Listening In On Belfast Punk Linsey McFadden Photo Courtesy of Sing Sing Records n the late 1970’s punk rock struck a city divided by religion and politics. A city with an atmosphere permeating with the smell of hatred and fear, security checkpoints marred the entrance to the city centre, while bombings and shootings were commonplace. At Inight the only people that dared to walk the city’s streets were the one’s that enforced the curfews and the ones that broke them— punks. It wasn’t London and it wasn’t New York. They weren’t the only cities to carve out their stake in the punk rock world. Welcome to Belfast, a city where punk rock came at a time when it really made sense. In Northern Ireland, punk rock was never simply a fashion piece to be gawked at. Punk rock came to Belfast at a time of Troubles, a time when the city was more comparable to a warzone than a Western metropolis. It came at a time of blown out buildings, shootings, tense security, intimidation, curfews, and hate. “It was a scary place to be, in the city centre at night,” said Aidan Murtagh of Protex. “People stayed in their own areas where they felt safe. The only people about town at nights were British army, police and punks. These tensions probably added to the way the music was played and performed by many of the bands.” Until the relatively recent release of the Good Vibrations movie, Northern Irish punk had largely been pushed to the background as writers and filmmakers rushed to document the rise of punk in cities like New ork,Y London and L.A. Across the world the definitive visage of 70’s punk, as portrayed by these documentarians, firmly centres on a collage pasted together from clip outs featuring a snarling Sid Vicious, the “scandalous” fashion trends of London teens, the uniform tight jeans and black leather jackets, and the perfectly manicured mohawks that have become iconic in the decades that followed. “Upon opening for the Clash on their ‘Take the Fifth 79’ tour, members of the Undertones recalled that Strummer and crew were surprised to see the Undertones’ Feargal Sharkey and the O’Neill brothers turn up in relatively normal garb, eschewing the King’s Road mainstay zips-and-badges and pricey “Boy” bondage gear of the day for simple sweaters and parkas,” said Karl Friedhomme, avid record collector and consumer of all things punk rock. “Growing up in the long shadow of British occupation, perhaps just being a normal teenager and yearning for normalcy in a time of war was rebellion enough. While I didn’t come to Northern Irish punk myself until much later, years after countless Black Flag and Conflict rants had fuelled my hostility and indignation towards all the right things, the Northern Irish punk scene offered a unique view from inside a grim reality other bands only observed and sang about, reminding me that there are other less direct ways to fight back against that which holds you back and confines you. This seemingly innocuous music played with youthful teenage naivety—fun, catchy, and hopeful, can also be a liberating ammunition against the dreary and harsh, the rigid and the bleak.” While punk rock was thunderously clamouring to the world’s centre stage in major cities like London and New York, it was Heatwave cultivating a stronghold in cities Victim’s Strange Thing By Night Left - Cover of “Alternative Ulster”, a DIY like Belfast. It was giving the and, of course, the acclaimed Punk Zine from Belfast youth a reason to band together Undertones’ Teenage Kicks. © Alternative Ulster Zine against the troubled backdrop While geographically Below - Flyer to a gig at the now infamous of a city torn apart, creating a London and Belfast sit relatively Harp Lounge Courtesy of Protex Website cultural movement much more close to one and other, just a impregnable than a simple quick hour and 15-minute flight, fashion trend. at this point in time, they were “There was really nowhere worlds apart. Your biggest local that sold punk clothing,” said punk rock record collectors Murtagh. “It was a case of DIY can easily point out the stark when it came to clothes. Belfast differences between the two punk was not so much about the city’s early punk rock songs and fashion side, in the way London scenes. or New York was, it was more an “While some bands attitude... us against the world. steered into the skid and sang Forget about what was going about their militarised daily on in the streets of the city of reality (i.e. the SLF approach), Belfast, music could set us free other youth channelled their In an effort to present a story punks and a sense of us against from it for a while... and