So, just what exactly were
Skids? Punks with O-levels, new wave cop-outs, or just chance-takers and opportunists? The answer is probably a combination of all three. Far more important, however, is the fact that they left behind a clutch of great, if universally pretentious, singles. On album, it was hard not to get a little miffed at
Richard Jobson's would-be aristocrat pop nonsense. Still, this debut had some good tunes, courtesy of pre-
Big Country Stuart Adamson, like "The Saints Are Coming" and, of course, the wonderful "Into the Valley." Of huge importance to
Skids fans is that the CD reissue includes the original live B-side to the latter, "TV Stars," a song which will mean nothing to anyone who didn't grow up watching British television, but a whole heap to those who did. ~ Alex Ogg