Skids – Destination Düsseldorf (2023) (Music)

Skids – Destination Düsseldorf (2023) Okay! This album isn’t worth 5 stars. And yet… I’m going to give it them without hesitation. Here’s why I’m not at all objective: A fortnight ago, I got lost in France, when I was supposed to return to Switzerland. I turned in every direction for about two hours, simply because a road was blocked and there were no signs to tell me where I should go…My GPS wasn’t working, because I was out of the area. So what went right during those two hours? Well, it’s very simple: I had this album in my car. And I listened to it over and over again until I found my way home! Well… I already had an unconditional love for these Skids. The perfection of their first album, ‘Scared To Dance’, is clearly unquestionable. In fact, I bought it on vinyl. My daughter and I danced and jumped around so much on this album that the turntable was jumping too, making the tracks jerky at times. But it was nothing but fun.

Skids are one of those bands that did real 70s punk proud. Skids is one of those bands whose Best Of I first bought… but couldn’t get enough of. Just like Madness. Stranglers, Prefab Sprout, The Undertones, Duran Duran, The Smiths, The Cure and the list goes on. And I can’t tell you how happy I am to have this band back, as well as The Vapors (also known as Vapours), two of the best bands in the world!Better to have their Best Of than nothing at all.

Skids are a British punk band from Dunfermline, Scotland. After the suicide of Stuart Adamson (Skids guitarist and leader, singer and guitarist of Big Country), the band seemed finished and cursed, with a comeback in jeopardy. Hard to replace such talent…So I was delighted to learn that Bruce (Big Country’s other guitarist) and his son Jamie Watson have joined the Skids. Bruce can also sing, play sitar and mandolin.

A powerful intro song, followed by another and another. The first four songs are typically in the band’s style. There are some quieter ones. And there are some real gems like the title track Destination Düsseldorf or Wings of Desire. There are nine songs on the album I bought. The extended version includes two live versions of the excellent Working for the Yankee Dollar and the well-known Into The Valley. An excellent record!

Even after listening to it over and over again, I never get bored of it. On the contrary, I’m still coming back for more! Wikipedia adds to the review: “This new album, Destination Düsseldorf, was announced for March 2023, then postponed until 30 June. On 27 September 2023, Richard Jobson issued a statement on the band’s official website announcing that for the foreseeable future, Bruce and Jamie Watson would be stepping down to concentrate on their work with Big Country. They would be replaced by long-time collaborators and friends Martin Metcalfe and Fin Wilson (The Filthy Tongues). Both had written material for recent albums Burning Cities and Destination Düsseldorf. Nick Hernandez continues on drums and Dunfermline-born Connor Whyte takes over on guitar. These changes allow the Skids to honour upcoming tours of the UK, Australia and Europe.”

It’s clear that the band now revolves mainly around our beloved frontman Richard Jobson. Sadly, the core members have left the band in turn. Bassist William Simpson left in 2022 and drummer Mike Baillie left in 2019. As a reminder, drummer Tom Kellichan was there from 1977 to 1979, replaced by Rusty Egan who didn’t stay long. Keyboardist Alistair Moore also temporarily joined the band to perform live with them at one point. And Russell Webb played bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar and percussion from 1980 to 1982. One hell of a band!