vol 1 no 8, 22nd March 1979
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Smash Hits vol 1 no 8, 22nd March 1979 |
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| Page 1 · Page 3 · Pages 4 & 5 · Page 9 · Page 14 · Page 15 · Page 27 · Pages 30 & 31 · Pages 35 |
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Front Cover Features a colour picture of Lene Lovich by Adrian Boot. Features - Buzzcocks, Thin Lizzy, and Skids, plus Chic, Tom Robinson, and Bee Gees in colour. 50 Albums to be won Words to the TOP SINGLES |
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Contents page STRANGE TOWN The Jam (Pages 4/5) SKIDS The Skids Are Alright! (Page 27) Bitz (Page 9) Crossword (Page 15) Reviews (Pages 30 & 31) Gigz (Page 35) |
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Pages 4 & 5 THE JAM IN Two-page spread on The Jam, with lyrics to "Strange Town" Photos by Joe Stevens |
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Page 9 BITZ, TOURS: KATE BUSH THE FASCINATING Kate Bush is touring in April with a seven-man band, including her brother Paddy. The tour starts at the Liverpool Empire April 3 (see Gigz page 35) and will hit Birmingham, Oxford, Southampton, Bristol, Manchester, Sunderland, Edinburgh, and London's Palladium for five nights. 2-colour photo of Kate Bush by Paul Cox/LFI entitled "Kate Bush: Spring Tour" |
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Page 14 20 OF ANOTHER KIND FEATURING: 999, Homicide, Emergency THE JAM, In The City, 'A' Bomb in Wardour Street THE SKIDS, Sweet Suburbia SHAM 69, Borstal Breakout, If The Kids Are United THE CURE, Killing An Arab THE ADVERTS, Gary Gilmour's Eyes THE BOYS, The First Time THE JOLT, No Excuses THE LURKERS, I'm On Heat GENERATION X, Ready Steady Go THE STRANGLERS, No More Heroes PLASTIC BERTRAND, Ca Plane Pour Moi OTWAY AND BARRETT, Beware of the Flowers ('Cos I'm Sure They're Gonna Get Yeh!), Really Free THE HEARTBREAKERS, Born Too Loose PATRIK FITZGERALD, Irrelevant Battles STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, Suspect Device |
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Page 15 PRIZE CROSSWORD To win LP from previous page. DOWN 17 "Into The Valley" combo (ahoy ahoy) |
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Page 27 The Skids Are Alright By Ian Cranna Photo of the Skids (Stuart Adamson, Richard Jobson, Willie Simpson, and Tom Kellichan). NOT MANY people get the chance to choose between being a football hero or a rock 'n' roll star, but The Skids' singer and lyricist Richard Jobson is one such enviable talent. But then Richard Jobson is no ordinary young man and The Skids are no ordinary band. The Skids story actually Starts with Stuart Adamson, their likeable lead guitarist and the one who contributes the music for Jobson's words. Stuart and bass player Willie Simpson used to be in a band called Tattoo who spent most of their time playing cover versions of David Bowie, Status Quo etc around the north of Scotland. (All four Skids come from small mining towns around Dunfermline in Fife.) Latterly, however, the twosome decided to form their own band around a batch of some six or seven songs that Stuart had written. A mutual friend told them about Richard Jobson, who'd never sung before but was into boxing and football instead — a Scottish schoolboy international centre forward, no less! Richard was invited to a party at Stuart's house and certainly created an impression — he was thrown out for "being vicious"! A week later, they met up again at a Rezillos' gig and came to a more peaceable arrangement. Richard would do the singing and being vicious was left to other sadder creatures. The trio then advertised for a drummer and found Tom Kellichan, who had previously played in cabaret bands. IN COMMON with many bands starting up in the summer of 1977, The Skids started life as an out-and-out punk band. Richard, then only 16, was one of the area's first punks and his bleached hair was the object of much amusement and scorn from the rest of the locals, who were still into boring old heavy metal. "We stole everything from the English bands, as much as we possibly could," admits Richard with a grin. "Not the music, but the image, the attitude, the lot." Stuart, however, thinks the term 'punk' to be wrongly applied. "If you take it as music by young folk for young folk — which is what it really was when it started — that's what we were." Unlike most punk bandwagon jumpers though, The Skids had minds of their own and weren't slow in exercising them. They soon decided they had more to offer than the bands they were trying to copy. "It didn't take us long to realise how ridiculous some of the English bands were," Richard remembers, citing Chelsea and The Cortinas as examples. "We couldn't believe they had got onto vinyl, songs like that. That's when we started writing songs like 'Charles' and realised we could do it ourselves, and maybe more. THOUGH the punk hangover took a while to wear off, it was soon pretty clear that The Skids were a cut above the rest. While others were following the party line and ranting away to pseudo-angry scratchings, The Skids were never afraid to follow their own ideas or to experiment. The title track of their new album, "Scared To Dance" - still probably their best song - dates from this early period. Mean and moody, it features some very fine extended guitar work by Stuart, a complete contrast to the regulation two-minute blitzes practised by other bands at the time. As the band's local popularity grew by leaps and bounds, "Charles" and two other songs were recorded for the local No Bad independent