In 1982 came a 4-song EP called £1.10 or Less and their fourth studio album, Now Then… (actually their fifth album, as they had released a live LP, Hanx , as their official third album between Nobody’s Heroes and Go for It ). Now Then was the first album for…
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In 1981 the band released their third studio album Go for It which was to be Jim Reilly’s last involvement with the band. Go for It signified the change in Burns’ writing style, with much darker and taboo subjects, such as domestic abuse in the song “Hits and Misses” and…
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To coincide with the release of “Gotta Gettaway”, SLF headlined their first tour with 21 dates across Britain and Ireland. The highlight of the tour was the gig at Belfast’s Ulster Hall on 21 May 1979. For anyone doubting SLF’s popularity in Northern Ireland, this was the first time a…
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In February 1979, SLF released their first album on the Rough Trade label, Inflammable Material . The band had signed a contract with Island Records , but it fell through, leaving the group to release the album on Rough Trade, their existing label. Despite the album’s independent release, it reached…
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In mid-1979, Stiff Little Fingers signed their Rigid Digits label to Chrysalis Records , and in 1980 released their second album, Nobody’s Heroes .
There were a number of well-publicised arguments; The Undertones accused Stiff Little Fingers of sensationalising the Northern Ireland conflict, while they retorted that The Undertones ignored it. Michael Bradley, The Undertones bassist, tells of a confrontation in 1979 between The Undertones’ John O’Neill and SLF’s Jake Burns: “He launched into…
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Their second single, “Alternative Ulster”, was released on Rough Trade in October 1978. It was originally intended to be given away free with the fanzine of the same name. SLF performing “Alternative Ulster” at a gig in Belfast at the end of October 1978 can be seen in Shellshock Rock…
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John Peel arranged for the group to record a session for his Radio One show. The songs broadcast on 13 April 1978 were “Wasted Life”, “Johnny Was”, ” Alternative Ulster” and “State of Emergency”. Another John Peel session was recorded in September – “Law And Order”, “Barbed Wire Love”, “Suspect…
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“Suspect Device” was released in February 1978. A copy of the single was sent to John Peel . He played it repeatedly leading to a distribution deal through Rough Trade Records . The single was released on the band’s own Rigid Digits label, re-released a month later with the support…
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Live footage of SLF performing “Suspect Device” at Belfast’s Pound Club on 17 January 1978 – the first time the group played the song live – appeared as part of an Ulster TV Revue programme ‘It Makes You Want to Spit’ about punk in Belfast. The programme was broadcast on…
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