2024.08.06 - Belfast Telegraph - Guns N’ Roses star Duff McKagan: Stiff Little Fingers’ tunes taught me about the Troubles

Guns N’ Roses star Duff McKagan: Stiff Little Fingers’ tunes taught me about the Troubles
Bassist’s mum helped him understand NI punk heroes’ lyrics as a teenager

By David O'Dornan

Rocker Duff McKagan has said he was educated about the history of the Troubles thanks to the Belfast punk band Stiff Little Fingers.

The Guns N’ Roses bassist told of how he didn’t initially get the references in songs such as Suspect Device when he was a teen growing up in Seattle.

But his mother, who had Irish roots, was able to explain the meaning behind the lyrics of the 1979 tune.

Duff (60) said: “I borrowed a Stiff Little Fingers record from a friend when I was 14 or so, and I was playing it on our living room stereo.

“My mum’s dad came from Cork, so she was connected with what was going on in Ireland at that time, and she heard me playing this record.

“I didn’t know it was political. I didn’t know what a suspect device was. I didn’t know it was a bomb.

“She heard this and read the lyrics. She said ‘Oh, these poor boys. They’re growing up in war in Belfast’.

“So, I learned history through Stiff Little Fingers and my mum. I got to get my worldview education through a lot of punk rock.”

Born Michael Andrew McKagan, he was given the nickname ‘Duff’ by his parents Marie and Elmer because it was “an Irish thing”.

He said that, thanks to his mum, he always had a handle on politics.

“I grew up in an interesting time. Two of my brothers were in the Vietnam War when I was a little kid,” Duff added.

“I would ask my mum ‘Why? What’s a war?’ She said ‘Well, two old guys don’t agree and they send all the young men to go fight’.

“I’ve found no better answer than that. To this day, that is the correct answer. It’s still the old f***ing men doing this, for the most part.

“I can see bulls*** where I see bulls***. And there’s just so much bulls*** right now.

“I get to travel a ton, and what I found is that people are mostly polite. Nobody asks you about your politics.

“I can’t watch CNN over here. In America, the news has become so divisive and Trump-centric. There’s just too much. It’s too much to watch on anybody. Biden or Trump or anybody, these guys are all full of s***.”

His bandmate Slash recently said that “2025 is all about Guns N’ Roses” freeing up its members to pursue solo projects.

For Duff, that includes a UK and European tour that kicks off in Dublin at the end of September, which he’s getting in shape for.
He said: “I do a martial art called ukidokan. It looks like kickboxing.

“Being in the ring is just a representation. When you’re sparring with somebody in the ring, and you don’t know who that person is, and you see fear or anger, you can see it all. The more years you put into it, you can see the whole person. You know what they’re going to do.

“Outside of that ring, you apply all these lessons to life: relax breathe, and smile. Smile at your scared opponent and help them.
“It really works outside in life. It works in my family, being a dad — I’ll always reference that first.

“Then it helps with your wife and kids, it always helps my friendships and it helps in business. It helps every facet of my life.”

Duff McKagan’s solo UK and Europe tour begins at The Academy in Dublin on September 30. Stiff Little Fingers play Custom House Square in Belfast on August 17

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/entertainment/guns-n-roses-star-duff-mckagan-stiff-little-fingers-tunes-taught-me-about-the-troubles/a83233549.html