The 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), Richard Jobson (vocals / guitar), Thomas Kellichan (drums) and William Simpson (bass guitar / vocals). 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 (below right) and The Saints Are Coming both made commercial inroads, before "Into the Valley" reached the UK Top 10 in early 1979. Following the release of the band's debut album Scared to Dance, Kellichan was temporarily replaced by Rusty Egan (ex-drummer with Rich Kids, later with the band Visage, and a pioneering 1980's dance DJ at the Blitz club). Of uneven quality, the album showcases Stuart Adamson's unique guitar style which was to come to prominence in 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, Days in Europa, with 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 Jobson's lyrics. The album cover created a great deal of controversy, since it showed an 'Olympian' being crowned with laurels, by an Aryan looking woman, and the lettering was in Gothic script. Some felt that this had Nazi undertones presumably to the 1936 Olympics, and so the cover was replaced with a more sedate one. The album was also remixed and re-release, and the two editions are quite different in sound. If anything though, the album continues the anti-war themes dominant in the Skids and Big Country from the very beginning.

The picture cover of The Skids' 1979 "Masquerade" single

Further change ensued when 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 their third album, The Absolute Game, which proved to be the band's most commercial, reaching the Top 10 and containing the minor hit "Circus Games". 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. In fact, Jobson claims to have got the title from Dirk Bogarde's autobiography.

After the release of The Absolute Game the Skids’ songwriting team was split as Adamson went on to launch the career of his new band, Big Country, (Baillie had also left the band) leaving Jobson and Webb to record the band's final set Joy, which was virtually a folk music album, and alienated some sections of fans. However, it did at least comtinue the tradition of rapid change in the Skids' style and sound. The Skids dissolved in 1982, with Fanfare posthumously issued by Virgin as a mixture of greatest hits and unreleased tracks. Jobson recorded one album with a new band, The Armoury Show before pursuing 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 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the groups formation, and as a final farewell to the mighty Stuart Adamson (deceased). The shows on the 4th and 5th July were at Dunfermline's Glen Pavilion, Scotland, UK - outside of which the group had previously played only their second gig according to Jobson - and on the 7th July, at the T in the Park festival, Scotland, UK.