Skids (band)

Early years (1977–1979) Skids played their first gig on 19 August 1977 at the Bellville Hotel in Pilmuir Street, Dunfermline, Scotland. Within six months they had released the Charles EP on the label No Bad records. The record brought them to the attention of national BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. This led to a local gig supporting the Clash. Virgin Records then signed up Skids in April 1978. The singles "Sweet Suburbia" and "The Saints Are Coming" both made commercial inroads, before "Into the Valley" reached the top 10 in the UK Singles Chart in early 1979. Just before recording of the album commenced, Kellichan left the band and was temporarily replaced on drums by Rusty Egan (ex-Rich Kids, then with the band Visage and a New Romantic 1980s dance DJ at the Blitz club). Soon after the release and live concert tour of The Absolute Game Baillie left the band, shortly followed by Adamson (but Adamson did stay around long enough to play on one more song for the next album, Joy, called "Iona"). The group recorded just one album, Waiting for the Floods in 1985 before splitting up. Jobson went on to pursue a solo career as a poet, songwriter, television presenter and most recently, as a film director. The album reached number 28 in the UK Albums Chart. Songs from a Haunted Ballroom After issuing an acoustic album in 2019, the band (including Big Country's Bruce and Jamie Watson) returned in 2021 with a covers album called Songs from a Haunted Ballroom. The album was recorded as a tribute to a music venue called the Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline, Scotland (opened in 1938 but now the Kinema Restaurant Global Fusion Buffet) and features covers of tracks by The Clash, The Adverts, Sex Pistols, Magazine and Ultravox! as well as re-recordings of their own "The Saints Are Coming" and "Into the Valley". Destination Düsseldorf A new album entitled Destination Düsseldorf was announced in March 2023{{Cite web|url=https://www.the-skids.com/apps/blog/entries/show/50335915-destination-dusseldorf On 27 September 2023 Richard Jobson released a statement on the band's official website announcing that for the foreseeable future Bruce and Jamie Watson would be stepping down to focus on their work with Big Country. Replacing them would be long time collaborators and friends Martin Metcalfe and Fin Wilson (The Filthy Tongues). Both had written material for the recent albums Burning Cities and Destination Düsseldorf. Nick Hernandez continues on drums and Dunfermline born Connor Whyte takes over on guitar. The changes allowed the Skids to honour upcoming tours of the UK, Australia and Europe. ==Band members==

Current members • Richard Jobson – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (1977–1982, 2007–2010, 2016–present) • Nick Hernandez – drums (2022–present) • Connor Whyte – guitar (2023–present) • Peter Byrchmore – bass (2025–present) Former members • Stuart Adamson – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (1977–1981; died 2001) • William Simpson – bass, backing vocals (1977–1980, 2007–2010, 2016–2022) • Tom Kellichan – drums (1977–1979) • Rusty Egan – drums (1979) • Mike Baillie – drums, backing vocals, percussion (1979–1980, 2007–2010, 2016–2019) • Russell Webb – bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar, percussion (1980–1982) • Bruce Watson – guitar, backing vocals, bass, drums (2007–2010, 2016–2023) • Jamie Watson – guitar, backing vocals, bass (2007–2010, 2016–2023) • Fin Wilson – bass (2023–2024) Timeline ==Discography==

• Scared to Dance (1979) • Days in Europa (1979) • The Absolute Game (1980) • Joy (1981) • Burning Cities (2018) • Peaceful Times (2019) • Songs from a Haunted Ballroom (2021) • Destination Düsseldorf (2023) ==See also==