His second novel, ‘Through Hollow Lands’[7][8] (Urbane 2018) is a dark supernatural thriller based loosely on Dante's ‘Inferno’ and follows survivors of the 9/11 attacks, through the seeming purgatory of Las Vegas.

[10][11][12] He appeared on the cover of Melody Maker after they had recorded the controversial The Wild Colonial Boy denouncing Irish-Americans for sending guns and money to the IRA.

[17][18][19] The project was intended to highlight the plight of those families who lost members believed to have been abducted, murdered and secretly buried in Northern Ireland, the large majority of which occurred during the Troubles.

In 2024, Manchester University Press published Burgess’ memoir, Wild Colonial Boys: A Belfast Punk Story.

[20][21][22][23][24] It gave an uncompromising account of his time with his band Ruefrex and enjoyed critical acclaim from a number of sources.