Plus Special Guests THE GLORIAS

“Memories fade, but some linger for a reason. The Skids was the definitive part of my early life. A brilliant adventure into the world of creativity and adulthood”, reflected Richard Jobson recently, “ I was a kid when I joined the band in 1977 – 16 years old. By the time the adventure had run aground, I was a dazed and confused young man. We were fearless in the beginning, always trying new things and not afraid to be different in a musical world that was beginning to sound very derivative and safe. Contrary to the reports from people who were never near the centre of the band, Stuart Adamson and I got on very well – in fact for a long time we were very close. I enjoyed writing with him – he was generous and incredibly adaptable to my unmusical ideas. The Skids were not just another punk band – we were creatively ambitious as well as being close to the core beliefs of our hard-won fans. But most importantly we loved playing live.

Taking these memories and replanting them into 2017 has not been easy. How do you do it? How should it sound? Are we little more than a heritage band? These were the questions rattling around my head as I tried to find a way to celebrate the bands 40th anniversary. The answers ended up being very simple –Don’t over think it – Just do it. Enjoy every minute of it. Play the songs like it might be the last time. Give it everything. And then…….there’s the new stuff!!! The beginning of something new rather than the end of something old.”

SOMETHING OLD… The Skids formed in 1977 in their home town of Dunfermline, Scotland by Richard Jobson, Stuart Adamson, Bill Simpson & Tom Kellichan. After releasing an independent single the band were played by John Peel, supported The Clash in concert and then were signed to Virgin Records in 1978. Their first singles were ‘Sweet Surburbia’, ‘The Saints are Coming’ and ‘Into the Valley’ - the latter reaching the UK Top Ten in early 1979.

Their seminal debut album ‘Scared to Dance’; came out in 1979 and was quickly followed by twochart singles – ‘Masquerade’ and ‘Working for the Yankee Dollar’. Both singles were taken from the second album ‘Days in Europa’. The band released two more albums ‘The Absolute Game’ (1980) and ‘Joy’ (1981) before splitting with Stuart Adamson moving on to worldwide success with Big Country. Skids briefly reformed in 2007 to celebrate the band's 30th Anniversary with concerts in their native Scotland at T in the Park and in their hometown of Dunfermline then in 2017 the band embarked on a highly successful 40th Anniversary Tour covering the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland and an acclaimed appearance at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool.

SOMETHING NEW … A fifth studio Album “Burning Cities” was released in January 2018 followed by further tours the UK in 2018 and 2019 ending with a co-headline appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2019. 2019 also brought us an acoustic album “Peaceful Times” which consisted of beautifully reworked acoustic versions of classic Skids songs and then during the extended lockdown in 2020/2021 the band recorded their critically acclaimed “covers” album – “Songs from A Haunted Ballroom”

The 45th Anniversary of the band brings another extensive tour of the UK and the recording of a new Studio Album – “Destination Dusseldorf” is almost complete and will be released early in 2023. The band move from strength to strength and their live shows have a reputation for full on Skids Classics. Catch us where you can ….