The Skids

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Skids were a punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline in Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson (1958-2001, on guitar, vocals), Richard Jobson (vocals), Tom Kellichan (drums) and Willie Simpson (bass). Their biggest success was the single "Into the Valley" in 1979. It is still used as a theme song for fans of Charlton Athletic F.C. in the FA Premier League, and Dunfermline Athletic F.C. in the Scottish Premier League.

Contents 1 Career 2 Trivia 3 Discography 3.1 Singles 3.2 Albums 4 References 5 External links

[edit] 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 replaced by Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids). 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 the second album, Days in Europa, which was produced by Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe. 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 on re-release, and the two editions are quite different in sound.

Further change ensued when Simpson and Egan were replaced by Russell Webb and Mike Baillie 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 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, leaving Jobson and Webb to record the band's final set Joy, which was virtually a folk music album, and which alienated some sections of fans. 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 broadcaster 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.

[edit] Trivia

• 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.
• Tom Kellichan now runs a music bar in Tenerife.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Singles

• "Charles" (1977)
• "Sweet Suburbia" (1978) UK #70
• "Wide Open" EP including "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)

[edit] Albums

• Scared to Dance (1979) UK #19
• Days in Europa (1979, re-issued in a remixed version in a new sleeve design in 1980) UK #32
• The Absolute Game (1980) UK #9
• Joy (1981)
• BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1991)
• The Saints Are Coming (2007)
• Masquerade Masquerade (2007) [Live retrospective featuring tracks from Hammersmith Odeon 1980 and Glasgow Apollo 1979]

(Various compilations have been released. Some songs are included on Big Country compilations).

[edit] 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

[edit] External links

• The Official Site, launching in February, 2007
• Fansite
• Skids event Feb. 07
• The Skids biography at the AMG website
• Fansite with history
• Fansite with complete discography