Latest news with #GavinMartin
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘The army were on the streets – and we were bored': Stiff Little Fingers on making Alternative Ulster
I was approached by Gavin Martin, who ran a fanzine called Alternative Ulster. He wanted to put a flexi-disc on the cover and said: 'Can we use Suspect Device?' That was going to be Still Little Fingers' debut single so I told him he couldn't have that, but I would write him a song. It's the old adage – write about what you know. The opening line is: 'There's nothin' for us in Belfast.' It couldn't have been more teenage – 'God, I'm bored.' Then the second verse referenced the army being on the streets. But that was actually what contributed to the boredom. Because of the situation in Northern Ireland, bands wouldn't come and play. The only honourable exception, prior to punk, was Rory Gallagher, who came every year without fail. Gordon Ogilvie, our co-manager, changed a couple of lines and we were good to go. These days, I could knock it up in my home studio and let Gavin hear the rough. But to hear it back then, he had to come to our next live show. We were all excited about what we thought – well, I certainly thought – was a good song. But at the bar afterwards, he told me he thought it was crap! Things were happening fast for us because John Peel was playing Suspect Device into the ground. Island, the record label, flew us to London to record some demos. We really thought we'd hit the big time. Ed Hollis was producing – this was a man who had just had a Top 10 hit with Eddie and the Hot Rods' Do Anything You Wanna Do. But he insisted on hiring in all this equipment we weren't au fait with, so the demos weren't very representative of how the band sounded. Unsurprisingly, Island passed. We were thrown into limbo. We'd gone so far down the path with Island that we had quit our jobs. Then out of the blue, we got a phone call from Tom Robinson, who was looking for an opening act. We started to feel a bit of pressure in terms of needing something to raise our profile, and then the Rough Trade label suggested it put out Alternative Ulster. In the interim, Gordon had managed to get the demo tapes from Island. We didn't have the money to re-record it, but Rough Trade did pay for a remix. The single's cover photo was taken by Milton Haworth, who had happened to be at a disturbance somewhere. In the midst of it all, he saw the soldier crouched down by a pillar with his gun and this little kid on top of the pillar laughing. It was lightning in a bottle in terms of photography. We do an outdoor show every year in Belfast. We always finish with Alternative Ulster and it's such a unifying call. I find it so pretentious when you say stuff like this – but when you stand on the stage and watch the audience's reaction, it's humbling. John Peel playing Suspect Device was the beginning of everything. We contacted Gordon Ogilvie and started buying large quantities of it to distribute. That's how we got to know the band. Rough Trade had The Cartel [a record distribution organisation] and the idea was to bypass the existing conventional mechanisms and let the independent sector grow. I never really knew the full story of what happened with Island. We did so well distributing Suspect Device that we simply asked if we could do the next single as a Rough Trade release, a one-off. Alternative Ulster was remixed by me with the engineer, Doug Bennett, at Olympic Studios in London. I didn't do that much, but maybe made it a bit more lively. That was the first time I'd ever been in the studio. It was quite amusing. What gave me the gall to do that without experience? I guess I just knew how I wanted it to sound. That was the beginning of my producer career. It was the times, it was the whole punk ethic where you just went and did stuff. I've said this many times, but I just love Henry Cluney's rhythm guitar. The way he played, it's like a bar of steel or something. That was a big part of their sound. And Jake had that really great voice, played great guitar. He meant it – he was convincing. We were quite young ourselves. We didn't really know huge amounts about SLF's culture at that time, but we were learning. There wasn't really time to sit down for a few hours and discuss politics, discuss the future of the world, discuss aims and aspirations. We just did stuff. Alternative Ulster has been rereleased as part of Rough Trade 45s: Volume 1. Stiff Little Fingers headline their annual home town festival at Custom House Square, Belfast, on 16 August.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘The army were on the streets – and we were bored': Stiff Little Fingers on making Alternative Ulster
