Stiff Little Fingers have always been my favourite punk band, I will still play Inflammable Material and Nobody's Heroes on a regular basis. I still find the rawness of the first album quite exhilarating and tracks such as Barbed Wire Love and Wasted Life still sound alive and relevant these days to me in a way that other albums of that era sound dated now with the exception of The Clash.
It is not an exaggeration to state that if it wasn't for Peel, Stiff Little Fingers would probably never have been heard of outside of Belfast. When he received a copy of their first single Suspect Device, he played it continually on his show, leading to Geoff Travis of Rough Trade taking notice and offering the band a distribution deal. The band could not believe the support they were getting from Peel and on their next single Alternative Ulster acknowledged the debt they owed to the man by having printed on the back cover "For John Peel Who Made It Possible".
The band recorded 5 sessions for the show. The track posted is taken from the second and I think the best of those sessions.
Session recorded 12th September 1978 and aired on 18th September 1978.
Tracklisting: Johnny Was, Law and Order, Barbed Wire Love and Suspect Device.
SLF - Suspect Device
4 comments:
I've gone by the online moniker 'Johnnywas' for years. Commenting on blogs was the first time I used my real name. Otherwise you lot woud know me as Johnny. One of my favourite songs ever.
Peel's brand of self deprecation knew no bounds and that tee shirt was priceless. I'm surprised the current coalition aren't all wearing one.
Cracking series
Thanks Ctel, will be interested to see what you think of the top 2.
John, after listening to that git Osbourne just now, he should have the word seared onto his forehead.
Si - I nearly posted the session version of Johnny Was
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