Chesterfield date for punk icons Stiff Little Fingers

Irish veterans Stiff Little Fingers bring their special brand of punk to the UK's largest independent music venue '“ in Chesterfield '“ this week.
Stiff Little Fingers.Stiff Little Fingers.
Stiff Little Fingers.

The quartet, famous for songs such as At the Edge and Tin Soldiers, play Chesterfield’s 1,800-capacity The Avenue following the release of the special live CD/DVD marking the 25th anniversary of their annual St Patrick’s Day shows in Glasgow.

They are working on a new album, and many of the songs have been debuted at live gigs, with tremendous response from fans.

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With song titles like Trail of Tears, My Dark Places and Liar’s Club covering topics such as the recent economic collapse, Jake’s personal struggle with depression, and continuing racism in the West.

Jake says: “You’ve probably worked out by now, I don’t do ‘comedy’ songs.”

But the songs continue to inspire fans old and new – countless people have contacted Jake to say My Dark Places gave them the strength to tell others about their own bouts with depression.

Though focused on their new material, they always play the old favourites at gigs.

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Jake says: “You have to strike a balance. The difficulty with a band like ourselves is to try not make it sound like a cabaret band.

“Obviously, it’d be very easy to go ‘hey, here’s another old one you may remember’.

“A lot of the old songs the audience greet like old friends. I suppose it’s the same as any band that’s been around for any length of time. And yes, there are nights that we don’t particularly want to play Alternative Ulster or Suspect Device, because we’ve heard them until they’re coming out our ears, but there’s always the possibility that somebody out there has never seen the band before, never heard them.”

Stiff Little Fingers play The Avenue, Chesterfield, on Friday, June 30. Support comes from Ferocious Dog.

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