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John " Jake" Burns (born 21 February 1958) is a singer and guitarist, and is best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers, although he has also recorded with Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, 3 Men + Black, and as a solo artist.
They were briefly named the Fast, but as there was already a group of that name they changed it to Stiff Little Fingers, taken from the song of the same name that had appeared on Pure Mania, the 1977 album by the Vibrators.
Apart from a five-year gap from 1983 to 1987, Stiff Little Fingers have been active since 1977 to the present day and have released ten studio albums.
After the breakup of SLF in 1983, Burns formed Jake Burns and the Big Wheel. The band consisted of Burns on vocals and guitar, Steve Grantley on drums, Sean Martin on bass guitar, and Pete Saunders on keyboards. Big Wheel recorded a total of three singles, "On Fortune Street", "She Grew Up" and "Breathless". A compilation album, also called On Fortune Street, was released after the band's demise, in 2002.
In 1987, Burns disbanded Big Wheel, and Stiff Little Fingers reformed, because they were "skint and wanted to make a bit of cash to get back to Ireland for Christmas".
From about 2001 to 2005, Burns was involved in a side project with Pauline Black of the Selecter, called 3 Men and Black. This involved Black touring with three male artists from the late 1970s, early 1980s doing acoustic versions of songs they are famous for, and talking a little about how they came to write the songs etc. The line up for the concerts was fairly fluid, and has included such people as Bruce Foxton, J. J. Burnel, Eric Faulkner and Nick Welsh.
On 27 March 2006, Burns released a solo album titled Drinkin' Again.
In 2009, Burns formed a Chicago punk rock supergroup called the Nefarious Fat Cats to raise money for local charities. Notable members include John Haggerty (Pegboy, Naked Raygun), Joe Haggerty (Pegboy), Joe Principe (Rise Against), Scott Lucas (Local H), Herb Rosen (Beer Nuts, Right of the Accused) and Mark DeRosa (Dummy). Mr. Burns also contributed guitar and vocals on a track of the Black Sheep Band charity record for Children's Memorial Hospital, A Chicago Punk Rock Collaboration for the Kids, Vol 1.
In 2016, Burns joined an acoustic "supergroup" formed by Kirk Brandon, of Spear of Destiny called Dead Men Walking which also included David Ruffy and John "Segs" Jennings, both of The Ruts.
Burns's second wife, Shirley, is American and they have lived in Chicago since 2004. Burns would eventually become a US citizen, partially so he could help vote out Donald Trump.
(2003). 186074513X, Sanctuary Publishing. 186074513X
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