The Skids Artistfacts

1977–1982, 2007–2010, 2016
Richard JobsonVocals. keyboard1977–1982, 2007–2010, 2016-
Stuart AdamsonGuitar1977-1981
William SimpsonBass1977–1980, 2007–2010, 2016-2022
Tom KellichanDrums1977-1979
Mike BaillieDrums1979–1980, 2007–2010, 2016–2019
Russell WebbBass1980-1982
Bruce WatsonGuitar2007–2010, 2016–2023
Jamie WatsonGuitar2007–2010, 2016–2023
Fin WilsonBass2023-2024
Nick HernandezDrums2022-
Connor WhyteGuitar2023-
Peter ByrchmoreBass2025-
Skids played their first gig on August 19, 1977, at the Bellville Hotel in Pilmuir Street, Dunfermline, Scotland. Within six months they had recorded and released the independently issued Charles EP on local label No Bad, run by Dunfermline music shop owner-turned-manager Sandy Muir. That DIY single earned them radio play from BBC Radio 1's John Peel and helped them jump from the local Fife scene to a national record deal.
Skids grew out of Dunfermline's small-town punk scene, but they always sounded more literary and cinematic than most of their contemporaries. Richard Jobson has talked about how he and Stuart Adamson bonded over books as much as records, feeding references to war poetry, European history and classic literature into songs like "Into The Valley" and "The Saints Are Coming." That mix of big choruses and bookish imagery made them an outlier in UK punk and helped their songs age better than many of the era's more slogan-driven anthems.
Although Skids are usually associated with Dunfermline's town-hall gigs and the early Scottish punk circuit, they caught a crucial early break supporting The Clash. After the Charles EP and John Peel exposure, the band opened for The Clash in concert, which put their tightly drilled live show in front of a national audience and impressed industry watchers enough to attract Virgin Records. That leap from a Fife hotel bar to sharing bills with one of punk's defining bands happened in barely a year.
The band's signature guitar sound was largely Stuart Adamson's doing, but it took an outside producer to fully recognize it. When Skids worked with producer Mick Glossop around The Absolute Game era, he saw it was Adamson's chiming, melodic guitar that really carried the band, and he pushed it to the front of the mix. That same guitar voice would soon become the hallmark of Adamson's next band, Big Country.
Richard Jobson was only in his mid-teens when Skids started, and he had to learn how to front a band in public very quickly. Later interviews and live-storytelling shows find him laughing at his early, hyperactive stage persona - all sharp angles, high kicks and flailing limbs - but that awkward energy became part of Skids' appeal. His unusual delivery and physical style helped the band stand out in a crowded post-punk field.
After Skids split in the early 1980s, their members spread out into other influential corners of British music. Stuart Adamson went on to worldwide success with Big Country, while Jobson formed The Armoury Show and later reinvented himself as a TV presenter, writer and filmmaker. Despite those divergent paths, both men continued to talk about their time in Skids as a formative creative education that shaped everything they did next.
Skids first reformed in 2007 to mark the 30th anniversary of their formation, bringing Richard Jobson back together with original members Bill Simpson and Mike Baillie, plus new players filling Stuart Adamson's irreplaceable role on guitar. The reunion began as a one-off celebration - including high-profile shows like T in the Park - but the chemistry and audience response convinced them to keep going, leading to further tours and, eventually, new studio material.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Why Can't We Be Friends?War

War got the idea for "Why Can't We Be Friends?" when they were traveling in Japan and found they had a kinship with the citizens even though they didn't speak the same language.

Sweetest ThingU2

Bono wrote U2's song "Sweetest Thing" for his wife to make up for working on her birthday. For the video, he staged an "apology parade," complete with Irish step dancers and an elephant.

My WayFrank Sinatra

According to Frank Sinatra's daughter, he hated "My Way," but had to sing it at every show when it became his signature song.

White IversonPost Malone

Post Malone came up with "White Iverson" after getting braids in his hair and thinking they looked like basketball legend Allen Iverson's signature cornrows.

Moves Like JaggerMaroon 5

Mick Jagger was a little freaked out when Maroon 5 released "Moves Like Jagger," a celebration of his stage moves. "It puts a bit of pressure on me when I go out dancing," he said.