Songs from a Haunted Ballroom - Skids (Released 4th June 2021...That's Today!!)

There I was this morning, "sitting in a Northernly direction, minding my own business" (as my good butty Ralph McPhlugg would say), when I realised that veteran Scottish punk rock outfit Skids have just released their brand new studio album today and it's a collection of electrifying cover tunes that pays tribute to the band’s hometown venue, the historic Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline, Scotland. It is released on Cleopatra Records on CD and Limited Edition Coloured Vinyl, as well as Digital Platforms.

Skids take a walk down memory lane, performing songs by the bands who influenced them in those early years. Songs From A Haunted Ballroom includes unique and superbly (most of the time) arranged new versions of tracks by The Clash, The Adverts, Ultravox!, Sex Pistols, and Magazine PLUS new versions of their own early hits “Into The Valley” and “The Saints Are Coming!”

“John Foxx of Ultravox! was cool, handsome and wrote poetry rather than lyrics. He made it ok for the rest of us to be a bit arty. ‘Young Savage’ was a massive hit in the Kinema”. “I’ve loved working on this album,” Richard Jobson continues, “It reminded me of those early cathartic days, and of course where I came from. The place that made me what I am. I would like to dedicate the album to all of the Punks and Ghosts from the day of The Kinema who like me had their life transformed through a love of music.”

It's not an album that will please all the "Punk Purists" out there and I even shuddered a little when I heard their take on 'Heart of the City' (originally done by Nick Lowe). So here's a few tracks to whet your appetite, starting with 'Complete Control' (The Clash):

'The Light Pours Out Of Me' (Magazine):

'Submission' (Sex Pistols):

And the Re-recordings of two of their finest songs: