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.
Rough Trade
Stiff Little Fingers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Record boss said we would be a smash
Yeah, go straight to Number One
He talked of hits and tours and lots of cash
And all the time it wasn't on
And I believed every word he said
And I swallowed every line
Yeah, I believed every word was true
We were betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by rough trade lies
Betrayed by lies
We quit our jobs and got all set to fly
Your promises had us riding high
And it's a dirty, rough, tough trade we find
Yeah, we agreed, but they hadn't signed
"Sorry, son, gonna have to throw you
Our lawyers say we don't even know you
Music is money, kids are no-account fools
You trade in us, we get betrayed by you
We were betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by rough trade lies
Betrayed by lies
And you're sitting there in your London office, smug and warm
And you think that you've won
But just remember this is just round one
We're gonna do it our way
We're gonna make it on our own
'Cause we've found people to trust
People who put music first
Won't betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by lies no more
No lies no more
Why can't you tell us the truth?
Why can't you tell us the truth? (why did you lie to us?)
Why can't you tell us the truth? (why did you lie to us?)
Why did you lie to us?
Why did you lie to us?
Why did you lie to us?
Why did you lie to us?
Why did you tell us your lies?
The song "Rough Trade" by Stiff Little Fingers is about the music industry, specifically about the record labels and how they manipulate and deceive young and naive musicians. The lyrics are about a record boss who promises the band that they will become successful and make lots of money, but it turns out to be a lie. The band quits their jobs and puts all their effort into their music, only to be betrayed by the label's lies.
The chorus "We were betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by rough trade lies, betrayed by lies" emphasizes the feeling of disappointment and disillusionment the band experiences after realizing they've been deceived. They thought they had found a reliable partner in the music industry but it turned out to be a "dirty, rough, tough trade."
The song ends with the band claiming that they will no longer be betrayed and they will make it on their own. They have found people they can trust, and they will put music first.
Overall, "Rough Trade" is a cautionary tale about the music industry and how young musicians can be easily manipulated and taken advantage of. It highlights the importance of being aware and informed when it comes to signing with a record label.
Line by Line Meaning
Record boss said we would be a smash
The record company promised that the band would be a huge success
Yeah, go straight to Number One
The record company promised that the band's first single would immediately top the charts
He talked of hits and tours and lots of cash
The record company promised that the band would have many hit songs, tour widely and make a lot of money
And all the time it wasn't on
The record company was lying - they had no intention of fulfilling their promises
And I believed every word he said
The band trusted the record company completely and believed everything they were told
And I swallowed every line
The band accepted all of the record company's promises without question
Yeah, I believed every word was true
The band was completely convinced that the record company would deliver on their promises
And I didn't find out in time
The band only discovered the truth after it was too late to do anything about it
We were betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by rough trade lies
The band feels that they were completely deceived and betrayed by the record company's dishonesty
Betrayed by lies
The band sees the record company's lies as a form of betrayal
We quit our jobs and got all set to fly
The band quit their day jobs and were ready to embark on a career in music
Your promises had us riding high
The record company's promises made the band feel very optimistic and hopeful about their future success
And it's a dirty, rough, tough trade we find
The music industry can be a difficult and unfair business
Yeah, we agreed, but they hadn't signed
The band agreed to various terms with the record company, but these agreements were not put into writing
"Sorry, son, gonna have to throw you
The record company ended up breaking their promises to the band, which was a huge disappointment
Our lawyers say we don't even know you
The record company claimed that they had no formal agreement with the band, and therefore had no obligation to help them
Music is money, kids are no-account fools
The record company is primarily interested in making money, and sees the musicians as expendable assets
You trade in us, we get betrayed by you
The band feels that they were taken advantage of and betrayed by the record company
And you're sitting there in your London office, smug and warm
The record company executives are comfortably ensconced in their office, while the band struggles to make ends meet
And you think that you've won
The record company may feel that they have gotten the better of the band in their dealings so far
But just remember this is just round one
The band is not giving up, and sees their disagreement with the record company as just the beginning of a larger struggle
We're gonna do it our way
The band is determined to make music on their own terms, without being beholden to the record company
We're gonna make it on our own
The band believes that they can find success without relying on the record company
Cause we've found people to trust
The band has found supporters and collaborators who they believe they can rely on
People who put music first
The band's allies are people who value music for its own sake, rather than simply as a means to make money
Won't betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed, betrayed by lies no more
The band is determined not to be deceived or taken advantage of any more
No lies no more
The band wants complete honesty and transparency in their dealings with others going forward
Why can't you tell us the truth?
The band is frustrated by the record company's dishonesty and lack of transparency
Why did you lie to us?
The band is upset and betrayed by the record company's lies
Why did you tell us your lies?
The band is questioning the record company's motivations for lying to them
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JAKE BURNS, GORDON OGILVIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind