One of the first singles I ever bought that made me sit up and listen, Alternative Ulster by Stiff Little Fingers, a band from Northern Ireland who wrote songs about their experiences during "The Troubles".
As you can see I still own it today in its original picture bag cover. It was released on October 17th 1978 the week before my 13th birthday.
Today, at age 47, this song still excites me. For a bunch of young guys to write a song like this at the height of The Troubles that stuck two fingers up (to government, the republicans and unionists, the RUC and the British Army) and said, we want something different, we want a peaceful Northern Ireland, took some courage. They only had to wait another 20 years to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
Back in 1978 I used to cycle the 10 miles into Southampton with my paper round money most saturdays and spend most of the day in Subway Records with a bunch of school friends listening to records before deciding what to buy. I still have so many of them, and as I was shunted around various parts of my family in my teenage years, it is great that I still have them.
Subway Records was an independent record store based in a cellar next to the bus station in Southampton. Both record store and bus station no longer exist.
Revealed below the cover to the single is my IPod, playing Alternative Ulster. I am glad that both versions still have their place.
Stiff Little Fingers are still touring today, and 3 of today's line up date back to the very early days of the band.
It is a proper 2 minute punk song, here it is performed live in 1979. Not for the Mozart lovers amongst you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Gov4tTB7M
It also reminds me that back in the late 70s and early 80s, whenever there was an atrocity committed by the IRA I would get abuse. Well with a name like Sean O'Neill, what could a teenager have expected? I remember when the Hyde Park Bombing happened that the manager of a Loughborough supermarket where I had a saturday job gave me some abuse and told me to wash his car. I walked out of the store there and then after telling him to shove his job and wash his own "insert expletive" car.
one for your theme Beau
@losthorizon
* From a fellow 65'er