Early years
Prior to becoming Stiff Little Fingers, Jake Burns, vocals and guitar, Henry Cluney, guitar, Gordon Blair, bass, and Brian Faloon, drums, were playing in a rock music cover band, Highway Star, in Belfast. Upon the departure of Gordon Blair (who went on to play with another Belfast group, Rudi), Ali McMordie took over on bass. Cluney had by this time discovered punk, and introduced the rest of the band to it. They decided that Highway Star wasn't a punk enough name, and after a brief flirtation with the name "The Fast", decided to call themselves Stiff Little Fingers, after the Vibrators song of the same name.
It was while they were doing a gig at the Glenmachan Hotel that they met up with Gordon Ogilvie, who was a Marxist journalist with the Daily Express newspaper, invited along for the evening by Colin McClelland, another journalist, with whom Jake had been corresponding.
Ogilvie suggested they play material based upon their experience of the Troubles. McClelland arranged to get the band some recording time at a local radio station, and in the studio normally used to record jingles, they recorded "Suspect Device". The single was packaged in the form of a cassette, with a cover depicting a cassette bomb, apparently causing great hilarity in the group, when one record company phoned them and asked for another copy, as they'd thrown the first one in a bucket of water for fear that it was a real bomb.
A copy of the single was sent to John Peel. He played it repeatedly leading to a distribution deal through Rough Trade. The single was released on the band's own Rigid Digits label and sold over 30,000 copies. Peel would later do the same with the first single by another famous Northern Irish band, The Undertones. There were a number of well-publicised arguments between the two bands; the Undertones accused Stiff Little Fingers of sensationalising the Northern Ireland conflict, while they retorted that The Undertones ignored it.
The lyrics of many Stiff Little Fingers' songs concerning the troubles are extremely critical of the paramilitary organisations and governments involved, showing them to be exploititative of ordinary people (particularly the young) and all as bad as each other. Their second single, "Alternative Ulster", was originally intended to be given away free with the fanzine of the same name.
Inflammable Material
In the second half of 1978, they toured with the Tom Robinson Band, and in 1979, they released their first album, Inflammable Material. The band agreed a contract with Island Records, but it fell through, leaving the band to release the album on their own label. Despite the album's independent release, it reached number 14 in the UK Albums Chart and reached Silver status, selling over 50,000 copies. Inflammable Material was the first album distributed Rough Trade records, and the first independent album to chart in the UK. This inspired their move to London, which led to the departure of Brian Faloon and Colin McClelland (who along with Gordon Ogilvie had been joint manager of the band up until that point).
Jim Reilly became their drummer in time for the "Gotta Gettaway" single, and played in the Rock Against Racism tour.
Nobody's Heroes and Go for It
In mid-1979, Stiff Little Fingers signed their Rigid Digits label to Chrysalis Records, and in 1980 released their second album, Nobody's Heroes. 1981's Go for It followed. Soon after the Go for It tour, Jim Reilly left the band. His place was taken by Brian 'Dolphin' Taylor, who Jake remembered from Taylor's days with the Tom Robinson Band.
Breakup
Now Then...
In 1982 came a 4 song EP called £1.10 or Less and then their fourth studio album, Now Then... (although their fifth album, as they had released a live LP, Hanx, between Nobody's Heroes and Go for It). By this time they had diversified musically, and Now Then had an almost pop feel about it in places. This led some of their more hardcore fans to feel alienated, and in the face of low sales and concert attendances, they broke up in 1983, when Burns said: "Our last LP Now Then was to my mind the best album we have made. But it is also unfortunately the best I think we will ever make. So I have decided to call it a day." The band later revealed the original split had been somewhat acrimonious, with bandmembers apparently having fistfights rather than talking through their differences.
Reformation
They reformed in 1987; according to Burns, because they were "skint and wanted to make a bit of cash to get back to Ireland for Christmas". They released some live albums and did short tours towards the end of the 1980s, and by 1990 were thinking of reforming permanently.
Flags and Emblems
Ali McMordie decided he could not commit the time to tour full-time or record, and so left, being replaced by Bruce Foxton (previously bass guitarist in The Jam) in time to record 1991's Flags and Emblems. In Britain, the single from this album, "Beirut Moon", was withdrawn from sale on the first day of release, allegedly because it criticised the government for not acting to free hostage John McCarthy, who had been held in the Lebanon.
In 1993 Burns made what he described as one of the hardest decisions of his life and asked Henry Cluney to leave the band, and the trio of Jake Burns, Bruce Foxton and Dolphin Taylor continued for the next four years, joined on live shows by either Dave Sharp or Ian McCallum.
Get a Life
In 1994 they released Get a Life in the UK, releasing it in the U.S. in 1996. By the end of 1996 Taylor left due to family commitments. Burns called in Steve Grantley who had played drums for Jake Burns and the Big Wheel in the late 1980s.
Tinderbox - Guitar and Drum
The trio of Burns, Foxton and Grantley recorded 1997's Tinderbox album, with help from Ian McCallum who joined as a full time member for 1999's and best of all...Hope Street . This same line-up recorded 2003's Guitar and Drum.
Lineup change
On 18 January 2006, the following announcement appeared on the SLF Website. Bruce Foxton has announced that he is to leave Stiff Little Fingers with immediate effect. After 15 years of writing, recording and touring with SLF Bruce says it is time to move on and concentrate on other projects. "The situation is amicable" says Foxton. "I have enjoyed my time with Jake, Ian and Steve and will miss them. Naturally I wish them all continued success and hope to catch up with the boys during their spring tour."