I was approached by Gavin Martin, who ran a fanzine called Alternative Ulster. He wanted to put a flexi-disc on the cover and said: 'Can we use Suspect Device?' That was going to be Still Little Fingers' debut single so I told him he couldn't have that, but I would write him a song. It's the old adage – write about what you know. The opening line is: 'There's nothin' for us in Belfast.' It couldn't have been more teenage – 'God, I'm bored.' Then the second verse referenced the army being on the streets. But that was actually what contributed to the boredom. Because of the situation in Northern Ireland, bands wouldn't come and play. The only honourable exception, prior to punk, was Rory Gallagher, who came every year without fail. Gordon Ogilvie, our co-manager, changed a couple of lines and we were good to go. These days, I could knock it up in my home studio and let Gavin hear the rough. But to hear it back then, he had to come to our next live show. We were all excited about what we thought – well, I certainly thought – was a good song. But at the bar afterwards, he told me he thought it was crap! Things were happening fast for us because John Peel was playing Suspect Device into the ground. Island, the record label, flew us to London to record some demos. We really thought we'd hit the big time. Ed Hollis was producing – this was a man who had just had a Top 10 hit with Eddie and the Hot Rods' Do Anything You Wanna Do. But he insisted on hiring in all this equipment we weren't au fait with, so the demos weren't very representative of how the band sounded. Unsurprisingly, Island passed. We were thrown into limbo. We'd gone so far down the path with Island that we had quit our jobs. Then out of the blue, we got a phone call from Tom Robinson, who was looking for an opening act. We started to feel a bit of pressure in terms of needing something to raise our profile, and then the Rough Trade label suggested it put out Alternative Ulster. In the interim, Gordon had managed to get the demo tapes from Island. We didn't have the money to re-record it, but Rough Trade did pay for a remix. The single's cover photo was taken by Milton Haworth, who had happened to be at a disturbance somewhere. In the midst of it all, he saw the soldier crouched down by a pillar with his gun and this little kid on top of the pillar laughing. It was lightning in a bottle in terms of photography. We do an outdoor show every year in Belfast. We always finish with Alternative Ulster and it's such a unifying call. I find it so pretentious when you say stuff like this – but when you stand on the stage and watch the audience's reaction, it's humbling. John Peel playing Suspect Device was the beginning of everything. We contacted Gordon Ogilvie and started buying large quantities of it to distribute. That's how we got to know the band. Rough Trade had The Cartel [a record distribution organisation] and the idea was to bypass the existing conventional mechanisms and let the independent sector grow. I never really knew the full story of what happened with Island. We did so well distributing Suspect Device that we simply asked if we could do the next single as a Rough Trade release, a one-off. Alternative Ulster was remixed by me with the engineer, Doug Bennett, at Olympic Studios in London. I didn't do that much, but maybe made it a bit more lively. That was the first time I'd ever been in the studio. It was quite amusing. What gave me the gall to do that without experience? I guess I just knew how I wanted it to sound. That was the beginning of my producer career. It was the times, it was the whole punk ethic where you just went and did stuff. I've said this many times, but I just love Henry Cluney's rhythm guitar. The way he played, it's like a bar of steel or something. That was a big part of their sound. And Jake had that really great voice, played great guitar. He meant it – he was convincing. We were quite young ourselves. We didn't really know huge amounts about SLF's culture at that time, but we were learning. There wasn't really time to sit down for a few hours and discuss politics, discuss the future of the world, discuss aims and aspirations. We just did stuff. Alternative Ulster has been rereleased as part of Rough Trade 45s: Volume 1. Stiff Little Fingers headline their annual home town festival at Custom House Square, Belfast, on 16 August.
