The longest-tenured Irish punk band is undoubtedly Stiff Little Fingers - who have been bashing and thrashing since 1977. And the vinyl, Live at Rockpalast 1980, shows that the band remained a vital live band (and also, stayed true to their roots) throughout the '80s, despite a five-year hiatus smack dab in the middle of the decade. Singer/guitarist Jake Burns has been the band's leader since their inception - with bassist Ali McMordie standing right alongside Jake most of the time - which saw Stiff Little Fingers being a part of the first-wave of Euro punk bands, which included the lofty likes of the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned, the Buzzcocks, the Jam, etc. And in the process, Stiff Little Fingers issued such classic punk LP's as Inflammable Material, Nobody's Heroes and Go for It plus the punk anthems Alternative Ulster, Suspect Device and At the Edge. Jake Burns still remembers: The place was packed and the audience were with us from the first note. They were wonderful, singing and bouncing along. It really felt like a home game to use a football analogy. I thought we played really well too, apart from a slight timing mistake during Back to Front, a new song we were still learning. (See if you can spot my giving Jim the look of death at that point! LOL!).
