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Features

News Release: New Limited Edition Stiff Little Fingers
Video/CD Box Set
Contact: sexton@slf.com

When Stiff Little Fingers released their now legendary first single, "Suspect Device" in 1978, it was financed, produced, and distributed by the band, without the assistance of a record company. SLF pressed 1000 copies on their own Rigid Digits label. Now, 21 years later, SLF has released a live video/CD box set called "Hand Held and Rigidly Digital", and once again they've completely recorded, edited, and packaged it themselves, and only 1000 copies have been produced. This Time it's intended as a thank you to fans, rather than an introduction. The video/CD box set is available for purchase only on the SLF Web site at www.slf.com, and at SLF gigs.

Much of the live material was recorded last December, at a special two-hour performance in London in which they performed many rare and unreleased songs, as well as all the old and new favorites. The video is rounded out with candid interviews, backstage shenanigans, and a live performance on VH1 of several songs from their latest studio album, Hope Street.

Vocalist Jake Burns said, "A lot of the video material here is taken from the "Hope St. Premiere Party" which took place in London just before last Christmas. This was a chance to try and meet some of the people who had kept us in jobs for such a long time and to play some new material for the first time (in some cases the ONLY time) and throw in a few old favourites that we haven't played in donkeys. Other footage comes from points north, south, east and west on the following March tour. It was the best tour I think we have played for years and it's nice to have captured some of it."

JAKE BURNS
STIFF LITTLE FINGERS

It's Monday lunchtime and Jake Burns has not had a particularly good day so far, all to do with moving house and that most dreaded of beasts, the Estate Agent, apparently. We break the ice by discussing the Newcastle V Man. Utd. game scheduled for later that evening. Jake being a Newcastle fan, me being an unbiased neutral. We are on the eve of Stiff Little Fingers customary, nay compulsory, St. Patrix tour 96' where on St. Patrick's Night itseIf S.L.F. traditionally man the barricades and storm the Barrowlands. Ice well and truly broken, we get down to mulling over a few of the ups and downs in the 18 year life of S.L.F

What is it that can keep a band together over sugh a length of time and still retain the interest and the buzz? "It's a long time. We're all friends, that's the main thing. I mean at the start we were like mates at school, bunking off and listening to records and we ended up forming a band. I still enjoy it, I love pIaying live, obviously it's different from when I first started, but I still get that buzz out of it". What would you say the most enduring quality of the band and the music has been in all that time? "I think the main thing is honesty, people know when they come and see us what it is they're going to get. They know we're not going to be up there playing at being rock stars, that's not what we are about One of the things now is that people who were into us originally, they've got kids now who are into Stiff Little Fingers so they come to the gigs as well". Have any of the line up changes over the years affected things much, to the writing process for instance?. "I always basically wrote on my own, maybe Henry would chip in or Gordon would maybe change something, but basically it hasn't changed, I write with Bruce (Foxton) sometimes, it hasn't made a lot of difference though". This must be at least the 3rd or 4th year running that you've come up to do the Barrowland on St. Patrick's night. "It's actually the fifth year running now. Glasgow has always been one of our favourite places to play. There's always been a huge demand for us there, even in the early days We woutti play these shitho1es in France or Germany then somewhere like maybe Edinburgh in front of three or four hundred then the next night we couid play in Glasgow and get fifteen hundred. We started doing London on St. Patrick's Night then we moved it up to Glasgow. It's great fun to do and we always enjoy ourseIves. Basically we'd play anywhere as long as we get paid and get some beer I think sometimes we'd be willing to consider not getting paid if they were to give us enough beers". You realise that Celtic play Rangers on St. Patrick's Day so there's the potential for this years gig to be even wilder than normal. "I know, it's the first time Celtic have had a chance of winning the title in ages Ally McCoist is a mate of ours so he'll maybe come along to say hello I'm definitely not taking any sides on that one though, I'm not getting on that horse ...no way" How do you view your muslcal legacy in terms of SLF's place in Rock And Roll history? "As a very small footnote!. No I mean I don't really know, if you start looking at things like that you can end up taking yourself too seriously. The most important thing would be that we were just honest really". After the initial split in 83', what made you decide to get back together and do it all again? "Do you want the showbiz answer or the truth?". Definitely the truth. "I was skint. It was Christmas and I wanted to go home to see my folks and I literally didn't have the fare and I'd got a call from Ali who I hadn't seen for four years or something. Not because we had fallen out, I'm just one of these people who are not very good at keeping in touch. The Tom Robinson Band had reformed and were doing a tour, so we decided to go along and have a beer for old times sake. Then one beer turned into six beers, Henry was there too, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Something we didn't know was if anyone would still be interested in us. The nice thing about it, apart from the numbers who turned up was the genuine affection that everyone had for the band and the songs". Have you heard SLF tribute band Hanx, what do you think of the idea of having a tribute band? "There's another one calIed 'Nobody's Hero's'. It's very flatterring but at the end of the day if you want to make it in the music business, its probably not the best way to go about it". What do you think to the supposed Sex Pistols reunion, do you think it's a wise move? "It's definitely on apparently I don't have a problem with it, why not?. I know John, not that well, but well enough to have a beer with and he's nobody's fool. He won't do it if he thinks it's going to be a load of old tat. Glen's a decent bloke, he's got a good head on his shoulders. I never managed to see them myself so yeah, I see no problem with it at all, I'll be there". How do you feel about your own early albums and songs like 'Suspect Device' and 'Alternative Ulster'? "Well I thought that we were going to be able to leave those songs out there for people, as history, almost like old folk songs but then the whole thing literally bIows up in your face and unfortunately those songs are still just as relevant". Have you ever got tired of the audiences demands on you continually wanting you to play those songs over and over again? "No not at all, I've never believed that touring and playing live is about promoting your new album, if it was then we wouldnt do it, I've got no problem playing those old songs I think that's our job It's what we do". If you had to name the best song you've ever written what would you say it was? "Oh no I hate that question, it's impossible to answer that one. A lot of the songs mean different things to different people, so they're good for different reasons. I wouldn't say it was 'Alternative Ulster' or anything like that. I've been writing some new stuff that musicaily has lot more of an Irish feel to it". What about other people then, if you had to name the three greatest 'rock n' roll bands in the world from any era, who would they be? "That's another hard one. There's so many really The Clash on their night were pretty untouchable, but then sometimes you saw them on another night and you wished that you hadn't touched them. Probably the Pistols and as a writer maybe Costello". Do you see a time when, as far as the band are concerned anyway, you would consider calling it a day or can we expect to be hearing from you for a while yet? "I think that's up to the fans really, as long as they want us to do it we'll keep doing it. We'll be writing new stuff for the next LP that we should be recording in about October, That's why we decided to do a shorter tour this time so we could find the time to write. We may change the venue for the St. Patrick's night, we'll be around for a while yet". Sounds positive, good because Jake Burns still seems driven, concerned and angry at many of the issues that he first began to write about on albums like 'Inflammable Material' and 'Nobodys Hero's' and after eighteen years Stiff Little Fingers are still capable of writing observed, passionate, social and political pop and as an important dissenting voice long may that continue, apart from anything else Jake Burns prefers Oasis to Blur, Jarvis Cocker to Michael Jackson and has resigned his membernhip to The Labour Party due to the fact that they're not much cop anymore, what more do you need to know?. GRAHAM TILER

Stiff Little Fingers Official Website.