• I Think it’s Time We Talked Things Over: An interview with Stiff Little Fingers

    August 22, 2019 - By 

    Inflammable Material, the ferocious debut from Belfast legends Stiff Little Fingers, is now forty years old and stands as one of the great records of the punk era. The Stiffs detailed the frustrations, anger and mind-numbing boredom of Northern Irish life during the Troubles in fearless fashion, helping to define an otherwise dark era for many. This month, the band celebrate its birthday with two Irish dates, a stop in Dublin’s Academy before returning to Belfast’s Custom House Square for the third successive year. I spoke to frontman Jake Burns about that show, his contemporaries, Brexit, and Coronation Street. Hi…

  • Stiff Little Fingers Set For Belfast and Dublin Shows

    March 4, 2019 - By 

    Belfast punk legends Stiff Little Fingers will play two Irish shows in August. The Jake Burns-fronted quartet will play Dublin’s Academy on Friday, August 23 and Belfast’s Custom House Square – alongside New Model Army, Therapy?, The Toy Dolls and a DJ set from Terri Hooley – on Saturday, August 24. Ticket go on sale this Friday at 10am, priced €25 and £27 respectively.

  • Paris and the Spark of SLF

    November 18, 2015 - By 

    Rarely has live music been so important. Rarely has it taken one of the most visited cities on earth, pulled it from the dark shadow that had been cast over it, and ignited a spark. The city was Paris, and the spark was Stiff Little Fingers. The events of Friday the 13th of November will not be soon forgotten. Eight extremists carried out attacks of such barbarity that it nearly brought an entire capital city to its knees. Being in Paris that night was surreal. Due to the randomness of the locations of the attacks, everywhere felt like a possible…

  • Stiff Little Fingers @ The Academy, Dublin

    November 17, 2015 - By 

    The last time I saw Stiff Little Fingers was when previous bassist Bruce Foxton was still amongst their ranks. With him having left the fold in ‘06, to say that tonight’s gig was something I was looking forward to would be an understatement. Entering the venue I was met by the ever familiar opening notes of the band’s ‘Go For It’, an instrumental track they’ve been arriving on stage to for many a year. Without a second’s hesitation the quartet of Jake Burns, Ali McMordie, Ian McCallum and Steve Grantley blast straight into early-era favourites ‘Nobody’s Heroes and At the Edge.  …

  • Sound of Belfast 2015 Programme Announced

    October 1, 2015 - By 

    The programme for this year’s Sound of Belfast has been announced, with the events running from November 6-14 around the city, culminating in the presentation of this year’s Oh Yeah Legend Award to The Divine Comedy at the NI Music Prize event at the Mandela Hall on November 14. The festivities include many exhibitions from local artists & filmmakers, as well as conferences and masterclasses at the Oh Yeah Centre. These include the Belfast Urban Affinity 2015, aimed at hard-to-reach youths, and the Breaking Into Music Youth Conference, featuring the likes of Phil Taggart, who quickly progressed from BBC Radio Ulster to Radio…

  • Stiff Little Fingers @ The Academy

    March 14, 2014 - By 

    Jake Burns must surely hold the record for longest gestation period for a song in modern rock history. Back in 1983 when Stiff Little Fingers broke up, Burns met up with another singer from an Irish band who was in the same situation and they lamented their respective losses over a pint, or many. Burns went home and wrote the lyrics to ‘When We Were Young’, but it took him another thirty-five years to get around to the music. Phil Lynott was the man he shared his commiserations with back in that long-ago boozer, Burns tells the crowd in The…