Album of the Day — July 20
Stiff Little Fingers — Nobody’s Heroes
Stiff Little Fingers — Nobody’s Heroes
20.July.2020
Stiff Little Fingers
Nobody’s Heroes
1980
A band that takes shape in Belfast, Ireland … in 1977 … at the height of The Troubles … and the inception of punk is bound to have some attitude.
And Stiff Little Fingers had a Texas-sized chip on their shoulder.
Scrapping their schoolboy cover band called Highway Star (yep, after the Deep Purple song) in favor of punk, Stiff Little Fingers— Jake Burns, vocals and guitar, Henry Cluney, guitar, Ali McMordie, bass, and Brian Faloon, drums — took their new band’s name from The Vibrators song “Stiff Little Fingers”.
At the suggestion of journalist Gordon Ogilvie, the band embraced documenting their experiences of The Troubles in their songs.
An issue that would cause friction with fellow Northern Ireland’s The Undertones, who thought Stiff Little Fingers “sensationalized” the violence … while Stiff Little Fingers felt The Undertones ignored it.
Their first single, “Suspect Device” was embraced by influential DJ John Peel. As a result, Stiff Little Fingers secured a distribution deal with the newly formed Rough Trade Records. Their first album, 1979’s Inflammable Material, would become the first independent album to chart in the UK. It would go on to sell over 100,000 copies.
After signing a deal with Chrysalis Records, the band spent one week in the studio to record the follow-up Nobody’s Heroes.
Written by the band, the first single “At The Edge” packs all the angst of teen life in 2:52. Lyrically, the song makes you wonder if the 1979 Jonathan Kaplan’s much-revered film Over the Edge (Matt Dillon’s debut) wasn’t its inspiration.
The song would find one of its physical manifestations in the John Hughes classic 1985 The Breakfast Club with Judd Nelson’s rebel king John Bender.
At the Edge
Back when I was younger they were talking at me
Never listened to a word I said
Back when I was younger they were talking at me
Never listened to a word I said
Always yap-yap-yapping and complaining at me
Made me think I’d be better off dead
I don’t want to talk about it
I don’t want to hear no lip
Take your share, don’t shout about it
That’s your lot, remember you’re a kid
They would always teach me that to swear was a sin
Always speak your mind but not aloud
Think of something that you want to do with your life
Nothing that you like, that’s not allowed
I’ve no time to talk about it
All your stupid hopes and dreams
Get your feet back on the ground, son
It’s exams that count, not football teams
CHORUS
And I’m running at the edge of their world
They’re criticising something they just can’t understand
Living on the edge of their town
And I won’t be shot down
Taught me to defend myself and to be a man
How to kick someone and run away
Gave me everything that any young man could need
But don’t understand why I won’t stay
Here’s your room and here’s your records
Here’s your home and here you’ll stay
Here’s somewhere I don’t believe in
Wish someone would take it all away
CHORUS x 2
The single made its way to #15 in the UK, high enough that the band secured a spot on Top of the Pops. Because artists don’t play live on the program, Stiff Little Fingers embraced that and didn’t take the performance seriously — drummer Jim Reilly (then having replaced Brian Faloon) is seen marching around the background with his cymbal in hand.
Their performance of “At the Edge” on Top of the Pops would become one of the most infamous from the show and earned them a very short-lived ban from the show.
The second single, “Nobody’s Hero”, written by singer Jake Burns and journalist turned Stiff Little Fingers manager Gordon Ogilvie, pushes back on the myth of pop star as savior and encourages individuality.
Nobody’s Hero
I think it’s time we talked this over
I think you’ve taken this too far
I never wanted to be different
Didn’t ask to be nobody’s star
Try and take control of it
’Cause what you see is what you get
Try and take control of it
And not me
You say there’s talk of revolution, so what’s new?
You say there’s fighting in the air
You think that I’ve got the solutions
But do you really think that’s fair?