Boston Globe
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Division 3 roundup: Old Rochester boys' basketball continues stunning run by taking out No. 1 St. Mary's in semifinals
With nothing to lose as the 20th seed, the Bulldogs roared out of intermission and stamped out the Spartans with a 38-15 run, resulting in a 70-63 semifinal victory at Taunton High that sends Old Rochester (15-9) to a second straight state title game, this time against No. 2 Norwell (24-0) at Tsongas Center in Lowell (TBD). 'This is an awesome feeling. I can't believe it,' said ORR senior Gavin Martin after finishing with a team-high 19 points, 16 of which came in the second half. 'Since the start we knew we could do it. We have a special group. We didn't care what other people thought.' Advertisement 20th seeded Old Rochester is headed to Lowell for the Division 3 state championship vs Norwell after defeating No. 1 St. Mary's 70-63 — Brendan Kurie (@BrendanKurie) The Bulldogs, who fell to St. Mary's in the 2023 D3 semifinals, are among the most improbable repeat finalists. Not only are they the lowest seed to reach a basketball championship game since the inception of the statewide tournament, they were 9-9 after getting stomped by 32 points at home by Somerset Berkley on Feb. 4 and needed a win in their final two games just to qualify for the postseason. But over the past five weeks, ORR has ripped off six straight victories, including four in the playoffs. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Our confidence comes from all the doubters, everyone saying we can't do it,' Martin said. 'We can do it. It all comes from us and coach [Steve] Carvalho. He's a great coach.' Old Rochester's Grady Oliveira celebrates with fans after scoring 16 points in the Division 3 semifinal. MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE This marks Carvalho's third trip to the title game in 10 years, following a state championship in 2015 and a 61-40 loss to Charlestown last year. 'This gym has been good to us,' Carvalho said. 'We were fortunate enough to get there last year, but this team is different. I'm not going to call them the Cardiac Kids, but what they have done in this tournament after an up-and-down year and dealing with adversity? I'm proud of all my teams, but this is really a special group.' Old Rochester's Gavin Martin (left) celebrates his team's win over St. Mary's. MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE St. Mary's (24-2) appeared to be pulling away with a 15-5 run in the second quarter spurred by 3-pointers from Jake Fortier, Devell Pamplin, and Marlon Estrella, sending the Spartans into halftime up 36-25. Fortier, a freshman, had 14 points in the first half to lead the charge. Advertisement But the Bulldogs countered in the third quarter with 3-pointers from Finn Kavanagh, Henry Berry, and Martin, who scored the final 5 points of the quarter, putting ORR ahead, 47-46, for the first time since it was 12-11. Related : The Bulldogs defense held Fortier scoreless in the second half and Donel Kabongo Mutombo, who had 7 points in the game's opening four minutes, had just 1 point over the next 28. JJ Martinez did yeoman's work to keep the Spartans in it, finishing with a game-high 22, but even a brief surge that closed the score to 64-60 on a Vasquez 3-pointer with 36 seconds left sputtered out as Martin and Grady Oliveira (16 points) hit their free throws down the stretch. 'The whole year we've been getting better and better and better and now we're clicking at the most perfect time,' Martin said. 'There is no doubt in us.' Old Rochester's Gavin Martin, left, and June Vasquez of St. Mary's chase after a loose ball. MARK STOCKWELL FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE Norwell 65, Taconic 46 — Nick Fein raced up the court, collected a pass from Ronan Coffey, and snuck in a layup just before the halftime buzzer. It was part of back-to-back-to-back transition baskets by Norwell, following a layup from Coffey and a 3 from Keegan O'Hare to open a 37-25 lead at the half, and the No. 2 Clippers (24-0) kept No. 6 Taconic (19-5) at arm's length the rest of the way for a semifinal victory at North High in Worcester. It's the first time in program history Norwell is a boys' basketball finalist. 'It's incredible,' said 31-year coach John Willis. 'It's something you dream about. It's an unbelievable feeling, but we still have one more game to play.' Advertisement 65-46 is the final and — AJ (@aj_traub) Coffey (18 points) delivered seven free throws in the fourth quarter, also collecting three steals at the end of the first, which added 4 points. The senior didn't know almost no time was left in the half when he passed ahead to Fein (7 points), but brought the Clippers bench to its feet. 