The Skids were four working class kids from Dunfermline, with impenetrable accents, founded in 1976 by guitarist Stuart Adamson and bassist Bill Simpson. Both veterans of covers band Tattoo, they drafted in singer Richard Jobson and drummer Tom Kellichan to complete the new four-piece.
Plenty of gigs followed, including support slots with Buzzcocks and The Stranglers, before The Skids released the three-track Charles EP on their own No Bad Records imprint, leading shortly to a deal with Virgin. Their first single for Branson’s label, Sweet Suburbia, charted at No 70 in September 1978; their far stronger follow-up, The Saints Are Coming, fared even better in November, reaching No 48.
The brakes were off the following year, as the hits began to flow: Into The Valley went to No 10, while Masquerade made No 14. Yet, despite managing a total of 10 chart singles, the group was ultimately a short-lived concern, hitting the skids in 1981, when they split.
With Jobson’s peculiar clothes, silly dances on TOTP and overblown lyrics, The Skids have come in for some flak over the years, but take no notice. Fact is, they produced some of punk’s most majestic singles, replete with Adamson’s, shrilling, highly influential guitar style. It’s all here: every A- and B-side in a smart clamshell box.