Try and take control of it
’Cause what you see is what you get
Try and take control of it
And not me
CHORUS
Don’t wanna be nobody’s hero
Don’t wanna be nobody’s star
Don’t wanna be nobody’s hero
Get up, get out, be what you are
You think it’s time you took me over
To do what you can’t do yourself
But don’t let heroes get your kicks for you
It’s up to you and no one else
Try and take control of it
’Cause what you see is what you get
Try and take control of it
And you’ll see
CHORUS x 1
You think you’re nobody
And I get all the fun
But no one is a nobody
Everyone is someone
There is a lyrical sensitivity to Stiff Little Fingers on Nobody’s Heroes that goes beyond the lyrical simplicity of punk. The album embraces the increasing “post-punk” aesthetic. Much like The Clash’s London Calling, the band remained entrenched in the sound of punk, while their lyrics were addressing more mature themes and pulling from a wider range of influences.
Another Burns/Ogilvie collaboration is “Tin Soldiers” — a combination of pub and punk rock. The sound belies its strong anti-army message:
Tin Soldiers
He joined up to get a job and show he wasn’t scared
Swapped boy scout hat for army cap
He thought he’d be prepared
At the age of seventeen, he was forced to choose
At the age of twenty-one, he’s in Catch-22, all right!
He joined up for just three years, it seemed a small amount
But they didn’t tell him that
The first two didn’t count
At the age of seventeen how was he to know
That at the age of twenty-one he’d still have one to go?
CHORUS
Tin soldier — He signed away his name
Tin soldier — No chance for cash or fame
Tin soldier — Now he knows the truth
Tin soldier — He signed away his youth
He joined up ’cause Dad knew best to do right by his son
And now he hates and counts the dates
That mark time on square one
At the age of seventeen he did as he was told
Now at the age of twenty-one tin still won’t turn to gold
CHORUS
If at the age of seventeen you fall in line too soon
Then at the age of twenty-one you’ll still march to their tune
Hup, two, three, four
Hup, two, three, four
Hup, two, three, four
Hup, two, three, four
OUTRO
Tin soldiers, you signed away your name
Tin soldiers, no chance for cash or fame
Tin soldiers, now you know the truth
Tin soldiers, you sign away your youth
Tin soldiers, you go and join the queue
Tin soldiers, do what they want you to
Tin soldiers, they take away your name
Tin soldiers, they treat you all the same
Sign away your life
Sign away your life
CRITICS
Original Billboard Magazine Review — “This four-man band from across the Atlantic takes its rock cues from The Clash, playing the same basic but dynamic rock with the same measure of integrity. Just like The Clash, this is a “political” band and if the roots are Irish the sentiments remain universal. It is an LP that sounds better with repeated listenings as the hooks and harmonic tensions emerge from the mix and subtle variations and embellishments become apparent.”
Alex Ogg at AllMusic said: “Jake Burns songwriting collaborations with journalist Gordon Ogilvie are really beginning to pay off. The cornerstones of the LP are “Gotta Gettaway,” “At the Edge,” and “Tin Soldiers” — three songs which, in different ways, brilliantly articulate the frustrated ambitions of young men in search of expression and identity, trapped in nowhere jobs or situations.”
If you’re scratching your head wondering why I would’ve selected a 40+-year- old punk rock record by a band that barely sold records in America, it’s because their influence on American punk bands is tantamount to The Beatles.
Jake Burns didn’t have the nasal pitch of John Lydon or the accent of Joe Strummer or Mick Jones. It’s Burns’ raspy singing style that can be heard on a big chunk of American punk bands, regardless of scene origin (think Social Distortion or Dropkick Murphy’s).
Stiff Little Fingers influence can be heard most on Green Day. Purists or die hard’s of either band may get pissy about such an analogy, but the band’s sound and Billie Joe Armstrong’s snarl and lyrical sensitivity are closely aligned with Burns … in addition to The Clash’s Strummer and Jones.
Stiff Little Fingers Nobody’s Hero helped fortify the independent music scene around the world. They helped give birth to bands from The Replacements to R.E.M. to Agent Orange … in 1980, maybe they were nobody’s hero but given their influence, over time, Stiff Little Fingers would become everybody’s hero.
Stiff Little Fingers are immortalized in this scene from the 2000 movie High Fidelity: