Stiff Little Fingers announce UK tour dates & new album
Punk rock legends Stiff Little Fingers are set to tour the UK in March 2014. The tour is a precursor to new a new studio album entitled “No Going Back” – due out in April 2014.
The band have launched a Pledge music campaign for the album which already over 300% over it’s target total.
Stiff Little Fingers were formed in 1977 in Belfast, Ireland. Along with the likes of the Clash, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Buzzcocks, Undertones, Sham 69, Stranglers, et al – Stiff Little Fingers were at the forefront of the punk movement. They wrote initially about their own lives, growing up at the height of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, in songs like “Suspect Device” and “Wasted Life”.
In November of ’77, they released those two songs on their own Rigid Digits label, and sent a copy to BBC Radio One DJ John Peel, who started playing it every night.
These were the first of what became SLF’s signature style: lyrics that meld the personal and political, music that combines the energy of punk with infectious hooks, and delivery that rings of honesty and commitment. In 1979 they became the first band ever to hit the UK top 20 album charts on an independent label with their debut Inflammable Material. The album chronicles the band’s anger and frustration at “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland, and calls on youth to create their own reality. Their live shows continued to be special events of energy and power. The Go For It LP in ’81 revealed more sophisticated song writing and musicianship, and another step in the shift from punk to power pop. The Now Then album of ’82 alienated many of SLF’s punk followers with its pop sound, and despite some glowing critical reviews, never got the recognition it deserved.
The band split in early ’83. During the five years they spent apart, each member pursued musical projects. But none were as satisfying, or as successful, as Stiff Little Fingers.
In ’87, Jake and Ali decided to do a few reunion shows. The audience response to the reunion shows was overwhelming; with sell-out crowds larger than any that SLF had played in their original incarnation. The response to the shows across the world surprised and delighted the band and their following continued to grow, with younger “new” fans alongside the old diehards. In ’94 they released the Get a Life LP. The album helped renew interest in SLF just as newer bands that sited them as a major influence, such as Bad Religion, Sugar, Rancid and Therapy, were coming to prominence. In August 2003, Stiff Little Fingers released their ninth studio album, the critically acclaimed Guitar and Drum on the EMI Label, their most successful album since their reformation, which includes a moving tribute to Joe Strummer, entitled “Strummerville”.
After many studio albums and countless tours, Stiff Little Fingers find themselves more in demand than ever. Using the band’s rich musical foundation as a building block, the time has come to bring the newest chapter of the band’s music to the world. The new songs, penned over the last decade, show a definite musical growth in the band. Album set to be released in April 2014
UK tour dates are as follows:
Wed 12th Mar 2014 Leeds, O2 Academy
Thu 13th Mar Dublin, The Academy
Fri 14th Mar
Sat 15th Mar
Mon 17th Mar Glasgow, Barrowland Ballroom
Tue 18th Mar Liverpool, O2 Academy
Wed 19th Mar Nottingham, Rock City
Fri 21st Mar
Sat 22nd Mar Manchester, The Ritz
Sun 23rd Mar Leamington Spa, The Assembly
Mon 24th Mar Peterborough, The Cresset
Wed 26th Mar Norwich, The Waterfront
Thu 27th Mar Ipswich, Corn Exchange
Fri 28th Mar
Sat 29th Mar
Mon 31st Mar Exeter, Phoenix
Tue 1st Apr