This release contains bonus audio interview.

Personnel: Jake Burns, Henry Cluney (vocals, guitar); Ali McMordie (bass guitar); Jim Reilly (drums).

Recording information: 1980.

Roaring back with a vengeance and seemingly without pause for breath, NOBODYS HEROES finds Stiff Little Fingers once again examining the frailty of the human condition in time of war. While this preoccupation with life and death can come across as either preachy (Billy Bragg), goofy (Chumbawumba), or even pedantic (the Clash's later work), to SLF it seems more than just a reaction to circumstance than a defense mechanism in a country divided by barbed-wire.

However, SLF are canny enough to realize that no mere punk band can actually cause change by itself (as evidenced in the brilliant title track where lead singer Jake Burns advises fans not to let your heroes get your kicks for you) as true change comes from collective involvement. "Tin Soldiers," with its rant against the futility of the army, and "Fly the Flag" with its indictment of Great Britain's colonialism and neglect of the poor prove that perhaps the best resistance is found in punk rock catharsis. "Bloody Dub" finds the band once again embracing outlaw imagery and the oppositional culture of reggae's most mysteriously satisfying subculture.

What the critics say...

Q (12/01, p.165) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Its mixture of idealism and power still thrilling today..."