It’s been two long years since Stiff Little Fingers were due to play their 20/20 Vision tour but at last, they finally made it while no doubt leaving a few fans frantically scrabbling around in the bottom of their drawers trying to find their tickets at the last minute.
First up though was former The Adverts frontman TV Smith delivering a biting acoustic set of protest and dissent while tapping into the recent pandemic with “Lockdown Holiday” and of course Top 20 classic “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” elicited an exuberant response.
With a pretty quick turnaround, it was no time before The Professionals were launching into “Easily Lead”. Featuring Sex Pistols legend, Paul Cook on the drums and Tom Spencer, former guitarist with The Lurkers, on lead vocals, this was one rip roaring ride of spirited, energetic Punk including “123” and “Kick Down The Door” from their 1980 self-titled debut and “Spike Me Baby” from the recently released SNAFU opus with a barnstorming take on the Pistols “Silly Thing” thrown in to really stir it up.
It may have been St. Patrick’s Day the previous day, but the whole atmosphere and buzz carried forward into the rather packed City Hall who were chomping at the bit to catch Belfast’s finest, Stiff Little Fingers make their first appearance in the venue in almost 40 years.
They simply couldn’t fail on a Friday night in Newcastle and opening up with the swift upper-cut of “Suspect Device” and hit single “At The Edge” set the pace that they never let up on.
For the next hour and a half, they delivered exactly what the increasingly lively crowd wanted from “Wasted Life” to “Fly The Flag”, “Just Fade Away” and “Nobody’s Hero” from their early classic albums.
“Safe As Houses” was played for Phil Lynott, in tribute to the Thin Lizzy star’s influence on frontman Jake Burns who then dedicated the war themed love song, “Barbed Wire Love” to the people of the Ukraine.
The crowd throughout were so up for a good time. Ageing Punks bustled with fans who weren’t even born when SLF first hit their heights but they were joined together by a mutual love of classic Punk Rock and when the riff to “Alternative Ulster” kicked in, the stalls exploded into a swirling moshpit with crowd surfers cascading overhead. Quite a sight and testament to a rollicking good night.
Review and Photos By Mick Burgess
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