The Skids continue to enjoy popularity with two top 20 singles, "Masquerade" and "Working for the Yankee Dollar", from the album "Days in Europa", produced by Bill Nelson. The Cover of the album, showing an "aryan", was seen by some as Nazi, and was soon replaced with a less controversial sleeve. This sleeve, although conventional, still bore the image of the first release seen through the viewers eyes by a picture on the wall, alongside a picture of 'Scared to Dance', the sleeve portrayed a woman , bare breast showing, in the hands of a man.
The Absolute Game was The Skids' 1980 third album (not counting the two different mix versions released of their second album 1979's Days in Europa) and was produced by Mick Glossop. It featured two new band members, Russell Webb (bass guitar, vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion) and Mike Baillie (drums, vocals, percussion).
The album continued the Skids' progression from a punky sound into a more mellow one - paralleled by many bands of the period. The album has a great deal in common with Days in Europa, but not much with its successor, Joy. Around this time the band were driven by internal rifts and disagreements, leading to various members coming and going. Soon after the release and live concert tour of The Absolute Game, Adamson and Baillie left the band. (Although Adamson did temporarily return to play on one more song from the album Joy, called Iona.) Adamson went on to launch the career of his new band, Big Country, and Baillie moved back to Scotland to live. A great deal of Big Country's future sound and style can be heard in this album. In particularly on Hurry On Boys, which features bagpipe simulations and real didgeridoo. Joy has a completely different sound to other Skids albums, and some fans consider The Absolute Game to be the last canonical Skids album.
Soon after the release and live concert tour of The Absolute Game, Adamson and Baillie left the band. (Although Adamson did temporarily return to play on one more song from the album Joy, called Iona.) Adamson went on to launch the career of his new band, Big Country, and Baillie moved back to Scotland to live. It left Jobson and Webb, in 1981, to write and record the band's fourth and final album Joy, which Russell Webb also produced. The pair played multiple instruments on the album, and also invited a collection of seventeen musical friends to perform on various tracks with them. The Skids dissolved in 1982, with the album Fanfare posthumously issued by Virgin. It was a mixture of greatest hits and unreleased tracks.
Jobson and Webb then went onto form a new band called The Armoury Show. The group only recorded one album called Waiting for the Floods in 1985 before splitting up. Jobson went onto pursue a solo career as a poet, songwriter, television presenter and most recently a film director. He released albums on the Belgian record label Les Disques du Crepuscule, and the UK's own Parlophone Records.
Sadly, on December 16 2001, Stuart was found dead in Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii, having committed suicide.
In the year 2007, U2 and Greenday covered "The Saints Are Coming" recorded originaly by the skids for the "Scared to Dance" album. Most fans seen this as a juncture to include new fans to the old punk scene.
In 2007 Richard Jobson, William Simpson and Mike Baillie, along with Bruce Watson (guitar/vocals) of Big Country, Jamie Watson (guitar), Brian Jobson (vocals) and Jane Button (vocals), got together to play three gigs. They were to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the group's formation, and as a final tribute to Stuart Adamson, who died in 2001. The shows on 4 July and 5 July were at Dunfermline's Glen Pavilion, where they were supported by Rosyth band The Draymin - outside of which The Skids had previously played only their second gig according to Jobson - and on 7 July, at the T in the Park festival.
Skids returned to the stage on 28 November 2009 as one of the headlining acts in Homecoming Live, a series of gigs held around the SECC complex in Glasgow to celebrate the end of the Year of Homecoming in Scotland. The line-up mirrored the 2007 gigs, with members of The Gospel Truth Choir joining Button on backing vocals for "A Woman in Winter" and "Working for the Yankee Dollar".
The same lineup performed a concert on 5 March 2010 at the ABC in Glasgow, with support from The Law and Bruce & Jamie Watson, and lastly a concert on 6 March 2010 at the Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, with support from Beatnic Prestige and Bruce & Jamie Watson. This final concert was to conclude a week of events celebrating the works, past and present, of Richard Jobson as part of The Fifer Festival 2010 on 6 March 2010.