'You have to keep going all 32 minutes,' he said. 'When it gets to those end of quarters, you tend to get a little lackadaisical, but you have to play until the whistle because that's where the big moments are.' Senior Nick Adams scored 9 points, and sophomores Charlie Williams (11 points) and Jack Luccarelli (8) combined for 16 first-half points. 'It felt great,' said Williams, who sank three triples in the first half. 'I think it gave us all a little bit of confidence, knowing we can compete with them, especially because we lost to them [in the Round of 16] last year.' Related : Taconic senior Ceasar Santos scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, trying to rally the Thunder, but the Clippers were there on the boards, pressing for steals, and keeping the gap double-digits. 'This is a really special group of kids,' Willis said. 'It's been a three-year journey. 'These kids just play hard and they've met every challenge along the way.' AJ Traub reported from Worcester State. Brendan Kurie can be reached at
Boston Globe
08-03-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Four high school takeaways as the boys' and girls' basketball fields are whittled down
1. Bulldogs still dancing Between Thursday and Friday, 31 basketball teams advanced into the final four of their division, and 30 of those teams were seeded seventh or higher. The only exception? The 20th-seeded Old Rochester boys, who took down fifth-seeded Greater Lawrence in the Division 3 quarterfinals behind 22 points from senior Gavin Martin , who was Related : Old Rochester (14-9) is coming off a state finals appearance last year, when it fell, 61-40, to Charlestown. The Bulldogs' Noah Fernandes — who later played at Wichita State, UMass, and Rutgers — and coach Steve Carvalho led them past Hoosac Valley. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up We'll have at least one more double-digit seed in the boys' semifinals, with No. 19 Rockport and No. 11 Westport meeting in a Saturday quarterfinal (1 p.m.). Advertisement Making history were Masconomet and Norwell, whose boys' basketball teams both became the first in program history to reach the state semifinals, while the Oliver Ames boys have advanced further than they have in 60 years, since claiming the 1965 Class C crown. Related : So far, the only division to go to chalk is Division 1 girls, which has No. 1 Wachusett, No. 2 Bishop Feehan, No. 3 Springfield Central, and No. 4 Braintree still competing. With two more teams to play on Saturday (St. Mary's boys, Hopedale girls), no No. 1 seed has lost through the first three rounds, although our first three No. 2 seeds Attleboro (D1 boys), Mansfield (D2 boys), Dartmouth (D2 girls) were bounced Friday. 3. Three stars There were plenty to choose from, but we whittled it down to these three: Bourne's Mike Dankert , the 6-foot-5-inch senior kept the second-seeded Canalmen cruising through the Division 4 bracket with 29 points and 16 rebounds in a 74-48 win over No. 23 O'Bryant. Bourne has now won its three playoff games by a combined score of 225-131, with none being decided by fewer than 26 points. Newton North's Teagan Swint , the only MIAA boys' player to be McDonald's All-American nominee proved why with 25 points and five blocks, including 12 points in the fourth quarter as Somerset Berkley's starters, who with the exception of Max Finlaw all put up impressive numbers in an 88-60 Division 2 quarterfinal win over Pope Francis. Junior Colten Pacheco (29 points, 7 rebounds), senior Finn Bjork (21 points, 12 rebounds), senior Brendan McDonald (20 points, 8 assists), and junior Dom Taylor (12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) all stuffed the stat sheet. Also of note, Dartmouth senior Kat Cheesebro , who 3. Nightly scoring leaderboard Colten Pacheco , Somerset Berkley, 29 Tyler Vincent , Hanover, 29 Advertisement Mike Dankert , Bourne, 29 Ian Piper , Holland, 26 Teagan Swint , Newton North, 25 Mamadou Camara , Malden Catholic, 25 Kat Cheesebro , Dartmouth, 24 Gavin Martin , Old Rochester, 22 Maddie Oliver , Norwell, 22 Cole Craffey , Oliver Ames, 21 Finn Bjork , Somerset Berkley, 21 Brendan McDonald , Somerset Berkley, 20 Abby Broderick , Medfield, 20 Kailey Sullivan , Foxborough, 20 4. Grappling with greatness Saturday marks the start of the New England wrestling championships in Providence — Shawsheen senior Sid Tildsley is looking to break the state's all-time win record — and AJ Traub has you covered: Brendan Kurie can be reached at
