AS a second plastic pint glass sails through the crowd and the gentleman in front of me hits the deck for the second time in as many songs, it’s fair to say a lot of people are re-living their youth at King George’s Hall this Sunday evening.

Accrington lads The Itch get the audience in the mood with their Mod anthems, closing with a rousing cover of The Members’ Sound Of The Suburbs.

But Stiff Little Fingers’ opening salvo of At The Edge, Wasted Life and Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae whips the busy Windsor Suite crowd into a proper frenzy.

Frontman Jake Burns has the crowd in the palm of his hands during the likes of Nobody’s Hero and Strummerville, but the band’s set-list has barely changed in the past five years and, although enjoyable, it could do with a few curveballs.

New songs Care About Me and My Dark Place, therefore, come as a welcome surprise and suggest that SLF’s fan-funded tenth studio album, set to be released next year, offers substantial promise.

A raucous Fly The Flag is offset by the meandering Bob Marley cover Johnny Was, before a second encore of Suspect Device and Alternative Ulster sends the punks – young and old – wild one last time.

On tonight’s evidence, there’s no doubt that SLF’s fiery, insightful take on social injustice has aged well and remains hugely relevant.

Can their new album re-capture that youthful rage? I guess we’ll have to Wait And See…