Inflammable Material

Inflammable Material
Studio album by Stiff Little Fingers
Released	February 2, 1979
Recorded	November 1, 1978 - November 13, 1978 at Spaceward Studios, Cambridge. (Apart from "Alternative Ulster" recorded Island Studios, London May 1978.)
Genre	Punk rock
Length	41:08
Label	Rough Trade (original UK & US release) Celluloid (original French release) Chrysalis (1980 Dutch, Greek & Australian releases) EMI (1989 UK reissue) Restless Retro (1989 US reissue) 4 Men With Beards (2010 US reissue) Parlophone (2016 UK & Japanese reissues)
Producer	Geoff Travis, Mayo Thompson and Doug Bennett
Stiff Little Fingers chronology
Inflammable Material (1979) Nobody's Heroes (1980)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	[2]

Inflammable Material is the 1979 debut album by the Northern Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers. Most of the album's tracks are about the "Troubles" and the grim reality of life in Northern Ireland with the songs containing themes of teenage boredom, sectarian violence, police oppression, etc., urging people to "grab it and change it, it's yours" in what became their signature song "Alternative Ulster". The song "Rough Trade" is about the band's view of the music business as being dishonest, but they have since claimed it is not about the record label which happens to have the same name.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Jake Burns and Gordon Ogilvie; except where indicated

1. "Suspect Device" – 2:36
2. "State of Emergency" (Burns) – 2:29
3. "Here We Are Nowhere" (Henry Cluney) – 1:00
4. "Wasted Life" (Burns) – 3:10
5. "No More of That" (Cluney) – 2:04
6. "Barbed Wire Love" – 3:33
7. "White Noise" – 1:57
8. "Breakout" (Burns) – 3:04
9. "Law and Order" – 3:14
10. "Rough Trade" – 2:41
11. "Johnny Was" (Bob Marley) – 8:12
12. "Alternative Ulster" – 2:45
13. "Closed Groove" – 4:25

The 2001 EMI CD reissue added the following tracks:

The reissue also includes the first part of an interview of Jake Burns by Alan Parker (the second part is included in the reissue of Nobody's Heroes).

Chart Position

This was the first album on an independent record label to enter the UK Top Twenty. ^[1] Cranna, Ian (1979) "Rough Charm", Smash Hits, EMAP National Publications Ltd, 4–17 October 1979, p. 6–7

Personnel

• Jake Burns – vocals, guitar
• Henry Cluney – guitar, vocals
• Ali McMordie – bass, vocals
• Brian Faloon - drums

Technical

• Geoff Travis – producer
• Mayo Thompson – producer
• Mike Kemp – Engineer
• Doug Bennett – producer
• Ed Hollis - producer on "Alternative Ulster"

References