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.
Silver Lining
Stiff Little Fingers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say they're terribly sorry
But that's the way it has to be
For the likes of me
Just be good and know your station
Always look on the bright side
Keep your faith and keep your patience
Your reward is after you've died
So don't be told
Don't be consoled
Things are so bad
You can never make do
And there's always someone better off than you
They tell you that's your future
It's all down to human nature
Simply settle for what you got
That's destiny and that's your lot
All of us cannot come first
Yes, what you have is second-best
But it might be a good deal worse
Third world peasants get even less
So don't be told
Don't be consoled
Things are so bad
You can never make do
And there's always someone better off than you
Do you care that it's not fair?
Is this the way we have to live?
I know I care
And I want an equal share
Even if it means I have to give
The people who are on top
Say that you should keep your chin up
And they are keen to show you
The unhappy ones below you
But I want no more of that stuff
That's looking at it upside down
And the world has got money enough
For us to make it go around
Don't be told
Don't be consoled
Don't be ruled
Don't be fooled
Because things are so bad you can never make do
And there's always someone better off than you
The lyrics of Stiff Little Fingers' "Silver Lining" are about societal inequality and the way in which the people in power try to justify it to those who are less fortunate. Through the use of sarcasm and irony, the song deconstructs common justifications for the status quo. At the beginning of the song, the singer dismisses the platitudes that he hears from those in power, insisting that things are as bad as they seem and cannot be made better merely by keeping a positive attitude. Throughout the song, he juxtaposes the promises that are made to those at the bottom of the social ladder with their lived experiences, demonstrating that there is often a significant gap between what people are told and what is actually true.
This song is a reflection of the social and political climate of Northern Ireland in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time of great upheaval and violence. Stiff Little Fingers was one of the most politically-oriented punk bands of this era, and "Silver Lining" is representative of their commitment to advancing an alternative perspective on society.
Line by Line Meaning
They tell you not to worry
People tell you not to worry about the unfairness of life
They say they're terribly sorry
Those people acknowledge that things are difficult
But that's the way it has to be
Life is tough, and that's just the way it is
For the likes of me
The difficulties of life apply especially to people like me
Just be good and know your station
You should accept your lot in life and behave yourself
Always look on the bright side
Try to find something positive, even in difficult situations
Keep your faith and keep your patience
Believe in yourself and wait for good things to happen
Your reward is after you've died
You will be rewarded in the afterlife for your patience and faith
So don't be told
Don't let others dictate your life
Don't be consoled
Don't let others make you feel better about a bad situation
Things are so bad
The situation is very difficult
You can never make do
You can't just accept that things are bad, you need to take action
And there's always someone better off than you
There will always be people who have it better than you
They tell you that's your future
People say that your future is already set
It's all down to human nature
The unfairness of life is just a result of how people are
Simply settle for what you got
Just accept what you have
That's destiny and that's your lot
Your fate is predetermined and you have to accept it
All of us cannot come first
Only some people can be on top
Yes, what you have is second-best
What you have is not the best situation
But it might be a good deal worse
Your situation could be much worse
Third world peasants get even less
People in poorer parts of the world have even more difficult lives
Do you care that it's not fair?
Do you think that the unfairness of life is a problem?
Is this the way we have to live?
Is it really necessary for life to be so unfair?
I know I care
The singer cares about this issue
And I want an equal share
The singer wants everyone to have an equal chance at a good life
Even if it means I have to give
The singer is willing to make sacrifices to achieve a fairer world
The people who are on top
Those who have the most power and privilege
Say that you should keep your chin up
Those people advise you to stay positive
And they are keen to show you
They want to prove that their view of the world is correct
The unhappy ones below you
They want to show you people who are worse off than you
But I want no more of that stuff
The singer doesn't want to accept this view of the world anymore
That's looking at it upside down
That view of the world is wrong
And the world has got money enough
The world has enough resources to provide for everyone
For us to make it go around
If we share those resources fairly, everyone can have a good life
Don't be ruled
Don't let others control your life
Don't be fooled
Don't believe false promises or misinformation
Because things are so bad you can never make do
Because the situation is so difficult, you can't just accept it; you need to make changes
And there's always someone better off than you
No matter how good your situation is, there are always people who have it better
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JAKE BURNS, GORDON ARCHER OGILVIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind