Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Wild colonial boys
    • You may already have access via personal or institutional login
  • Select format
  • Publisher:
    Manchester University Press
    Publication date:
    29 January 2026
    ISBN:
    9781526173386
    9781526173379
    Dimensions:
    Weight & Pages:
    Dimensions:
    Weight & Pages:
    • Subjects:
    Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Music, Art: General Interest, Music, Art
You may already have access via personal or institutional login
    • Selected: Digital
    Add to cart View cart Buy from Cambridge.org
    Subjects:
    Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Music, Art: General Interest, Music, Art
    Manchester University Press logo on white
    Information

    Book description

    Ruefrex were one of Northern Ireland’s most popular and uncompromising punk rock bands. Emerging from the Belfast street-gang culture of the late-1970s, the group, inspired by The Clash, enjoyed a turbulent, decade-long career. They played for millions on CNN and Channel 4, toured with The Pogues and recorded the controversial ‘The Wild Colonial Boy’, which attacked American donations to Northern Irish terrorist organisations. Throughout it all, founder member, songwriter and spokesperson Thomas Paul Burgess ensured the band remained faithful to their Protestant, working-class origins. This candid memoir takes us on a journey from the streets of Belfast to encounters with U2, Shane MacGowan, The Cure, The Fall and Seamus Heaney. From strife-torn 1970s Belfast to bohemian London, Wild colonial boys tells the story of a punk band who refused to give up and stayed true to their punk roots.

    Refine List

    Actions for selected content:

    Select all | Deselect all
    • View selected items
    • Export citations
    • Download PDF (zip)
    • Save to Kindle
    • Save to Dropbox
    • Save to Google Drive

    Save Search

    You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

    Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
    Cancel
    ×

    Contents

    Page 1 of 2

    Contents

    Page 1 of 2

    Metrics

    Altmetric attention score

    Full text views

    Total number of HTML views: 0
    Total number of PDF views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    Book summary page views

    Total views: 0 *
    Loading metrics...

    * Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

    Usage data cannot currently be displayed.

    Accessibility standard: Unknown

    Why this information is here

    This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.

    Accessibility Information

    Accessibility compliance for the PDF of this book is currently unknown and may be updated in the future.