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Emerging from the fall-out of the punk explosion, the Skids were inspired by the new class of '77 especially the Clash and Buzzcocks — but were influenced by artists from an earlier age. Guitarist Stuart Adamson modelled much of his playing style on Be-Bop Deluxe maestro Bill Nelson while adopting the cocky stance of US punk prototypes Nils Lofgren and Lou Reed. At a party, Adamson met the 16-year-old Richard Jobson — a gap-toothed headstrong punk with two-tone hair — and the Skids were born: the first band from the cultural wasteland of Dunfermline since blues-rockers Nazareth. Completing the line-up was ex-lorry driver drummer Tom Kellichan and taciturn bassist Willie Simpson, both local lads who combined as the typical quiet but solid rhythm section. Adamson and Jobson were not only the public face of the band, but also the creative force— initially Richard was simply a frustrated new-wave shouter (most forcibly displayed on their ferocious live version of Mott The Hoople's 'Violence'), while the more naturally talented Stuart provided both music and lyrics for songs such as 'Neckshots', 'Don't Want To Go' and 'Scared To Dance'. Support slots with the Stranglers, Vibrators and Radio Stars plus a series of London dates at famed venues like Hammersmith Red Cow, the Nashville and Stoke Newington Rochester Castle were ideal promotion for their debut single, which comprised three Adamson compositions — 'Charles', 'Reasons' and 'Test Tube Babies'. They gathered a small clan of devoted fans, including one VIP, Radio One DJ John Peel, whose patronage led to a record deal with Virgin: the Skids repaid the debt by immortalising him in their seminal 'TV Stars' singalong — thus bizarre audience demands for 'Albert Tatlock'! By the time this live recording was made, the Skids were about to release their first album, 'Scared To Dance', and the balance of creative input had shifted towards an equal songwriting partnership, with Jobson providing virtuous, provocative lyrics for songs like 'Melancholy Soldiers', 'The Saints Are Coming' and their breakthrough chart entry 'Into The Valley', delivered in his unique vocal style, part Scottish thug, part teenage street poet. Jobson had also recently adopted basic rhythm guitar duties — listen again to 'Melancholy Soldiers' for his painfully fumbled chord changes, way too high in the mix — which nevertheless allowed he and Adamson to present a dynamic two-pronged visual attack: on some nights, the moment when they both crashed through the windmilling chord section on the same song was truly exhilarating. In many weays, this live album captures the Skids in their element — it features the original line-up (subsequent albums were recorded with new bassist Russell Webb and a variety of drummers), driven by a naive lust for fame 'n' glory and damn the consequences. But the future split — with the home-loving Adamson retreating to Dunfermline to form Big Country and the cosmopolitan Jobson continuing with Webb for one more Skids album before the short-lived Armoury Show, then a high-profile career as a TV presenter, male model, performance poet and would-be actor and finally an under-rated solo album — was already on the cards during this club tour. On a rare night off, while band and crew drove from Liverpool to see the Clash play in Sheffield, Adamson caught the train back to Scotland to see his future wife, Sandra. But for a brief, glorious moment in 1979, the Skids embodied everything vital and exciting that punk had liberated from the shackles of mid-70s British rock torpor. They were brash, frenetic, ragged, arrogant and burning with the unquenchable fire of youthful abondon. On this record, that spirit lives on ... Johnny Waller, November 1991 |
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SKIDS OF ONE SKIN All songs written by Jobson & Adamson, Recorded 10th March 1979, Paris Theatre. Produced by Chris Lycett.
Ⓟ 1991 Windsong International |
