Punk Song Counter-Narratives in Northern Ireland 1977-2020

A curated playlist of punk in Northern Ireland from 1977 to 2020 for the 'Sensing Divisions' virtual conference hosted by Queen’s University Belfast on the 21st of May 2020. The presentation takes the themes of 'confrontation' and 'escape' in punk in Northern Ireland and traces their trajectory through the last 43 years. Clip playlist: Montage 1 - early punk bands Speed, ‘Big City’ (IT Records, October 1977) The Duggie Briggs Band, ‘Punk Rock Granny’ (IT Records, late 1977) Midnite Cruiser, ‘Rich Bitch’ (IT Records, late 1977) Stiff Little Fingers, ‘Suspect Device’ (Rigid Digits, February 1978) Rudi, ‘Big Time’ (Good Vibrations, May 1978) The Outcasts, ‘Frustration’ (IT Records, May 1978) Victim, ‘Strange Thing By Night’ (Good Vibrations, May 1978) The Undertones, ‘Teenage Kicks’ (Good Vibrations, October 1978) Stiff Little Fingers, ‘Alternative Ulster’ (Rigid Digits, late 1978) The Outcasts, ‘Just Another Teenage Rebel’ (Good Vibrations, November 1978) The Duggie Briggs Bands, ‘Headin’’ (IT Records, November 1978) XDreamysts, ‘Right Way Home’ (Good Vibrations, November 1978) Protex, ‘Don’t Ring Me Up’ (Good Vibrations, November 1978) Spider, ‘Dancing In The Streets’, Battle of the Bands (Good Vibrations, pressed late 1978, released February 1979) The Idiots, ‘Parents’, Battle of the Bands (Good Vibrations, February 1979) Montage 2 - S.S.R.U.C.! Rudi, ‘We Hate the Cops’ (live recording February 1978) The Outcasts, ‘The Cops Are Comin’’, Battle of the Bands (Good Vibrations, February 1979) Stiff Little Fingers, ‘Law and Order’, Inflammable Material (Rough Trade, 1979) The Defects, ‘Brutality’ (WXYZ Records, 1982) (also released as a B-side to ‘Dance (Until You Drop)’ in 1981) Hit Parade, ‘Nick Knack Paddy Whack’, Nick Knack Paddy Whack (Crass Records, 1986) Pink Turds in Space, ‘Dear Mr Policeman’, Greatest Shits (In Your Face Records, 1988) Pink Turds in Space, ‘Jerusalem Street Nine’, Greatest Shits (In Your Face Records, 1988) Jobbykrust, ‘R. U. Safe?’, split with Boycot (Insane Society Records, 1996) Runnin’ Riot, ‘Judge, Jury & Executioner’, Reclaim the Streets (Rejected Records, 1998) Decoy 47, sample from start of ‘Non-Peaceful Protest’, Anti-RUC EP (DIY, 2001) Decoy 47, ‘Angel From Above’, Anti-RUC EP (DIY, 2001) Mr. Nipples and the Dangleberries, ‘Bollox to the RUC’, Nipples Militia (DIY, 2003) The Lobotomies, ‘Cop Out’, Big Bang Hangover (EHC Records, Pumpkin Records, 2009) Pocket Billiards, ‘Dirty Money’, Pocket Billiards (DIY, 2009) Aggressors B.C., ‘A.G.G.R.E.S.S.O.R.S.’, The Tone of the Times (Warzone Records, Black North Records, 2013) Lawfucker, ‘Bulwark’ (forthcoming 2020) Montage 3 - Drugs and booze The Outcasts, ‘Frustration’ (IT Records, May 1978) Rudi, ‘Overcome By Fumes’, Battle of the Bands (Good Vibrations, February 1979) Pink Turds in Space, ‘Oh No – Beer Frenzy’, split with Sedition (Real to Real Records, 1990) Pink Turds in Space, ‘Marijuana Paranoia’, split with Sedition (Real to Real Records, 1990) Runnin’ Riot, ‘Alcoholic Heroes’, Reclaim the Streets (Rejected Records, 1998) Runnin’ Riot, ‘Buckfast Tonic Wine’, Built In Belfast (Bad Dog Records, 2004) Runnin’ Riot, ‘Double the Pain’, Boots and Ballads (Dead Lamb Records, Dirty Old Man Records, Record Rebellion, 2009) Runnin’ Riot, ‘King of the Swig’, Boots and Ballads (Dead Lamb Records, Dirty Old Man Records, Record Rebellion, 2009) Runnin’ Riot, ‘Ballad of a Gluesniffer’, Boots and Ballads (Dead Lamb Records, Dirty Old Man Records, Record Rebellion, 2009) Mr Nipples and the Dangleberries, ‘Hate Edge’, Nipples Militia (DIY, 2003) Mr Nipples and the Dangleberries, ‘Empty Bottles’, Nipples Militia (DIY, 2003) The Dragged, ‘Wasted Nation’, Wasted Nation (Belfast Records, c. 2006) 1000 Drunken Nights, ‘Pissed Up Tonight’, split with Billy Riot & the Violent Fuckwits (DIY, 2004) 1000 Drunken Nights, ‘Round the Clock Blocked’, Blank Cheque For Peace? (Carbomb Records, 2009) Decoy 47, ‘Ain’t Got No’, Red Bricks EP (DIY, 2005) The Lobotomies, ‘Booze’, split with The Cunts (Keep ‘er Lit Records, Punk Shit Records, EHC Records, 2006) The Lobotomies, ‘Don’t Look Back’, Drink, Pass Out, Repeat (EHC Records, Keep ‘er Lit Records, 2007) Roysta, ‘Sober Eyes’, Flower of Flesh and Blood (DIY, c. 2006) Pocket Billiards, ‘Last O’ the Wine’, Outlook Not So Good (DIY, 2006) Pocket Billiards, ‘Drunken Waster’, Pocket Billiards (DIY, 2009) Pocket Billiards, ‘Drinkin’’, Last Chance to Dance (DIY, 2012) The Assailants, ‘72 Hour Party People’, The Assailants (DIY, 2011) Aggressors B.C., ‘The Man They Call Horse’, The Tone of the Times (Warzone Records, Black North Records, 2013) Takers and Users, ‘Buckfast Blues’, Backbars and Alleyways (DIY, 2016) Takers and Users, ‘Crack a Lid’, Backbars and Alleyways (DIY, 2016) United Bottles, ‘United Bottles’, The Spirit and the Legacy (Distr-Oi Records, Black North Records, 2018) Skallions, ‘Parklife (Life’s a Blur)’, Skallion Battalion (DIY, 2020)