Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material

by Kevin Dunn

Situating the band and its groundbreaking debut within the context of The Troubles, this book explores the band's complicated and controversial relationship with the Belfast punk scene, a scene that actively defied violent social divisions to create important non-sectarian spaces through which an “Alternative Ulster” was imagined and put into practice.

Stiff Little Fingers' 1979 debut album, Inflammable Material, was the first independent album to ever reach the UK Top 20 and is regarded as one of the most influential punk releases of all time, containing the singles “Suspect Device” and “Alternative Ulster.” Inflammable Material was both a product of, and response to, The Troubles, the era of political violence in Northern Ireland that claimed more than 3,500 lives over three decades.

Though Inflammable Material was regarded as the clarion call for that scene, with anthemic songs now regarded as synonymous with the times, the band was often viewed with suspicion and outright hostility by many of their contemporaries.

Genres: Music

160 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2026

About the author

Kevin Dunn plays in several bands, runs a small record label, publishes zines, and works at a small liberal arts college, where he teaches and publishes on a range of topics from African politics to international relations to global punk. He and his family split their time between Western New York state and Western North Carolina. The author of numerous scholarly works, such as Global Punk: Resistance and Rebellion in Everyday Life, Inside African Politics, and The Politics of Origin in Africa.
Vicious is My Middle Name is his first novel.

Reviews

[Brian Shevory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley for sharing an advanced copy of Kevin C. Dunn’s addition to the 33 1/3 series focused on Stiff Little Fingers’ Inflammable Material. I first learned about Stiff Little Fingers from a Rhino Records 70s Punk compilation titled No Thanks! “Suspect Device” and “Alternative Ulster” were their contributions, and they are both some of the hardest, fiercest songs on that compilation. There are only a few bands with multiple songs on the comp, so I recognized that their music was important, but I never picked up this album. I was also surprised to learn that they were from Northern Ireland, since most of the bands were either from England or the US. I don’t remember learning too much more about them, so I was excited to find this 33 1/3 volume on their debut album. While the band produced several other albums over the course of a more than 20 years-long career (with various line-ups), nothing matched the success of their first album. Dunn’s book details the context within which the band formed and developed their sound, as well as how the Troubles and sectarian violence of 1970s Northern Ireland (specifically Belfast) shaped the punk movement, and more importantly how punk rock enabled the youth of Belfast to establish an alternative to the sectarian violence, and provided an identity that wasn’t solely defined by religion or nationality. As Dunn illustrates, 1970s Belfast not only was rife with violence and the threat of bombings, but it was also a time of high unemployment and limited opportunities for young men. Playing music in a band was one of those ways to find a way out of the violence and enjoy youth. Interestingly enough, the band started off as a pub rock type band, playing a lot of covers of heavy music like Deep Purple. This might have been the biggest shock of the entire book, because whenever I’ve listened to “Suspect Device,” I didn’t get the sense that this song was by a cover band. Nevertheless, Dunn’s research delves into the transformation and how the band shifted their sound, writing a song that contained a double meaning of a topical issue. As Dunn analyzes the lyrics, he notes that the term “Suspect Device” wasn’t just a potential explosive, but also served as a metaphor for the bored and jobless youths who posed a danger without something to do. In fact, I was surprised to see how many of their songs are the kind of punk songs about boredom and aimless youth. Dunn’s book and analysis of the album’s contents help to establish that theme of the album but also shows how the punk rock community brought together young people and gave them something to do and organize around. He also notes how the album compares with some of the other classic punk albums that were released shortly before Inflammable Material.
It was interesting to learn more about the band as well, and how they ended up being the first album released on Rough Trade Records, a classic independent British label that started as a record store. Releasing an album on Rough Trade enabled Stiff Little Fingers to have distribution in England, not just in Northern Ireland. Although the band eventually moved to England and signed with another major record label for their subsequent albums, it was interesting to learn more about how this album was produced and its importance to British punk rock. Dunn also provides useful historical and social context to understand the Troubles, both before and after the album was released. Although Inflammable Material didn’t do much for peace, Dunn frames the larger context of the punk rock movement in Belfast as being a significant influence in rejecting the either/or dichotomies of the Troubles and providing a new community that sought to focus on improving conditions for the working class and artists in Belfast. While the band danced around the politics of The Troubles and used imagery associated with the Troubles, their music ultimately reengaged other bands in Norther Ireland signaling that it was relatively safe to play after the Miami Showband killings in 1975. Dunn goes on to provide some insight into the greater Belfast punk scene, and the “punkwashing” that happened in Belfast in the early 2000s, that celebrates the role of music in creating a renewed Belfast. I really enjoyed this book, and it represents so much of what is great about the 33 1/3 books. It examines a significant album, and doesn’t just look at its lyrical or musical content, but also examines the socio-historical and political influences that helped to shape this album. Furthermore, it places the album in a larger context to demonstrate its significance in creating an “Alternative Ulster,” and reshaping the greater Belfast community to reject the sectarianism that divided much of the city and the nation for so many years. Highly recommended!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads like a term paper, but at least it avoids the fan-gushing first-person disclosures of certain entries in this series, or the musicology of a few volumes by professionals which I've reviewed. Dunn wisely postpones his thoughts as a fan for a coda on "punkwashing," for this band, if only with two original members, soldiers on since the late Seventies. Dunn's honest about SLF's calculated ambition to serve as the "voice" of Belfast in the Troubles. And the band's fact-stretching assertions (as in half the lineup was Catholic when all were Protestant on the first LP) and journalistic tie-ins that led to critics dismissing their career opportunities. They never surpassed the admittedly uneven debut. To his credit, Dunn includes later recordings by those under the SLF banner; this absence in other 33 1/3 series always puzzles me, the lack of an arc over time.

Dunn takes his time in getting into it. He situates the four musicians within their context in the North of Ireland, and juxtaposes statistics of deaths, political maneuvers, and (para)military operations into his narrative. He draws from both academic and popular sources to good effect. And he includes snips from interviews with SLF personnel. It's a straightforward, sober, suited for assignment in a seminar account, neither exploitative nor plodding. He unearths the rivalries within the city's scene, inevitable given the tensions of the era added to the expected rowdy youth of punk.

It's a solid presentation, and the nod to present-day repackaging of the conflict and the role that the cross-sectarian alternative Ulster clubs and factions and anarchist collectives strove to create gains fair treatment to offset the sensationalist or sentimental versions which draw the tourists in. Although he could've devoted a paragraph or two to the awful puns which fill "Barbed Wire Love."

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so excited when I saw this announced that I immediately preordered it. I was a bit nervous when it arrived - I think the 33 1/3 series is fantastic, but each book is at the helm of its respective author, and I have read a few stinkers from the series. How was this new author going to tackle one of my personal island discs?

Turns out, he tackled it well. It does a great job of contextualising the record at the time and the political environment it was written in. A lot of great, in-depth stories from the recording process that I didn't know about. The author is very knowledgeable and well-researched. Maybe I've whiffed past him at a Barrowlands show before.

My only qualm is the lack of actual music discussion. There's a chapter where he discusses each song on the record, and each song gets 3 paragraphs if they're lucky. I do think a song like Closed Groove deserved a bit more (even if the band thinks it sucks).