Forming in Dunfermline, Scotland in the summer of 1977, trailblazing punk rockers the Skids were among the first punk groups to assemble outside of the scene's London epicentre. Comprising members Stuart Adamson (guitar, backing vocals, keyboard, percussion), William Simpson (bass, backing vocals), Thomas Kellichan (drums), and Richard Jobson (vocals, guitar, keyboard), their talked-about first gig took place on 19th August 1977 at the Bellville Hotel in Pilmuir Street, Dunfermline, and within six months they had dropped their first record. Whetting the appetite for the band's fiery punk zeal, their Charles EP was released in February 1978 on the No Bad record label and was soon brought to the attention of indie tastemaker extraordinaire, John Peel. Shortly after they inked a deal with Virgin, who had famously signed the Sex Pistols the previous year, and found some commercial success with the singles "The Saints are Coming" and "Sweet Suburbia" while scoring a chart triumph with their now-signature tune "Into the Valley". The track hit the top 10 on the UK Singles Chart in early 1979 and served as the punchy opener to their debut full-length, Scared to Dance, which also landed in 1979. Their next two singles, "Masquerade" and "Working for the Yankee Dollar" rocketed to the UK top 20 with the latter featured on their second album, also released in 1979, Days in Europa. After courting controversy with the album's cover, which was criticised for evoking the 1936 Olympics and glorifying Nazi ideology, they were forced to revise the sleeve and re-released the LP in 1980. After a lineup change that saw one of the Skids' founding members, William Simpson, replaced by Russell Webb (bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion, and guitar) and Mike Baillie, ex-Insect Bites, lend a permanent hand on drums, backing vocals and percussion, the band unleashed their third album The Absolute Game in 1980, which ranked ninth in the UK charts. Stuart Adamson went on to launch his new band, Big Country, which meant Richard Jobson and Russell Webb were tasked with writing and recording the band's fourth and final album Joy, also produced by the latter. For their fourth album they switched lanes and championed the Scottish folk of their heritage. The group split up in 1982, and the compilation Fanfare was later released by Virgin. In 2007, Richard Jobson, William Simpson and Mike Baillie, along with Bruce Watson (guitar and backing vocals), Jamie Watson (guitar), Brian Jobson (backing vocals) and Jane Button (backing vocals), reunited to play three live shows, also later playing in 2009 and 2010. In 2017, they completed a reunion tour to celebrate their 40th anniversary and the following year returned with Burning Cities, their fifth album and their first in 36 years, which went to number 28 in the UK. A follow-up arrived in 2021, Songs from a Haunted Ballroom.
