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.
Bits of Kids
Stiff Little Fingers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here in my town
We didn't get things all our way.
Till we were full-grown
Now they go into pubs.
And you're gonna get mugged
In my town
So you read about it every day
How they take and take and drive away.
Sex and late nights
And it's gotta be wrong.
Because they're so young
They're only bits of kids.
They're only bits of kids
It's always bits of kids today
She makes the breakfast, one of eight
All in one room
Each uncle's call keeps them up late.
Yes, in this town
And he won't go home 'cause he'll just be alone till night time
They're only bits of kids.
They're only bits of kids
It's always bits of kids today
Broken cities, 'n' broken homes.
Bits of kids who don't grow whole
Broken cities, 'n' broken hearts.
Bits of people who fall apart
And it seems there's nothing anyway
Not here in this town
Everything is only yesterday.
And on the way down
And we're gonna be wrong.
So we gotta be strong
In our town
We're bits of kids.
We're only bits of kids
It's only bits of kids today
Bits of kids.
We're always
Here in my town
The song "Bits of Kids" by Stiff Little Fingers focuses on the issues faced by young people in a town where broken homes, broken cities, and broken hearts are all that exist. The singer of the song looks back and contrasts their own upbringing with that of the kids in the town today. They note that when they were growing up, things were not easy and they did not get everything their way until they were full-grown. In contrast, the young people in their town now are in danger of being mugged when they go out to pubs. They are constantly in the news for crimes, particularly those related to sex and late nights, which shows that they are "bits of kids" who should not be doing such things.
The second stanza focuses on the story of a girl who is one of eight in a cramped room who has to make breakfast for everyone. Her uncles keep her up late at night, so she is always tired the next day. Later on in the song, the singer notes that there seems to be nothing left in the town except for memories of yesterday, and everything is on the way down. Despite this desolate atmosphere, the singer realizes that they have to be strong for their town and for young people who are only "bits of kids".
Overall, the song is powerfully nostalgic, political, and socially critical. The themes of disillusionment, marginalization, and hopelessness are explored, and the issue of youth criminality is particularly emphasized. The song's lyrics imply that there is a larger systemic issue at play in society that is causing the young people in the town to become disillusioned and turn to criminal activity.
Line by Line Meaning
It was nothing like that in my day
Things were different in the past compared to how they are now.
Here in my town
The following lines are describing the singer's hometown.
We didn't get things all our way.
They didn't have everything they wanted when they were young.
Till we were full-grown
They didn't get what they wanted till they were fully grown adults.
Now they go into pubs.
Kids nowadays go to pubs.
And you're gonna get mugged
There is a risk of being robbed in their town.
So you read about it every day
The newspapers constantly report on the crime in their town.
In the headlines
The crime is featured prominently in the newspapers.
How they take and take and drive away.
Criminals take things and get away with it.
Sex and late nights
Young people are engaging in sex and staying out late at night.
And it's gotta be wrong.
The singer believes that this behavior is wrong.
Because they're so young
The artist thinks that the young people shouldn't be behaving like this because of their age.
They're only bits of kids.
The young people running around causing trouble are only children in the singer's eyes.
It's always bits of kids today
This behavior by young people has been ongoing for a while now.
She makes the breakfast, one of eight
Someone is making breakfast for eight people crammed into the same room.
All in one room
The eight people are sharing the same room.
Each uncle's call keeps them up late.
The uncles are calling and keeping the people in the room up late at night.
Yes, in this town
All of this is happening in the singer's hometown.
And he won't go home 'cause he'll just be alone till night time
Someone doesn't want to go home because they'll be by themselves until nighttime.
Broken cities, 'n' broken homes.
The cities and homes are damaged and in disrepair.
Bits of kids who don't grow whole
The young people not growing up properly due to the environment around them.
Broken cities, 'n' broken hearts.
The cities and hearts are damaged and in disarray.
Bits of people who fall apart
People are falling apart due to the conditions around them.
And it seems there's nothing anyway
There doesn't seem to be anything they can do about the situation.
Not here in this town
They don't believe there's hope for their town specifically.
Everything is only yesterday.
Things don't seem to progress or improve in the town.
And on the way down
Things are getting worse instead of better.
And we're gonna be wrong.
The artist believes that their actions or behaviors are going to be considered wrong by some people.
So we gotta be strong
They need to be strong and keep going despite the difficult circumstances.
We're bits of kids.
The singer and their peers are also bits of kids in the grand scheme of things.
We're only bits of kids
Reiterates that they're still young and inexperienced.
It's only bits of kids today
This behavior by young people will probably continue for a while.
Bits of kids.
Reiterates once again that they're still just kids.
We're always
The tough circumstances never seem to go away or improve.
Here in my town
All of this is happening in the singer's hometown.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAKE BURNS, GORDON OGILVIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind