THEY ALL CAME FROM THE WRONG SIDE OF FIFE...

Regular readers will be aware that I've occasionally mentioned my affection for Raith Rovers FC. The team earned promotion last season to the Scottish First Division, which means we are just one more promotion away from the regular games against the big city teams like Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen and a handful of others in the Premier League.

Today is the biggest game of the season so far as we head 10 miles across the county of Fife to take on our fiercest rivals - Dunfermline Athletic. Or as I usually refer to them - Scumfermline. We played them a few days ago in a cup tie and lost 3-1. I'm hoping for better today...

The only half decent thing to ever come out of the town was The Skids, without any question whatsoever, Scotland's finest punk/new wave outfit. So it seems appropriate to pay a tribute to them today.

Formed in 1977, the original line-up was Richard Jobson (vocals), Stuart Adamson (guitars), Bill Simpson (bass) and Thomas Kellichan (drums). They embodied the spirit of DIY-punk, with the initial releases coming out on a local label run by a record shop owner. When they formed, Jobson was just 17 and had just left school. Adamson was 18, Simpson 20, and Kellichan the auld yin at 23. But they had talent and style that belied their youth.

By April 1978 they were signed to Virgin Records and over the next three years they enjoyed a fair amount of success in terms of chart and critical acclaim. Debut album Scared To Dance went Top 20, helped by the massive success of the single Into The Valley, a Top 10 smash in early 1979. The album led one reviewer to describe the band as 'the Scottish Clash', and there were many of us living in this part of the world who believed it to be true.

The follow-up album was released only six months later and wasn't quite what anyone expected. By now Kellichan had departed to be replaced by Rusty Egan who was a doyen of the London scene and a good friend of Jobson who had fallen for the charms and bright lights of the capital city. Working with Bill Nelson, who was best known as a member of the prog rock outfit Be Bop Deluxe, the LP Days In Europa was criticised by many commentators on release for having a sleeve which seemingly paid homage to Aryan supremacy, while music was as much about the abundance of keyboards from the fingers of Nelson as it was the guitar stylings of Adamson.

The record label took notice of what was said and quickly re-packaged the album and remixed a number of the songs. But the fans still loved what they were hearing - in becoming less 'punk', The Skids had found a sound that was of its time while being commercial enough for radio stations to love thanks to the big hooks and the sing-a-long choruses.

But behind the scenes, all was not well. Egan left not long after the release of Days In Europa to join Visage, and was replaced by Mike Baillie, while just three months later, Billy Simpson also departed the band, to be replaced by Russell Webb, a Glasgow-born musician who was also an acquaintance of Jobson.

This four-piece produced The Absolute Game, released in September 1980 and what is reckoned by many (muself included) to be the band's best piece of work and if The Skids were indeed the Tartan Clash, then The Absolute Game is their equivalent of London Calling - a real mix of punk/rock/pop/prog/electronica/folk which still sounds immense almost 30 years later. But Jobson couldn't resist cocking a snook at those who had criticised the original release of Days In Europa, and so the initial copies of the new album came with an additional limited edition LP called Strength Through Joy, which was the English translation of the Nazi-era state controlled leisure organisation. The free album was quite different in tone and style from The Absolute Game - it was folk-like in many places.

Stuart Adamson was however, tiring of the singer's seemingly pretentious behaviour and attitude, and he left the band in mid 1981, with Bailie not that far behind him. That left Jobson and Webb as The Skids, and the fourth and final LP was Joy an album that at times was not that far removed musically from Strength Through Joy, but at others was quite appalling - almost a prototype for the sort of pish that Runrig would attack our senses with a few year later.

Oh and it also featured an incredible list of guest musicians, including Billy Mackenzie, Alan Rankine, Mike Oldfield and Virginia Astley. Stuart Adamson himself appeared on one track, the single Iona.

Joy was a flop. It was all too clear that what really made The Skids so special was the guitar-work of Adamson, and not the clever lyrics, word-play and misty-eyed romanticism of Jobson.

The Skids were soon no more. Jobson went on to release poetry albums, act on the London stage, form a new band called The Armoury Show and then carve a niche for himself as a TV presenter and part-time male model. More recently, he has become a film director of note.

Adamson formed Big Country who became even more famous and popular than The Skids, particularly in the mid 80s. Sadly, he committed suicide in December 2001.

In 2007, Richard Jobson, Bill Simpson and Mike Baillie, along with other musicians including Bruce Watson (ex Big Country) got together to play three gigs, partly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the group's formation, and partly as a final tribute to Stuart Adamson, Two of the shows were in a small venue in Dunfermline with the other being at T in the Park. If I hadn't been working in Canada, then I know I would have gone along....it's one of the few regrets I have about heading over there to work for a short spell.

By the time The Skids broke up they had released four very different types of LP (five if you include the extra record with The Absolute Game and six if you go for the Days In Europa remix). All this and the lead singer wasn't all that long turned 21 years old.

There have been six (count 'em!!!) compilation LPs/CDs as well, including a very fine release called Dunfermline from 1987, which gives you all the hit singles, a few fan favourites that were album tracks and a couple of songs from Joy (an album that is largely ignored on most of the compilations).

It was just a pity they came from the wrong side of Fife.....

As they have done for years, the home team will today run out to the strains of Into The Valley - one of my all time Top 45 singles - and sitting in the away end at East End Park is the only time I hate hearing it. But I can console myself with the knowledge that lead singer Jobson's brother at one time played for centre-forward for Raith Rovers.....

These are taken from 1978, 79, 80 and 81 respectively-

mp3 : The Skids - Charles
mp3 : The Skids - Charade
mp3 : The Skids - Circus Games
mp3 : The Skids - Fields

PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING...............The last of the four is of the Runrig variety.

PS : For anyone interested, I'm just back from seeing my team gain revenge with a well-deserved 2-0 win...