The Scottish punk legends have announced the release date of June 4 for their first-ever covers album, Songs From A Haunted Ballroom.
The Skids have returned with a powerful new studio album that pays tribute to the band’s hometown venue, the historic Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline, Scotland. Both a live venue and a traditional dance club, the Kinema became a musical and cultural epicentre for the youth in Scotland’s Fife province, especially during the late ’70s, early ’80s punk movement.
It would also become the home venue for The Skids, who played numerous shows at the Kinema as both a support act for such legendary bands as The Clash as well as the headliners for multiple sold-out events.
Now, the 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 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!
Yesterday the band unveiled the first single from the album, a supercharged version of Ultravox’s ‘Young Savage.’
In a recent Punktuation article, legendary record producer Steve Lillywhite, who produced the original Ultravox version, said: “This Ultravox song is as punk as you can get, and it’s one of the fastest songs I’ve ever recorded.”
Steve loves the Skids rendition too, telling Punktuation: “This is a great track and a brilliant choice by the Skids to cover – well done on them. They’ve done a great version and I’m very proud that this song still has legs after all these years “
The Skids vocalist Richard Jobson shared the unexpected influence that Ultravox had on The Skids.
“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,” 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 goths from the day of The Kinema who, like me, had their lives transformed through a love of music.
“I would like to dedicate the album to all of the punks and goths from the day of The Kinema who, like me, had their lives transformed through a love of music.” Richard Jobson, The Skids
Tweet
Songs From A Haunted Ballroom will be available on both CD in a deluxe 6-panel digipak and coloured vinyl in a gatefold jacket as well as on digital platforms everywhere starting June 4!
Follow Skids For more Info
Did ye lik’ this? Weel, check this oot…
- Hear Blondie at 1977 CBGB Punk Magazine Benefit Gig
- NOFX Drop Headlining Spot at Vegas Festival due to ‘Hate Messages’
- Circle Jerks’ Keith Morris shares the tracks that inspired him
- Idles Announce US Tour Dates
- Butterfahrt Punk Festival 2021 Livesteamed
Punktuation Magazine For All Your Daily Punk News, Features, Interviews, Lifestyle and more!
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
