Stiff Little Fingers - Peel Session 12''EP

The Stiff Little Fingers Peel Session 12'' EP is a definitive piece of Northern Irish punk history, released by Strange Fruit Records in September 1986. The four-track vinyl captures the raw, blistering energy of the band's first BBC Radio 1 session recorded for legendary DJ John Peel on 12 September 1978. Featuring the original line-up of Jake Burns, Henry Cluney, Ali McMordie, and Brian Faloon, the EP delivers stripped-back, urgent studio performances of their foundational anthems "Suspect Device," "Barbed Wire Love," and "Law and Order," alongside their iconic reggae-punk cover of Bob Marley's "Johnny Was."

The Stiff Little Fingers Peel Session 12" EP stands as an essential, lightning-in-a-bottle document of Northern Irish punk rock at its most feral and politically urgent. Recorded in September 1978 for legendary BBC DJ John Peel, these four tracks capture the Belfast quartet just months before the release of their seminal debut album, Inflammable Material. Devoid of excessive studio polish, the EP highlights the band's trademark sonic blueprint: Jake Burns' famously gravelly, throat-shredding vocals cutting through a dense wall of buzzsaw guitars and a relentless, driving rhythm section. This format presents the band stripped of any commercial pretense, delivering a raw, unyielding energy that perfectly mirrors the tension and claustrophobia of the Troubles-era environment that birthed them.

Musically, the EP offers an extraordinary alternative perspective on the band's early catalog, making it far more than a mere historical curiosity. The definitive highlight is arguably their legendary, slow-burning cover of Bob Marley's "Johnny Was," which here trades some of its later studio cleanliness for an exhausting, emotionally raw intensity that bridges reggae and punk effortlessly. Meanwhile, foundational anthems like "Suspect Device," "Law and Order," and "Barbed Wire Love" hit with a ferocious, breakneck speed that rivals their live performances of the era. For collectors and genre enthusiasts alike, this Strange Fruit release remains a vital, five-star testament to a band firing on all cylinders, providing a definitive snapshot of first-wave punk at its absolute peak.

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1. Johnny Was (Bob Marley cover)

2. Law And Order

3. Barbed Wire Love

4. Suspect Device