label, and the resulting EP topped the New Wave best-selling lists round the country. The band then signed to Virgin — from whom you can still get that "Charles" EP — and the climb to the top continued. A single "Sweet Suburbia' and a four-track EP "Wide Open", followed before the present magnificent smash hit "Into The Valley" finally broke the chart barrier to give The Skids the success they so deserve. THEIR NEW album is great too, and knocks everything else released this year into a cocked hat. A memorable collection of 12 strong tunes and Olympic-qualifying riffs, it's performed with a truly inspiring brand of developed skill and riotous raw power. It also boasts some very unusual lyrics from Richard, an intense young man who's already written a volume of poetry and carries books by French philosopher Jean Paul Sartre around. "They're all personal," he says of his mysterious verses, "but I always write them so that people can take something from them." "It's just imagery," adds Stuart. "If you can take something from the imagery, that's all there is about it." The Skids aren't being deliberately obscure: it's like their logo says — they're "Wide Open" to all possibilities. So there you go. That's your introduction to the Skids. If I didn't mention Willie or Tom much that's because they don't talk much — they make their contribution felt on stage, OK? And that's how you should meet The Skids — live on stage. Catchy tunes, great rock 'n' roll riffs, irresistible excitement, dance music, a laugh and always something different: What more do you want? |
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Page 30 SINGLES reviewed by CLIFF WHITE THE JAM: Strange Town (Polydor, pic bag) Still grappling with the pressures of urban street life, Paul Weller has written a sharp song about trying to find your feet in an unfamiliar town - but the overall impact of the record isn't as immeadiateley (sic) strong as some of the group's past hits. Quickly grows on you, though. The other side, "The Butterfly Collector", is well worth checking out too. |
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Page 35 Gigz Friday (March 23) Elton John Preston Guildhall Bad Company Brighton Centre Eddie & The Hot Rods Sheffield Top Rank Skids Manchester Russell Club Culture Birmingham Bingley Hall David Essex Hammersmith Odeon Buzzcocks Manchester Belle Vue King's Hall The Pretenders Cheltenham Gloucester College of Technology Saturday (March 24) Graham Parker Brighton Centre Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Manchester Apollo Skids Middlesbrough Rock Garden Leyton Buzzards Leeds Community Centre Culture London Rainbow David Essex Hammersmith Odeon Buzzcocks Carlisle Market Hall The Pretenders Liverpool Erics Tom Robinson Belfast Ulster Hall Sunday (March 25) Graham Parker Reading Hexagon Bad Company Birmingham Odeon Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Sheffield Top Rank Skids Dunfermline Kinema Ballroom Leyton Buzzards Middlesbrough Polytechnic Culture London Rainbow David Essex Middlesbrough Town Hall Buzzcocks Blackburn King George's Hall Tom Robinson Port Rush Monday (Merch 26) Elton John Belfast Whitla Hall Graham Parker Leicester De Montfort Bad Company Birmingham Odeon Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Guildford Civic Hall David Essex Edinburgh Odeon Buzzcocks Peterborough Wirrina Stadium The Pretenders Exeter Routes Tuesday (March 27) The Pretenders Plymouth The Fiesta Elton John Belfast Whitla Hall Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Portsmouth Locarno Leyton Buzzards London Marquee Bad Company Birmingham Odeon David Essex Newcastle City Hall Buzzcocks Coventry New Theatre Tom Robinson Coventry Locarno Wednesday (March 28) Graham Parker Derby Assembly Rooms Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Brighton Top Rank Skids London Marquee David Essex Hull Dorchester Theatre Buzzcocks Aylesbury Friars The Pretenders Newport The Stowaway Tom Robinson Sunderland Mayfair Thursday (March 29) Elton John Dublin National Stadium Graham Parker llford Odeon Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Hemel Hempstead Pavilion Thin Lizzy Brighton Centre Skids London Marquee David Essex Birmingham Odeon The Pretenders Barnstaple Chequers Tom Robinson Southport New Theatre Friday (March 30) Elton John Dublin National Stadium Bad Company Sheffield City Hall Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members London Rainbow The Pretenders Harlow Tech Tom Robinson Nottingham Malibu Saturday (March 31) Bad Company Manchester Apollo Thin Lizzy Oxford New Theatre Buzzcocks Hammersmith Odeon David Coventry Theatre The Pretenders Leicester Polytechnic Tom Robinson Bridlington Spa Sunday (April 1) Graham Parker Oxford New Theatre Bad Company Manchester Apollo Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Cardiff Top Rank David Essex Wolverhampton Civic Hall Thin Lizzy Birmingham Odeon Tom Robinson Blackburn St. George's Hall Monday (April 2) Elton John Theatre Royal, London Graham Parker Hammersmith Odeon Eddie & The Hot Rods/The Members Bristol Locarno David Essex Bristol Colston Hall Thin Lizzy Birmingham Odeon Tuesday (April 3) Elton John Theatre Royal, London Graham Parker Hammersmith Odeon Thin Lizzy Stoke Trentham Gardens David Essex Southampton Gaumont Kate Bush Liverpool Empire Tom Robinson Dunstable California Wednesday (April 4) Elton John Theatre Royal, London David Essex Portsmouth Guildhall Kate Bush Birmingham Hippodrome Tom Robinson High Wycombe T. Hall Thursday (April 5) Elton John Theatre Royal, London Thin Lizzy Leicester De Montfort Tom Robinson Southampton Gaumont |