Obviously, we as well wish Bruce every success in everything he goes on to do in the future. He has been a fantastic asset to the band and we'll miss him as well.
Jake, Steve, Ian.
On 23 January 2006, it was announced that original bass guitarist Ali McMordie was to rejoin the band for the duration of their upcoming March tour. The tour was a success, with many fans writing into SLF's message board saying how much they enjoyed it, and how fired up the band seemed to be. After much discussion regarding the status of McMordie within the band after the tour, on 21 April 2006, Burns posted the following on the message board.
"For the time being Mr. McMordie is happy to continue as long as his busy schedule allows. It may be that occasionally we have to bring on a "substitute", if he is up to his eyes and we need to do something, but hopefully we can avoid that.
Cheers,
Jake."
New album
On 9 March 2007, Jake Burns announced that Stiff Little Fingers would be recording a new album which would hopefully be completed by the end of 2007. They have previewed a track from the new album, "Liars Club", at live concerts. The track is named after a bar Jake drove past on his way home whilst listening to a press report about Tony Blair, George W. Bush and the Iraq War. As of February 2009, the new album is still unreleased. This is mainly due to the fact that Burns had more or less completed writing, when he decided on a change of direction, and scrapped most of the songs.
Back to Front
Stiff Little Fingers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Awayday herd, all out in the heat
Kicking black looks in sunshine faces
A race to vote with their feet
Back to front
Flock off to find someone to play with
He's not like us he must be done
It hurts so good it must be fun
[Chorus]
And it's "Made in London town
Fists are up to knuckle down
Because we are the boys who've got the noise and clout"
And it's argue upside down
Black and white and wrong way round
Infight, outright, uptight, downright, inside out
Back to front
Fight on the beaches and back home streets
Welcoming in with outclenched hands
Standing on others with your own feet
You've got to prove that you're a man
[Chorus]
I glance over my shoulder
As they head for the past
But I've still got my eyes up ahead
I'm not going back to front
Back to front
Back to front
Back to front, upside down, inside out, wrong way round
Back to front, upside down, inside out, wrong way round
Back to front
The lyrics to "Back to Front" by Stiff Little Fingers highlight the band's frustration with societal conformity and the herd mentality that can sometimes emerge in groups of people. The opening lines set the stage for lyrics to come, painting a picture of summer vacationers returning to their favorite spots - but only because it's cheap and easy. The "herd" is out in the heat, looking for ways to amuse themselves, and sizing each other up with "black looks." There's a sense of judgment and cliquishness to this opening verse - the "awayday herd" may be together, but they're not really acting like a community at all.
The following verse expands on the theme of exclusivity and the fear of the unknown. The vacationers may be looking for fun and games, but they don't want to play with someone who seems different or is perceived as an outsider. There's even the suggestion that causing someone pain might be a form of entertainment ("It hurts so good it must be fun"). It's a bleak view of human nature, and it sets the stage for the chorus that follows.
The chorus of "Back to Front" presents a call-and-response structure. The lead singer repeats a series of phrases ("Made in London town / Fists are up to knuckle down / Because we are the boys who've got the noise and clout") and the rest of the band backs him up with the refrain "back to front." These lyrics focus on the idea of turning things around, trying to shake up established power structures and challenge the status quo. There's a sense of aggression and defiance here, as if the band is calling on listeners to get riled up and take action. It's a rousing anthem, but one that's tempered by an acknowledgement of the difficulties involved in standing up for oneself: "Black and white and wrong way round / Infight, outright, uptight, downright, inside out."
Overall, the lyrics to "Back to Front" are a powerful critique of conformity and the dangers of mob mentality. The band's punk roots shine through in the confrontational tone and the call for action, and the repetition of "back to front" serves as a rallying cry for anyone feeling disillusioned with the status quo.
Line by Line Meaning
On cheap returns to summer places
Going to familiar summer locations without much effort or expense
Awayday herd, all out in the heat
Crowds out in the heat on a short day out
Kicking black looks in sunshine faces
Acting rudely towards strangers
A race to vote with their feet
Quickly leaving if they are not entertained
Back to front
The situation is chaotic
Flock off to find someone to play with
Searching for people to socialize with
He's not like us he must be done
Rejecting people who are different
Buckets and spades to make your day with
Using basic equipment to have fun
It hurts so good it must be fun
Enjoying activities that can be painful in some way
And it's "Made in London town
Boasting about being from London
Fists are up to knuckle down
Ready to fight and work hard
Because we are the boys who've got the noise and clout"
Proud of their reputation and influence
And it's argue upside down
Arguing over small details
Black and white and wrong way round
Having a distorted sense of what is right and wrong
Infight, outright, uptight, downright, inside out
Fighting over everything and being overly strict and tense
Back to front
The situation is still chaotic
Fight on the beaches and back home streets
Fighting can happen at any location
Welcoming in with outclenched hands
Being untrusting and disliking newcomers
Standing on others with your own feet
Being selfish and uncaring towards others
You've got to prove that you're a man
Feeling the need to show masculinity in everything
I glance over my shoulder
Looking back at the past
As they head for the past
Others are nostalgic and yearning for the past
But I've still got my eyes up ahead
Looking forward to the future rather than the past
I'm not going back to front
Not going to fall into the chaos of the past
Back to front
The situation has been chaotic throughout the song
Back to front
The situation has been chaotic throughout the song
Back to front, upside down, inside out, wrong way round
The specific chaotic aspects of the situation
Back to front, upside down, inside out, wrong way round
The specific chaotic aspects of the situation
Back to front
The situation has been chaotic throughout the song
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: JAKE BURNS, GORDON OGILVIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind