Punks make a comeback

BEATS:

JAKE Burns was so moved by a Clash performance that he set up his own band and started making music . . . fast-forward 22 years and Stiff Little Fingers are still going strong.

The Belfast band became the first group ever to hit the UK top 20 album charts on an independent label with their 1979 debut “Inflammable Material”.

Stiff Little Fingers were at the forefront of the punk movement and enjoyed six years as one of the biggest ticket draws in the UK. When original bassist Ali McMordie bowed out in 1990, just as SLF were about to tour Japan, former Jam man Bruce Foxton played on the group’s subsequent five studio albums. In 2005, Foxton left to pursue other directions and the band welcomed back McMordie to critical acclaim.

SLF will play Manchester’s Academy 2 on Saturday.