Skids (band)

Skids

The Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (1958 - 2001, guitars / vocals / keyboards / percussion), William Simpson (bass guitar / vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and Richard Jobson (vocals / guitar / keyboards). Their biggest success was the single "Into the Valley" in 1979. It is still used as a theme song for fans of Dunfermline Athletic F.C. in the Scottish First Division and Charlton Athletic F.C. in the (English) Football League Championship

Career

After issuing "Reasons" on Dunfermline music shop owner, and then manager, Sandy Muir's No Bad record label, the band was signed by Virgin Records. Sweet Suburbia and The Saints Are Coming both made commercial inroads, before "Into the Valley" reached the UK Top 10 in early 1979. The band also released their debut album Scared to Dance in 1979, which was produced by David Batchelor. Of uneven quality, the album showcases Stuart Adamson's unique guitar style which was later to come to prominence in the band Big Country. The album also featured the song The Saints are Coming, later recorded as a charity single by U2 and Green Day.

Despite criticism of Jobson's lyrics as pretentious, the Skids enjoyed a further year of chart success as "Masquerade" and "Working For The Yankee Dollar" reached the Top 20. Both came from their second album, also released in 1979, Days in Europa, with the records production & keyboards by Bill Nelson (Be-Bop Deluxe, Red Noise, Channel Light Vessel and solo artist). Nelson played an import role in polishing the Skids sound and in encouraging the development of Jobson's lyrics. Just before the recording of the album commenced Kellichan left the band, and was temporarily replaced on drums by Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids, later with the band Visage, and a 1980s dance DJ at the Blitz club). Egan played on the album, and later on the live concert tour. Keyboard player Alistair Moore also temporary joined the band to perform live with them. He had been recruited to play Bill Nelson's keyboard parts from the record. Some of Jobson's lyrics, and the album cover caused controversy. It showed an 'Olympian' being crowned with laurels, by an Aryan-looking woman, and the lettering was in Gothic script. Some felt that this glorified Nazi ideology and it was presumed that the imagery was copied from the 1936 Olympics, held in Germany. After the original version of the album had already been released, Canadian record producer Bruce Fairbairn was brought into the project. The original cover and the track "Pros and the Cons" were removed. The sleeve was completely redesigned and the song "Masquerade" added. The album was also remixed and the tracks re-sequenced. This second version was released in 1980.

Simpson and Egan were replaced by Russell Webb (bass guitar / vocals / keyboards / percussion / guitar) and Mike Baillie (drums / vocals / percussion) respectively for the recording of the third album. The Absolute Game, released in 1980, and produced by Mick Glossop, proved to be the band's most commercial release. It reached the Top 10 album chart and contained the minor hit "Circus Games". A few of the tracks on the album also included a collection of fourteen adult and child backing vocalists, along with a lone didgeridoo player. Initial copies of The Absolute Game came with a free limited edition second album entitled Strength Through Joy, echoing the band's previous controversial themes. Jobson claims to have got the title from Dirk Bogarde's autobiography.

Soon after the release and live concert tour of The Absolute Game, Adamson and Baillie left the band. (Although Adamson did temporarily return to play on one more song from the album Joy, called Iona.) Adamson went on to launch the career of his new band, Big Country, and Baillie moved back to Scotland to live. It left Jobson and Webb, in 1981, to write and record the band's fourth and final album Joy, which Russell Webb also produced. The pair played multiple instruments on the album, and also invited a collection of seventeen musical friends to perform on various tracks with them. The Skids dissolved in 1982, with the album Fanfare posthumously issued by Virgin. It was a mixture of greatest hits and unreleased tracks.

Jobson and Webb then went onto form a new band called The Armoury Show. The group only recorded one album called Waiting for the Floods in 1985 before splitting up. Jobson went onto pursue a solo career as a poet, songwriter, television presenter and most recently a film director. He released albums on the Belgian record label Les Disques du Crepuscule, and the UK's own Parlophone Records.

In 2007 Richard Jobson, William Simpson and Mike Baillie, along with Bruce Watson (guitar / vocals) of Big Country, Jamie Watson (guitar), Brian Jobson (vocals) and Jane Button (vocals), got together to play three gigs. They were to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the group's formation, and as a final tribute to Stuart Adamson, who died in 2001. The shows on 4 July and 5 July were at Dunfermline's Glen Pavilion, where they were supported by Rosyth band The Draymin - outside of which The Skids had previously played only their second gig according to Jobson - and on 7 July, at the T in the Park festival.

Miscellanea

• Manic Street Preachers' 1991 single "Motown Junk", samples The Skids' track, "Charles".
• In 2006, U2 and Green Day released a cover of "The Saints are Coming". It reached the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart.
• Thomas Kellichan now runs a music bar in Tenerife.
• Into the Valley was used in a UK TV commercial for Maxell audio tapes.
• All guitars on Skids recordings and live performances were tuned down a tone (2 frets), to accommodate Richard Jobson's crap voice. Many of the band's songs were played with an open string "drone" note.

Discography

Singles

• "Charles" (1977)
• "Sweet Suburbia" (1978) UK #70
• Wide Open EP featuring "The Saints Are Coming" (1978) UK #48
• "Into the Valley" (1979) UK #10
• "Masquerade" (1979) UK #14
• "Charade" (1979) UK #31
• "Working for the Yankee Dollar" (1979) UK #20
• "Animation" (1980) UK #56
• "Circus Games" (1980) UK #32
• "Goodbye Civilian" (1980) UK #52
• "Women in Winter" (1980) UK #49
• "Fields" (1981)
• "Iona" (1981)

Albums

Studio/live albums

• Scared to Dance (1979) UK #19
• Days in Europa (1979; Remixed & re-issued with a new sleeve design in 1980) UK #32
• The Absolute Game (1980) UK #9
• Joy (1981)
• BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1991)
• Masquerade Masquerade (2007, mixed in 2006. Live album featuring tracks from two concerts. They were Hammersmith Odeon in 1980 & Glasgow Apollo in 1979.)

Compilation albums

• Sweet Suburbia: The Best of The Skids (1995)
• The Very Best of The Skids (2003)
• Into the Valley: The Best of The Skids (2005)
• The Saints Are Coming: The Best of The Skids (2007)

References

• Guinness Book of British Hit Singles - 16th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-190-X
• Guinness Book of British Hit Albums - 7th Edition - ISBN 0-85112-619-7
• The Great Rock Discography - 5th Edition - ISBN 1-84195-017-3

External links

• Official site
• The Skids biography at the AMG website