In 1977 a band called
Stiff Little Fingers formed in
Belfast, Ireland. They put out
five albums and several singles
over the next six years, earning a
loyal following in both the United States
and Europe before they broke up. To the
surprise of their European fans, Stiff Little
Fingers decided to do a reunion tour in
Germany and the U.K. last winter.
Long-time SLF fanatic Lance
Mountain was there to see
a few shows and
meet the band.
Here's his report:
W
hen Jake Burns (vocals),
Ali McMordie (bass), Henry
Cluney (guitar, vocals), and
Brian Faloon (drums) got together to form a
band in 1977, they didn't take themselves too
seriously. "Stiff Little Fingers is the name of
a Vibrators song," relates Jake. "I thought
it was a good band name. We thought people
would think it was funny for four months. We
didn't think it would last. Ten years on, we're
still stuck with it." In March of 1978, they put
out their first single, "Suspect Device,"
backed with "Wasted Life," on their own label
Rigid Digits. The first pressing was only about
500 copies, but with help from DJ John Peel,
who played the single on BBC Radio One,
they eventually sold 20,000 copies.
Rigid Digits collaborated with Rough Trade
(a major label in England) to put out SLF's
next single, "Alternative Ulster They then
went on tour with the Tom Robinson band.
Shortly thereafter, they put out their first
album, Inflammable Material, which went
to number fourteen on the British charts. "If
it wasn't for those two guys (John Peel and
Tom Robinson)," says Ali, "I would still be
lying in the gutter somewhere in Ireland."
Some might consider SF to be a political
band, but they didn't set out to be. In fact,
they were merely following the advice of their
manager/lyricist Gordon Ogilvie, who urged
them to write about life in their home city.
They have said that if you consider day to
day life political, then the band is political
but not party political. It just happens that
SLF's home city is Belfast, the center of the
intense religious and political turmoil that has
plagued Ireland for the past twenty years.
Needless to say, the band has plenty to write
about. In March of 1980, the band had a new
drummer named Jim Reilly and a new Lp.
"Nobody's Heros," which was released on
Chrysalis. This included "Gotta Gettaway."
a song about leaving home for London,
which marked the beginning of songs about
subjects other than life in Belfast.
During the next year, SLF put out Hanx
(live recordings from July, 1980) and Go For
it (April, 1981). The use of a brass section
on Go For It brought a new dimension to their
sound. Gordon has written that he considers
the song "Safe as Houses" from this album
to be the best expression of what Stiff Little
Fingers was about.
The band was inactive for a long period
(almost two years), and Jim Reilly left. The
other band members sat down to discuss
their situation and decided to go on. They
called Dolphin Taylor, who was the drummer
for Tom Robinson when they toured together
in '78. Dolphin was enthusiastic. With
Dolphin they made an Ep featuring "Listen,"
"Sad-eyed People," "That's When Your
Blood Pumps" and "Two Guitars Clash."
Finally, in September, 1982, they made the
album Now Then. Some might think they
changed or sold out, but they claim that the
progression of the music doesn't mean that
Stiff Little Fingers vocalist Jake Burn (left)
punctuates his call with a fist. At right, Lance and
German skater Martin van Doren mug with Jake and
his autographed T-shirt.
the lyrics are any less important. Jake says,
"I think Now Then is the best album that
we ever made."
In 1983 a collection of SLF's singles, called
All The Best, was released. The band went
on a farewell tour and then split up. "It was
getting a little hard to handle, getting to be
the same sort of routine, a bit tedious,"
Dolphin says.
Things weren't going well for the music
business in 1983. People weren't going to
shows or buying records as much as they
had been. It was easy for SLF to think they
were the only band people weren't going to
see. "The social situation (in the U.S.) was
so different than what we were used to in the
early days." explains Ali. "Americans have
missed the point on a lot of things. A lot of
crazy people. They obviously didn't know a
thing about what we were trying to do. Some
shows were great. Americans are ignorant
of Russians and Europeans. It's no fault of
their own. It's the educational system.
Europe has so many different influences, and
(Europeans) are so close to people whose
lifestyles are very different. Europeans tend
to have a better understanding. I was
shocked to hear 40% of Americans didn't
realize Russia fought on their side in World
War II. They thought Russians have always
been the enemy. What's the enemy? It's
yourself when you think about it. Britain's
going the same way. It's trying to put every-
thing in terms of good and bad, no grey areas
in between. What everyone should realize is
that everyone is in that grey area. Means I
probably never get back in America."
They all played in other bands after they
split. Henry was in a band called Dark Lady,
which, he says, "didn't go anywhere."
Dolphin played with German Superstar and
Spear of Destiny for two years, Jake formed
another band called Jake Burns and the Big
Wheel, who released three singles. Ali was
in his own band, Friction Groove. "Basically,"
he says, "anything that we have been
involved in since SLF split up has been fairly
different. We were finding out what we could
and couldn't do with the music business. But
what SLF was about had nothing to do with
the music business, which is a disgusting
industry. It's taken us five years to find this
out. And it's taken us five years to realize and
remember what was good about what we had
and hopefully still have. Personally, I would
like to remember the motivation that first
made me get up on stage and play. It wasn't
musical talent, it was something else. I'm not
sure what."
I spoke to SLF after their first show.
together again in Germany on December 6,
1987. "We haven't played together for five
years," says Henry. "Frankfurt was good to
start with." When asked if he felt the band's
performance was good, Jake replied, "Well,
not beyond our wildest dreams. We always
thought it would do okay." For the crowd,
which was made up mostly of followers from
the old days, SLF was beyond their wildest
dreams. The crowd could not help singing
along throughout an array of songs from all
the albums. The band could not believe how
enthusiastic the crowd was. One could tell
by the looks they gave each other that they
were having a good time.
"It's not how accurate you play the music,
it's the vibe you have in it that makes it.
distinctly it's own," Dolphin stated.
"It's funny how many under eighteen-year-
olds came to see the band this time because
there's no way they could know anything that
we were about," commented Ali. The band
played five shows in Germany and eight in
Great Britain.
"The audience reaction was 10 out of 10.
The audience likes it. We're playing the way
we used to, a bit free and easy. That's the
way people want it. We'll do it for this tour,
but if it gets into doing something else, we'll
kick it into real shape," Jake said.
"We'll sit down after the tour and see if
we've got any new material in us," Dolphin
added. "If we're going to do it serious again,
we're going to have to do a record. That
means looking for a new contract, all that
step by step stuff. I can't say. We've only been
back together for three weeks. We've got to
find out if we can still do it."
When asked about the possibility of
playing in America, Ali replied, "If we do, it
will have to be soon, January or February.
A couple of gigs on the East Coast. You got
to remember we're working now as a
complete garage band." Jake added. "We
haven't got a record deal. We're playing
totally off our own backs. Whatever we make
on our gigs pays for hotels and fares and it's
expensive to go from New York to L.A. If we
can get the money together to do it, then we'll
do it. We were always much bigger in L.A."
Their fans are hoping SLF will continue
touring and recording. For the readers
unfamiliar with Stiff Little Fingers, I suggest
you buy their albums. If you're a collector of
music, you should definitely get this band if
you haven't already. I recommend the All The
Best album as a first purchase so that you
can hear the history and variety of the SLF
sound. But leave yourself enough money to
go back and buy them all. They haven't
recorded a weak song yet.