With the take off of punk music and culture in 70s Britain, where bands like The Sex Pistols, Clash, X-Ray Spex etc. achieved fame, fortune and notoriety, other bands emerged in the UK that unfortunately did not achieve the same levels of fame but were equally talented and wielded a similar sense of anti establishmentarianism, protest and angst in their lyrics, music and live shows. One such band was Stiff Little Fingers, Ireland's answer to their more famous British counterparts.

Fronted by guitarist and songwriter Jake Burns, the band spew youthful anger at both the social and political environment in a restless Ireland evident in two of their most famous songs Alternative Ulster (a callout to the Irish Republican Army holding them accountable for the bloodshed and economic problems) and Suspect Device (protest against the community guardians who "take away our freedom in the name of liberty") in their 1979 debut, ‘Inflammable Material’.

Stiff Little Fingers came from the middle of war-torn Northern Ireland in the middle of the troubles, as sectarian violence between the Irish Catholic nationalists and British loyalists left Northern Ireland a very dangerous place to live.

The band contained both protestants and catholics and their songs attacked both sides, the IRA, British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Their angst coupled with their black humor has one very punk anecdote where they sent out the cassette tape single for Suspect Device to a radio station, they jokingly decorated the cassette to look like a bomb. The radio station was forced to call the band to ask for another copy of the cassette because they had thrown it in a bucket of water to try to defuse it in case it was an actual bomb. Wasted Life another blazing response to both mindless killings and conscription “I won't be no soldier; I won't take no orders from no-one; Stuff their fucking armies; Killing isn't my idea of fun". A poignant cover of Bob Marley's Johnny Was and the dark humor of Barbed Wire Love are other stand out tracks from this highly recommended, in your face, record and a favorite for the author.

The Band

Bass Guitar – Ali McMordie

Drums – Brian Faloon

Lead Guitar, Vocals – Jake Burns

Rhythm Guitar – Henry Cluney

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Juzer Kopti

Juzer Kopti, originally from Bombay and now based in the suburbs of Washington DC, is a music enthusiast who enjoys crate digging for rare records, his taste in music tends towards 60s-70s psychedelia, folk, rock, jazz, fusion and progressive and also enjoys collecting fountain pens, vintage cameras and mechanical watches.