Stiff Little Fingers

Stiff Little Fingers are fiercely independent Irish punk trailblazers. Cofounded in 1977 by vocalist/guitarist Jake Burns and bassist Ali McMordie, the Belfast group grew out of a covers band called Highway Star and took their name from a song by The Vibrators. Their legendary 1978 debut single, “Suspect Device,” drew on a love of The Clash and the band’s experience living through The Troubles, a period of immense political and cultural strife in Northern Ireland. They followed this up with another rabble-rousing single, “Alternative Ulster,” and an equally incendiary 1979 debut LP, Inflammable Material. Stiff Little Fingers kept tackling serious subject matter on subsequent albums but broke up in 1982. After a five-year break, the band reunited and resumed their career, albeit with a shuffled lineup; most notably, The Jam’s bassist, Bruce Foxton, began a 15-year stint in the band in 1991, and onetime The Alarm drummer Steve Grantley joined the group in the late ’90s. However, original members Burns and McMordie have continued waving the punk flag for Stiff Little Fingers in the 21st century, including on 2014’s commercial comeback No Going Back.