With band reformations all the rage, the motives are often questioned. With the Skids, however, it doesn’t seem to be about the money, the remaining members doing ok for themselves. At least there’s an anniversary to celebrate – 30 years since their formation and despite a massive (charity) hit for Green Day/U2’s cover of Saints Are Coming, the band still stick out like a sore thumb in Scotland’s musical history, with Richard Jobson’s “pretentious” lyrics (and subsequent forays into poetry). Indeed, the band are almost overshadowed by Stuart Adamson’s anthemic success with Big Country and Jobson’s time spent in thespian circles and, most notoriously, pig farming on Neighbours from Hell, all relegating The Skids to a mere footnote. So, it’s time for one last fling.
And what a fling. It’s in the sold-out Glen Pavilion, just behind the wall from where the band played their second ever show, a Communist party benefit which, Jobson tells us, was cut abruptly short when Stuart Adamson questioned whether a communist country would actually allow such an event to take place.
That’s all history now, but the passage of time has been generous to the members, though it’s telling that TWO guitarists are needed to replace the late Stuart Adamson – his Big Country bandmate Bruce Watson and his son Jamie. Brian Jobson also helps out with his big brother, perhaps along with Jane Button offering the singers’ tonsils some backup. Founder member Bill Simpson is back on bass; the tag ‘long-suffering’ could be applied as at times, as it seems to be very much Jobson who’s running the show. And minding his own business at the back, Mike Baillie, who arrived with the band in time for third album The Absolute Game. Thus, opener ‘Animation’ and much of what follows will be less familiar to him, given that tonight is about the greatest hits plus a revisiting of the band’s earliest days. Jobson, as the only ever-present member takes centre stage. Always big, he’s filled out like a prizefighter, and bounces around the stage like Mohammed Ali on speed – he apologises for his dancing, and even for being a “tosser” in the past. Bygones let be, the singalong commences – hearing all the hits together it’s a wonder that Jobson’s lyrics were even noticed as every tune is driven by a “woah-woah” chorus custom-made for East End Park.
The singer offers a constant narrative, describing where songs were written, first performed, the thread often harking back to those dark days in Fife where punks were outsiders and where young men marched off to war. But even given the absence of their most important asset, Adamson, it’s chipper stuff, a celebration of sorts. ‘The Saints Are Coming’ surprisingly crops up mid-set – and Jobson reminds us of the cover version by “two wee bands… who made an ok job of it”. The band restore it with a full-on punk treatment, and after that it’s a rush to perhaps the highlight ‘Out of Town’ (originally a b-side) followed by the encores, with a surprise version of Alex Harvey’s ‘Vambo’, with Watson Senior in a Zal Cleminson mask and Jamie in a Lion Rampant jacket. Bizarrely, ‘Saints’ is reprised (as is ‘Of One Skin’) and the climax that is ‘TV Stars’ – even with Jobson encouraging the crowd to rubbish Gordon Ramsay and Simon Cowell – falls a little flat. However, the memories either from 30 years ago or from the main part of what’s been a stunning set, will live on. Jobson leaves us with “I think I’ve enjoyed myself more than you lot”. Judging by the audience, I’d not bet on it…
The Skids’ Glen photos on Flickr