Skin

Skin are a UK rock band active from 1992 to 2013. The line-up includes Dickie Fliszar, Myke Gray, Neville MacDonald, Colin McLeod and Andy Robbins. The band forms in the early 1990s from ex-Jagged Edge members Myke Gray and Andy Robbins, alongside former Kooga vocalist Neville MacDonald and drummer Dickie Fliszar, who has also played with Bruce Dickinson’s touring band and Vamp. Colin McLeod joins as a touring keyboard player and appears as a part-time member from 1994 to 1996.

Formation and early work

The band first performs under the name Taste and plays a number of small club dates throughout 1992 before settling on Skin. Sanctuary Management takes them on, leading to a Parlophone record deal. Through Bruce Dickinson, they come to the attention of American producer Keith Olsen, who records their debut at Goodnight LA Studio in Los Angeles. After the first sessions, the band decides more material is needed, so three additional songs are recorded with Shay Baby producing.

Before the debut album appears, Skin support Little Angels on a fourteen-date UK tour and also tour with Thunder, which helps build their audience. Their debut single is The Skin Up EP, followed by House of Love and then their first UK chart single, Money.

Albums, singles and touring

Skin release their debut album, Lucky, followed by the singles How Lucky You Are and Perfect Day. Neither the album nor those singles match the chart success of the band’s first release, and the group is later dropped by Parlophone. The changing climate for rock music in British mainstream media is part of that decline. They continue with a Japanese record contract and complete a third album, Big Fat Slice of Life, which is released in 1997.

For the UK market, the band puts out a self-financed two-track CD single, Degeneration, distributed through the fan club. Later in 1997 they issue their fourth and final studio album, Experience Electric, on Snapper Music. This version includes revised material from the Japanese release, with several tracks reworked; Ride The Blue Wave becomes the title track, while Big Fat Slice... and Degeneration are left off because of the fan-club release. The album reaches number one in the indie charts. During this period the band tours heavily and shops the album to American record companies, and also meets Jonathan King.

Live releases and farewell

In 1995 Skin record and release Live at the Borderline, a very limited-edition CD of classic rock cover versions that is given away free with Kerrang! magazine. Only 50 copies are available, and a Japanese import version appears soon after. Following their appearance at Gateshead Stadium supporting Bon Jovi, they release Take Me Down to the River as a double CD with some of the Borderline material. Their performance at that Bon Jovi show is affected by a stage fault that blows Myke Gray’s guitar amp and Colin McLeod’s Hammond organ.

In 1998 Skin announce a farewell tour. Their final concert, at the LA2 in London, is recorded and issued as the double live album Hasta La Vista, Baby! on Reef Records, a Snapper Music imprint. After the split, unofficial releases appear with rare and unreleased tracks. In 2009 the band is due to reform for Download Festival.