what rebellion into singing about the about Belfast from the mouth the world developed. The an alternative it was, uniting all simpler pleasures of teenage of a Belfast punk, I reached punk movement had started.” religions and backgrounds. It life, of cars and girls, school day out to Aidan Murtagh, founding Murtagh eventually did not matter what part of our boredom and falling in love—all member of Protex. Murtagh saw the Clash play at another divided city you came from. This things their counterparts in other says it’s his duty to point out venue. He even got to spend annoyed many people during the countries enjoyed and took for that many members of the the rest of the night talking Troubles of Northern Ireland.” granted, certainly, but must have media have come forward music and Belfast politics When reviewing the seemed a world away against in recent years, spinning with Joe Strummer, Paul history of punk, Belfast, an the bleak backdrop of Bloody tales about the Belfast punk Simonon and Mick Jones. area often regarded as one of Sunday and hunger strikes in the scene in a way that affectively For Protex, their path to punk the last strongholds for punk Maze,” Friedhomme said. “This rewrites history. Most of them rock started with rock n’ rock in the U.K., is often given angst was distilled into catchy weren’t actually involved in the roll cover songs. Eventually a short memo, or overlooked two-minute anthems like Rudi’s Belfast scene, Murtagh says. Murtagh and his drummer altogether. Many within the “Big Time”, the Tearjerkers’ “I first realised that there decided they wanted to shift international punk rock scene “Bus Stop”, the Outcasts “Love was a punk movement when I in a new direction—punk. The regard these countenances to You for Never” and Xdreamysts went along to the first Clash gig band, originally Protex Blue, be written from an “outsider “Right Way Home”, which to be held at Belfast’s Ulster was named after a Clash song. perspective.” At best, most owed as much to 60s soul Hall,” Murtagh said. “I was Murtagh wrote a few songs, punk rock “tell all’s” will give a and Motown as they did to the among the first ten people in the drummer, Owen McFadden nod towards bands like the Stiff Iggy or the class of ‘77. At the queue and as the line grew there wrote some lyrics, and Dave Little Fingers or the Undertones, heart of it all, musically, was were more safety pins, leathers, McMaster also wrote. The with little mention of much else. Northern Ireland punk rock’s coloured hair, as well as skinny band managed to pull together While those are two of the many crown jewel, the Undertones ties and 60s suits. Until then, I a short set list, including an bands worth mentioning, they’re “Teenage Kicks”, a song which had never really seen any real array of punk cover songs far from all Northern Ireland had famously earned the distinction evidence of punks around town, (Clash covers included). to offer the punk rock world. of being the only tune John Peel apart from seeing Greg from “A weird guy called Terri London and New York ever excitedly played twice back the band the Outcasts, who Hooley opened his new record churned out some gold-star to back, and which arguably I sort of knew to say hello to. shop and we got talking to him, albums in 1977, and continued launched almost as many Belfast The Clash gig never took place he was putting on punk gigs to do so in the years that bands as Pistols records did.” that night as the insurance and heard we were in a band followed, but ‘78 was a good In contrast with a city was not granted for the show, and invited us to play,” said year for releases in Northern divided by religion and politics, we were told to go home. Murtagh. “We became part of Ireland. In ‘78 Good Vibrations Murtagh doesn’t recall much Such a disappointment—a what was happening in Belfast gifted the punk rock world mention of religion or politics in bit of a shock really. Soon the music punk scene at that time.” with Outcasts’ Frustration, the early punk scene, aside from disappointments spread to Following the Good containing the infamous track bands like Stiff Little Fingers, of anger, the police were called Vibrations movie release, some “You’re a Disease”, followed course. The punks in Belfast to move people on, and soon attention seems to have turned several months later by their weren’t politicised by the punk a riot was taking place… Riots back towards characters such Just Another Teenage Rebel scene, but many were politically were common in Belfast at this as Terri Hooley, but many ears release, Protex’s Don’t Ring minded to begin with.