Which punk band from Northern Ireland released the 1979 album 'Inflammable Material'?

Stiff Little Fingers released the 1979 album Inflammable Material. The band came from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and used punk to address the realities of life during the Troubles.

Released by Rough Trade on 2 February 1979, Inflammable Material was the group’s debut album. Its songs include “Suspect Device,” “State of Emergency,” “Wasted Life,” “Barbed Wire Love,” and “Alternative Ulster,” combining fast, direct punk with subjects including sectarian tension, police presence, deprivation, frustration, and teenage boredom.

The album was recorded mainly at Spaceward Studios in Cambridge in late 1978. “Alternative Ulster” had been recorded separately at Island Studios in London. The band’s quick, live-feeling recording approach matched the urgency of its subject matter and helped give the album its raw sound.

Inflammable Material is often described as an “Irish” political record, but that label can oversimplify it. Jake Burns later noted that only some of the tracks directly address Northern Ireland; others express broader youthful anger and alienation. The album also became the first independent-label release to enter the UK Top 20.