Alternative Ulster (song)

"Alternative Ulster" is the second single by the Northern Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers. Originally released as a single on October 17, 1978, the song later appeared on the band's 1979 debut studio album, Inflammable Material.

"Alternative Ulster"
Single by Stiff Little Fingers
from the album Inflammable Material
B-side"78 RPM"
ReleasedOctober 17, 1978 (1978-10-17)
RecordedMay 1978
StudioIsland Studios
GenrePunk rock
Length2:45
LabelRough Trade Records
Songwriter(s)Gordon Ogilvie
Jake Burns
Producer(s)Ed Hollis
Doug Bennett
Mayo Thompson
Geoff Travis
Stiff Little Fingers singles chronology
"Suspect Device"
(1978)		 "Alternative Ulster"
(1978)		 "Gotta Gettaway"
(1979)

Background and creation

Jake Burns, the lead singer of Stiff Little Fingers, was asked to record "Suspect Device" for a Flexi disc to be included in a Northern Irish fanzine called Alternative Ulster. As "Suspect Device" had already been recorded for release as the band's first single, Burns offered to write another track.[1] Burns described the song as "written in the classic punk mode of having nothing to do," describing the main frustration of Belfast youth of the time as "the sheer tedium of having nowhere to go and nothing to do when you got there."[2]

Working with Eddie and the Hot Rods manager Ed Hollis, the band cut a series of demos for "Alternative Ulster" at Island Studios in London in May 1978. When Island Records turned the group down, they signed with Rough Trade Records.[3] Originally, "Alternative Ulster" was meant to serve as a B-side to "78 RPM," but when the songs were released as a single in October 1978, Stiff Little Fingers decided to make "Alternative Ulster" the A-side.[4]

Release and reception

"Alternative Ulster" was released as a 7-inch single on October 17, 1978 via Rough Trade and Rigid Digits. Shortly following the single release, Stiff Little Fingers went on tour, opening for the Tom Robinson Band, and working on their debut album, Inflammable Material.[5] Burns intended for "Alternative Ulster" to be the closing track on the album, an honor which instead went to "Closed Groove."[3]

Derry-based punk band The Undertones released their debut single, "Teenage Kicks", the same week as Stiff Little Fingers released "Alternative Ulster," starting a rivalry between the two bands within the Northern Irish punk scene.[3][4] While the Undertones were accused of ignoring the events of The Troubles in their music, the overtly political lyrics of "Alternative Ulster" and "Suspect Device" drew criticism from the other side.[6][7] When asked in 2007 if "Teenage Kicks" was the best song about being a teenager, Bono responded, "My soundtrack was more Alternative Ulster by Stiff Little Fingers."[8]

In modern culture

"Alternative Ulster" has appeared in the films Fifty Dead Men Walking, Good Vibrations, Everybody Wants Some!!, and The House of Tomorrow, as well as in the soundtrack for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game Skate 2.[9] In 2022, the song appeared in the soundtrack of the movie, Jackass Forever and Season 3 Episode 5 of Derry Girls on Netflix.

References
  1. Scott, Tim (14 November 2017). "Talking "Alternative Ulster" With Stiff Little Fingers' Jake Burns". Noisey. VICE. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  2. Collin, Matthew (23 January 2003). "Belfast: the war against cliché". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  3. Rabid, Jack (18 February 2019). "Inflammable Material at 40". Rock & Roll Globe. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  4. Heylin, Clinton (2007). Babylon's Burning: From Punk to Grunge. London: Viking Press. pp. 387–421. ISBN 978-0-670-91606-1.
  5. Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock: Third Ear - The Essential Listening Companion. Miller Freeman Books. p. 655. ISBN 978-0-87930-607-6.
  6. Dunn, Kevin (5 May 2016). Global Punk: Resistance and Rebellion in Everyday Life. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 76. ISBN 978-1-62892-606-4.
  7. McLoone, Martin (2008). Film, Media and Popular Culture in Ireland: Cityscapes, Landscapes, Soundscapes. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7165-2936-1.
  8. McSherry, Cormac (16 June 2007). "Bono's Teenage Kicks". Observer Music Monthly. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  9. "Stiff Little Fingers". IMDb. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
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