Live Review: Stiff Little Fingers - Academy, Manchester
13th March 2026
Support: The Meffs
Words: Dan Barnes
Photos: Rich Price
When the poet Shelley wrote “if winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” – and this will probably be refuted by every academic in the field of Romantic poetry – but I believe he was referring to the fact that – as sure as night follows day, and the sun rises in the east, then the Spring brings Belfast’s finest band, Stiff Little Fingers, out on tour.
For a band whose origin’s lie before the emergence of the punk scene to which they are forever attached, SLF – along with The Stranglers and The Damned – represent a trifecta of artists from a time when the world was in some ways a very different place; yet in others, far too similar for comfort. All those acts are still writing and recording material, are still getting out on the road and are still playing to large audiences, composed of the OG fans and their children, and their children…
It was 2018 when the band last played the fifteen-hundred capacity Ritz, demand means they moved to the substantially larger Academy a year later and, looking around the hall tonight, there seems little sign that the demand for tickets to their Manchester shows is waning.
Never one to skimp on their support band, Stiff Little Fingers like to give themselves a challenge – and the ticket-buyer a bargain – with the Raise Your Voice tour’s opening slot being given to Essex alternative punk duo, The Meffs, who’ve been deservedly experiencing something of a meteoric rise up the genre’s echelons through a combination of cutting records and killer live shows.
Composed of guitarist/ vocalist Lily and drummer Lewis, the duo’s lack of a bass works to their advantage by giving everything a more DIY and raw sound. Opening tunes have New Wave vibe sitting comfortably next to the thoroughly modern take on punk. Stamp It Out, from the most recent album, What a Life, is intended as a warm-up for the vocals chords of the already impressively-sized crowd. A raucous cover of The Prodigy’s Breathe gets everyone moving, and new tune, Business is a caustic lambasting of the music industry, through some snappy vocals from Lily.
But The Meffs isn’t just about raging at injustice and creating highly danceable beats, as they can also operate in a more refined arena, as with Like Gravity’s more measured moments. All those wearing Meffs’ merchandise are gathered in the pit centre-stage for the twenty-second punk charge that is Fight. Lily even admits to smiling on stage – something she claims not to often do – and Broken Britain, Broken Brain, written before the 2024 election very much confirms the growing realisation that we’re all having to deal with two cheeks of the same bum.
The Meffs were clearly in their element and that raw, punk energy the band bring, which saw them go from the After Dark stage to halfway up the Empress Ballroom’s stage at Rebellion in just two-years, is a perfect way to kickstart the evening.
I’ve got to admit to being a little disappointed not to get the medley of television themes we’ve had over the past few years. Everyone seemed to love hearing the themes from all those Seventies and Eighties shows that we all forgot but can suddenly remember all the words to.
It’s night three of the tour, which is unusual as Manchester recently has been toward the end of the trek. The obligatory singalong of the instrumental Go For It – yup, that’s what I said – gets the Academy suitably revved up and ready to go by the time Stiff Little Fingers arrive and crank into a hard-edged Tin Soldiers. Nobody’s Hero features early, as does the cover of Bunny Wailer’s Roots, Radicals, Rockers, Reggae’s Ska-infused classic.
We’ve been getting a new song every tour and this year’s Raise Your Voice is a mid-tempo, more mellow rocker, that features a fierce solo from Ian McCallum. Rather than simply pack the show with the many tunes the fans want to hear, the Fingers like to take a deep dive into their back-catalogue and on this tour they’re including several lesser played songs. Back to Front has been with the band for decades and is only rarely aired, which is a shame as you can hear the Nobody’s Hero influences coming through; another early one, State of Emergency is more familiar live territory, while Guitar and Drum’s Walkin’ Dynamite, inspired by the boxer Sonny Liston, is a sweet ditty with a serious message.
Jake is a natural storyteller – being a man of Ireland it’s in the DNA, I suppose – and his regaling of his father’s contribution to their one and only ‘hit’ and his wanting royalties, introduces At the Edge. Bits of Kids sees drummer Steve Grantley giving his kit a punishment beating before Now Then…’s Listen makes one of its infrequent appearances.
From there on it’s SLF classic after SLF classic: Doesn’t Make It Alright was lifted from The Specials before the Midlanders had chance to know what they had; Just Fade Away, Wasted Life, Gotta Getaway and the pummelling Suspect Devise brings the show to a close.
Only the encore of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Johnny Was…, lyrically altered to fit the Finger’s time and place, and the unofficial new Northern Irish national anthem, Alternative Ulster, is the only way Stiff Little Fingers can ever sign off a live show.
I’ve seen many SLF shows but tonight in Manchester there was something extra-special about this performance. I overheard a couple of lads standing behind me – from north of the boarder judging by their accents - who were in full agreement and couldn’t wait for the Glasgow show on St Patrick’s Day.
Before ending the show, Jake announced they would be coming back to Manchester in July as support to the Sex Pistols. It’s the day after Iron Maiden at Knebworth, but I’ll sleep when I’m dead, and, well, it’d be rude not to. Hello, Mr Ticketmaster….
Photo Credits: Rich Price Photography
