighty show. Jake Burns still has the roughness at the back of his throat and his guitar playing has not lost its squalling effect. The older songs carry a mixture of nostalgia and pain. Was it really so ugly and lamentable back then? Why did we allow the politicians, the paramilitaries and agents of the State to keep us in that brutal situation?
Punk was the great voice of dissent and tonight those songs let us remember how a different conversation began. ‘Alternative Ulster’ is saved for the encore and it’s the best national anthem, an invitation to grab it and change it - to alter your native land. ‘Suspect Device’, their first single is another righteous yell and ‘Wasted Life’ is the timeless call to deny the murder gangs and self-styled freedom fighters.
It’s a history lesson of sorts, even if our lives are still conditioned by random violence and dirty politics. So when you see the punk parents at the gig with their spike-headed children, you feel glad that lessons are being handed down the generations, that punk attitudes are still part of our survival kit.
Stiff Little Fingers have had quiet career patches, but the era of social media and crowd-funding The Derry teens are one of many awesome new punk acts who may not exist if it wasn’t for SLF. has been good for them. International networks are out there now, financing new releases and inviting the band to fresh territories. Jake and original bass player Ali Mcmordie have returned the love and their ruby anniversary tour is packing the venues and raising the acclaim.
It’s a lovely thing to witness, while more recent songs show that Jake has relevant ideas. ‘My Dark Places’ is a touching story of adult depression. ‘When We Were Young’ remembers a messy night out with Phil Lynott declares to keep his self-belief.
An SLF show is not complete without their version of the Bob Marley song ‘Johnny Was’. It appeared on the debut album and it took the story of grieving mother in Jamaica and transplanted the scene to Northern Ireland. The son has been killed by a stray bullet and the pain is unending. SLF play it in Glasgow and it the most intense moment. “A shot rings out in the Belfast sky,” Jake wails, a disgusted remembrance of the old days. And when he sings this at Custom House Square on August 26, you will be utterly choked. The more I look at the World
Cup Qualifying European
Region Group C, the more I get carried away. I do the maths in my head, predicting results for
Northern Ireland - startingg with a win on Sunday againstt
Norway - and conclude they’re a cert to finish second, below the Germans. I sometimes think I’m being really naive - but then remember the IFA’S tagline, ‘Dare to Dream’ and continue to think big. Second place would almost certainly get them a playoff and should qualification halt now - that playoff would be against one from of Ukraine, Serbia, Greece, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Montenegro or Slovenia. More than half those teams Northern Ireland are well capable of beating. I’m booking my flights to Russia….. A weird, short little gem, primarily recorded on an iphone, in a hotel room. Divine Comedy are on the bill for Electric Picnic.