Skids frontman Richard Jobson is set to celebrate his little-known Dundee ties in the city.
The Fife-born songsmith, who leads the Into The Valley legends to Church on their latest tour, says he has long relished the short trip across the Firth of Tay.
“I’m very fond of Dundee,” Jobson, 64, tells me.
“My mother was from there so I’ve got a connection with the city, which I don’t think people know.
“There’s just something mysterious about Dundee that I’ve always loved and I think it’s that coming over the bridge at night from Fife.
“It’s a beautiful city that’s kind of remote and strange and that has its own identity. It sounds like a cliché, but it’s a place that’s got a big place in my heart.
“My mother spent most of her childhood there and worked in the hospital as a young nurse, although I can’t remember her having a thick Dundonian accent.”
Who is in the new line-up for The Skids?
A new-look Skids have been in England performing their 1979 second album Days In Europa on a package tour with the Kirk Brandon-led Spear Of Destiny during most of November.
After parting company with Big Country duo Bruce and Jamie Watson last year, Richard recruited talented Dunfermline-raised guitarist Connor Whyte and regular collaborators Martin Metcalfe and Fin Wilson from Goodbye Mr Mackenzie to bolster the ranks.
With the latter pair recently stepping aside to concentrate on their numerous other projects, it’s meant The Skids have returned to a four-strong line-up for the first time since the band’s legendary founder Stuart Adamson quit to form Big Country in 1981 – with Whyte now the sole guitarist alongside Jobson, bassist Gil Allan and drummer Nick Hernandez.
“This is no criticism of the previous incarnations of the band, but when there’s a wall of sound there’s no nuance, and it’s got that now,” says the singer.
“In many ways I think the tour is a homage to Stuart because with one guitar you can get to really hear what he did and it’s remarkable.”
Days In Europa given revival for 2024
Jobson says many of the songs from Days In Europa, which was re-released in 1980 after being completely remixed, have been rearranged for the tour.
“When we started to play them live they felt a little bit flat and we’ve kind of bolstered them and highlighted all their great bits,” he declares.
“Also, you’re approaching them with hindsight, you’re not approaching them as a young 17-year-old guy who’s still got that wonderful naivety and innocence. You’re a person that’s lived their life, so you’re bringing that to the table with the songs.
“Some of these songs I’ve never played live before, so it’s been quite something after all these years to reinvent them in the modern age.”
‘Ghost of Stuart Adamson’ in the room?
Hinting at a “more amplified version” of his Skids-related undertakings in 2025, Benarty-raised Richard admits he could never have foreseen the remarkable musical renaissance he’s enjoyed in recent years.
“I certainly didn’t expect this to be happening at this stage in my life, and for it to be this successful,” he adds.
“I’ve got to gauge it personally, and when I’m on the stage I just feel this connection with the audience. I don’t care if there’s 50 or 5,000 there, it’s the smile on the faces that matter to me.
“That’s how it used to be and it still is – and it’s magic. So the ghost of Stuart Adamson is in the room somewhere smiling with me, I think.”
The Skids and Spear Of Destiny play Church, Dundee, on December 5 2024.
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