The Skids

The Skids are a punk and new wave band formed in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1977 by Stuart Adamson on guitars, vocals, keyboards and percussion, Richard Jobson on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Thomas Kellichan on drums, and William Simpson on bass guitar and vocals. The band is associated with the British punk scene and is known for combining punk energy with a more melodic sound on later recordings.

Early releases and breakthrough

The band signs to Virgin and issues the singles “Sweet Suburbia” and “The Saints Are Coming” before reaching a wider audience with “Into the Valley”, a top ten single from their debut album Scared to Dance. Their second album, Days in Europa, produces the top 20 singles “Masquerade” and “Working for the Yankee Dollar” and is produced by Bill Nelson. The album’s original sleeve is replaced after some listeners see the design as echoing Nazi propaganda imagery.

Line-up changes and later 1970s-1980s albums

The Skids’ third album, The Absolute Game, appears in 1980 and is produced by Mick Glossop. It adds Russell Webb on bass guitar, vocals, guitar, keyboards and percussion, and Mike Baillie on drums, vocals and percussion. The band’s sound continues to move away from a direct punk style towards a softer one. After Stuart Adamson and Mike Baillie leave following the album and tour, Richard Jobson and Russell Webb record the fourth and final studio album, Joy, in 1981; Webb also produces it. The pair play multiple instruments and bring in seventeen guest musicians. The band dissolves in 1982, and Virgin later issues Fanfare, a collection of greatest hits and unreleased tracks.

After the split

After The Skids end, Jobson and Webb form The Armoury Show, which records one album, Waiting for the Floods, in 1985 before splitting. Jobson later works as a poet, songwriter, television presenter and film director, and releases albums on Les Disques du Crepuscule and Parlophone. Stuart Adamson later launches Big Country. Adamson dies in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2001.

Reformations and later activity

The Skids reform in 2007 with Richard Jobson, William Simpson and Mike Baillie, joined by Bruce Watson, Jamie Watson, Brian Jobson and Jane Button. These shows mark the thirtieth anniversary of the band’s formation and serve as a tribute to Stuart Adamson, with performances at Dunfermline’s Glen Pavilion and at T in the Park. The same line-up appears again in Glasgow in 2009 and 2010, including concerts linked to Homecoming Live and The Fifer Festival. The band reforms again in 2016 and releases its fifth album, Burning Cities, in 2018. “Into the Valley” is also used as a theme song by Dunfermline Athletic FC and Charlton Athletic FC.