In 2016 the band reformed and announced a 40th anniversary tour of the UK with their original singer Richard Jobson. In 2018, Skids released their fifth album, Burning Cities.
Both Dunfermline Athletic FC and Charlton Athletic FC use "Into the Valley" as a theme song.
Scared To Dance
The Skids Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like some statue of gold
I want you to walk home
I want you to hold
But I'm scared to dance
Said I'm scared to dance
Well, I'm scared to dance
I've seen you before, girl
And I've held your wrist
But I can't jive girl
No, I cannot twist
But I'm scared to dance
Said I'm scared to dance
Well, I'm scared to dance
So now I walk behind you
And you don't hear
Until I'm right beside you
Until you bleed
(Ha ha ha)
But I'm scared to dance
Said I'm scared to dance
Well, I'm scared to dance
The Skids' song Scared To Dance is a lamentation about being too afraid to take the necessary risks to find love. The lyrics describe the singer's intense attraction to someone who doesn't reciprocate the feeling, and his frustration with himself for not being able to overcome his fears and make a connection. The opening lines of the song paint a vivid picture of the object of his affection, describing her as a "statue of gold" sitting in the corner, unreachable and perfect. The singer longs to be able to hold her and walk her home, but his fear of rejection and embarrassment holds him back.
The second verse delves deeper into the singer's history with the woman, implying that they've had some sort of interaction in the past. He's held her wrist before, which seems to suggest some sort of flirtation or intimacy, but he admits that he can't dance. This inability to dance, both metaphorically and potentially literally, is a clear barrier to a deepening connection between the two. The chorus of the song emphatically repeats the phrase "I'm scared to dance," emphasizing the singer's insecurity and fear.
The final verse of the song adds a disturbing and almost violent twist to the narrative. The singer admits to following the object of his desire and even making her bleed, indicating a level of obsession and perhaps even danger. It's unclear whether the singer is aware of how alarming his behavior is, and the song leaves the listener with the sense that this unrequited love story could be headed for tragedy.
Line by Line Meaning
Your face in the corner
I see you standing alone in the corner.
Like some statue of gold
You look bright and radiant in the dimly lit room.
I want you to walk home
I want to go home with you tonight.
I want you to hold
I want to hold you close to me.
But I'm scared to dance
I feel nervous about dancing with you.
Said I'm scared to dance
I'm telling you that I'm afraid to dance.
Well, I'm scared to dance
I'm reiterating that I'm really scared to dance.
I've seen you before, girl
I recognize you from somewhere.
And I've held your wrist
I have touched you before.
But I can't jive girl
I can't dance well.
No, I cannot twist
I can't move my body in a certain way.
So now I walk behind you
I follow you from behind.
And you don't hear
You're not aware of my presence.
Until I'm right beside you
I sneak up behind you and appear next to you suddenly.
Until you bleed
I want to hurt you or cause you pain.
But I'm scared to dance
I'm still scared to dance with you.
Said I'm scared to dance
I repeat that I'm afraid to dance with you.
Well, I'm scared to dance
I'm emphasizing again how fearful I am of dancing.
Contributed by Alaina A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jackie Brown
Stuart Adamson was such an amazing guitarist. This is just phenomenal. His playing was so distinctive they'll never be another. 💔
Vmax4steve
He was heavily influenced by Bill Nelson of Be- Bop Deluxe, you can hear Bill in Stuarts' playing. Check out Be- Bop's No Trains To Heaven from Axe Victim.
Jackie Brown
@Vmax4steve yeah, Bill Nelson was one of his heroes I believe. 😀
Shay Ben Haim
Probably the most underrated song on YouTube
ResidentWeevil
Best thing the Skids ever did. I always loved the dark twist the lyrics take at the end.
JackTzu
So on the money matey. Pure class. I miss Stuarty..
Richard L Y
So it's basically Incel?
owllwo199
The production is amazing. All those guitar licks, all perfect - my head's shaking.
Shawn Blowes
When Stuart Adamson reveals himself as the.true guitar visionary that he really was . ...
Marley Bu
Great album. Love Melancholy Soldiers. Love Stuart Adamson. Hope he's at peace now 💔