Quirky power pop four-piece Little Love & The Friendly Vibes have tried something new with their new, punk-influenced single, ‘Terri Terri.’
The high-octane track is a tribute to the Northern Irish ‘Godfather of Punk’ Terri Hooley, founder of the Good Vibrations record shop and label. Hooley, a passionate music fan who risked his life by opening a record shop in 1970’s Belfast during the Troubles, is widely regarded as a legendary figure amongst the Belfast music community and beyond.
The shop was hugely popular in the city with members of both sides of the conflict congregating together in what became a safe space where people were drawn together by a shared love of music during a period of civil unrest and violence. Hooley’s shop became the centre of a musical renaissance in a city torn apart by fear and violence, where a once thriving music scene had been destroyed but was soon to be resurrected.
Hooley then founded the Good Vibrations label which was responsible for launching the careers of seminal punk bands such as The Undertones, Protex, and The Outcasts, and the signature raucous sound of these bands are clearly the influence for the Edinburgh band’s track.
Clocking in at a snappy 2 minutes and 10 seconds, the single is short and snappy in a manner that reminds you of the bands that Hooley managed, but it is crucial to point out that this is not derivative in any way. Little Love & The Friendly Vibes have already crafted their own signature eccentric sound and the frenetic track fits in perfectly with their existing back catalogue.
The timing of the single is perfect as well as it coincides with the unveiling of a new mural of Hooley in Belfast, as well as the release of a biography on his life. Overall, the track is a fitting tribute to an icon of not only punk, but of music as a whole and it is one that I thoroughly recommend you check out as well as the rest of Little Love & The Friendly Vibes’ discography, which can be done so below: