Review by John Callaghan
There can only be one front man from a band that formed nearly 50 years ago with the gall, the nerve and, indeed, the confidence to stand in the centre of a stage with a huge grin right slap bang in the middle of a raucous gig and calmly announce that the next song is (and I quote) “the biggest pile of shit ever written”! Step forward Richard Jobson the enigmatic singer, song writer and front of Dunfermiline’s perennial punk band The Skids.
The date was Wednesday November 5th 2025 and the punk crowd was packed into The Limelight venue and pub in Belfast and this was another special gig from regular visitors with a great history of playing in the appreciative city. But this was no ordinary gig, it was the first instalment of The Skids short Irish tour celebrating the 45th anniversary of one of the band’s biggest albums – “The Absolute Game” first released in 1980.
The crowd packed into the hall had been warmed up with a spirited set from the excellent The Membranes, another first generation English punk band formed in 1977 in Blackpool. The Membranes are certainly no strangers to Belfast. Singer and bass player, John Robb, reminded us that they first played in Belfast in 1980. John is well known as a music journalist, acclaimed author and engaging and witty media commentator and interviewer.
He is also a very fine musician and took command of the stage with a captivating performance that saw him coming perilously close to poking several members of the front row with the business end of his bass guitar. There is no doubt that he had the Belfast crowd eating out of his hand and the biggest cheer was reserved for the news that The Membranes are in the process of recording a new album. Job done The Membranes filed off the stage and after a brief reorganisation of the drums and cables the set lists were taped to the floor and on came Scotland’s finest; The Skids. Richard Jobson’s huge grin and acknowledgement of the fans set the scene for a great evening of quality old school punking. The crowd surged forward and I felt lucky to have captured a prime spot up against the barrier right under the imposing figure of bass player Peter Byrchmore. Earning his wages that night Peter had also played with The Membranes earlier.
The gig began with the unmistakable opening bars of “The Bell Jar” and gave way to “Happy to be
With You”. Jobson hit his stride immediately launching into his famous (infamous?) dance routines all while grinning like a mad man and soaking up the early energy of the crowd. “Out of Town” follows a great dancing song that Jobson makes the most of and those closest to the stage take on a bouncy characteristic, short of a full pogo.
The song is brought to an abrupt halt and Richard starts his chat and banter and pays tribute to Belfast noting that the city had been the inspiration of more than one of his songs. The crowd respond with a roar of approval and both they and Jobson bask in a few seconds of real unspoken mutual affection. He recounts his first gig in Belfast’s wonderful Ulster Hall in October 1980 and asks who had been there. Naturally we all cheer only to be knocked back.
It’s great to feel like you are 16 again we are told and glancing around I think that was very much the vibe of the evening. “One Decree” is followed “Circus Games” and Jobson reminds us that it was the last song he ever wrote with his friend and fellow founding band member Stuart Adamson. Far from any sadness the mention of Stuart’s name is greeted with great joy, we are here to celebrate the legend who shaped the music of The Skids. With a grin Jobson jokes that he always wanted to play in pubs and clubs and never wanted to play in a stadium as Stuart did with his band Big Country.
The twinkle in his eye and the grin tells us that there’s more truth to that than we imagine. As “Circus Games” subsides the thunderous drums signal the start of “Hurry on Boys”. A great opportunity for Belfast to stretch the old vocal cords and we try our best only to be informed that Skids played Hong Kong recently and the audience were better singers! We are offered the chance to redeem ourselves with an unaccompanied reprise and the volume of the “hurry on boys, hurry on boys” response from the crowd is noticeably louder if not more tuneful. We got away with it! Jobson acknowledges, with his signature grin, that we have found our singing voice.
There will be other opportunities to sing along, there’s no stopping us now! “A Woman in Winter” allows another unaccompanied reprise of “oh, oh, oh, oooohhh” much to the bands delight. Some more chat from the stage as Jonson recounts visiting Ireland’s famous Blarney Stone in County Cork during The Skids tour to promote the “Joy” album in 1982. It was here that the relationship between Jobson and Adamson finally broke down and the latter announced that he was leaving the band. The thumping beat of “Goodbye Civilian” lifted the spirits again.
The stage was dominated by Jobson dancing again. Maybe Craig Revel Horwood has had an impact on Mr. Jobson or the practice has finally paid off but I swear the dancing has improved greatly over the decades. Maybe it was the venue, maybe it was because The Skids had just “The Absolute Game” tour to this side of the pond but I’m willing to bet a pound to a penny there was more than a hint of a little Irish jig in the middle of the dad dancing. I could be wrong though! Next up is “Arena” and for me it was the first opportunity I had to closely watch Connor Whyte on guitar. What a fantastic player he is! I swear he bears more than a passing resemblance on stage to Stuart Adamson, big shoes to fill and he has done so with such great skill yet he made the riffs his own quietly imposing his own stamp on the band.
Nick Hernandez on Drums remained hidden at the back of the stage out of the reach of the spotlights in near darkness and seemed to be in a trance. It was spine tingling to watch him drum with such ease and pack such a hell of a punch.
“Arena” marked the end of the tribute to “The Absolute Game” with all of the songs been played. Richard spoke briefly about the tour then started bantering about appealing to a younger audience before scanning over us and declaring that he saw someone in their 50s.
The reason for the interest in the band by the youngsters he revealed was down to the band recording cover versions of a U2 song. This was met with some hilarity and the band launched into the magnificent “The Saints are Coming” from the 1979 debut album “Scared to Dance” which has since been covered by U2 and Green Day.
The delight of the crowd was quite palpable as Jobson lead a reprise of the song allowing us another opportunity to sing in unison as loudly as we could. Jobson seemed a bit emotional at the applause and just soaked up the atmosphere for a few seconds in silence. He then introduced “my favourite song that we ever recorded”, the evergreen crowd pleaser “Masquerade”. Sensing the end of the gig was near everyone on the floor stepped it up a gear to chant along happy as pigs in the you know what. There was barely time to catch breath when one of punk’s greatest openings sent Belfast into a frenzy, “Into the Valley”.
I remembered what Jobson had said earlier about being 16 again and man I went for it! The heaving mass on the floor had the same idea and the cries of “Ahoy, Ahoy” was deafening. It seemed to spare the band on and they raised their game another notch. Thankfully the high kicks Jobson was enjoying on the stage were not repeated near me and my shins escaped the bruising they regularly received in the youth disco in 1979. Jobson lead the singing for another unaccompanied reprise and “Ahoy, Ahoy” rang out again!
The “biggest pile of shit ever written” was announced to the biggest cheer of the night. Adamson was credited with writing it and the band blasted the ultimate sing-a-long “TV Stars” to much cheering and screaming. Believe me there’s nothing like attending a Skids gig and yelling “Albert Tatlock, Albert Tatlock” into a strangers face! As we all calm down a little Jobson confesses to wearing a yellow jumpsuit on Top of the Pops to perform their final song. With a barbed jibe at creepy BBC DJs Jobson announces “Working for the Yankee Dollar” stating, without labouring the point that it “has more meaning today”. It left the crowd exhausted and drained but happy. It was an exceptional gig from Scotland’s finest but Richard, we need to talk about that dancing.
