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<\/p>\nOther critics don\u2019t seem to worry about positively reviewing the films made by their wives, children, best-friends, baby-sitters, boy-friends or whatever, so I won\u2019t feel too much worry about chipping in with a positive review for this new music documentary about a legendary Scottish band fronted by Richard Jobson, you\u2019ll know them as Skids. Probably best known for anthems Into the Valley and The Saints Are Coming, the latter getting a second life when covered by U2 and Green Day, Skids were very much a product of the punk explosion of the late 1970\u2019s, and their story has all the elements you\u2019d expect from a rock and roll tale, from wild success to stark tragedy, and rather than seeking out a range of talking heads to chip in, Jobson is more than capable of telling his story in his own eloquent words.<\/p>\n
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Scribbling words into notebooks in Dunfermline Library, Jobson formed Skids with Stuart Adamson, later of Big Country, and immediately went to London to become part of the punk scene, meeting Sid Vicious, Nancy Spungen and John Lydon; Jobson didn\u2019t like the latter at all, and part of the appeal of this kind of doc is that it\u2019s not rammed with sentimental, misty-eyed tributes but spiky reminiscences. After the success of the first Skids album, Jobson and Adamson\u2019s personal development took them in different ways, but after success in tv, music and literature, Jobson still performs his original music, and recent live performances are glimpsed as part of the narrative.<\/p>\n
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Eighty minutes of Mark Sloper\u2019s film provides a brisk, personable look through the Skids story, but it\u2019s Jobson\u2019s self-deprecating humour and sharp-as-a-tack willingness to do much more than self-promote that makes The Story of Skids; Scotland\u2019s No.1 Punk Band different from most self-seeking music docs; Jobson is happy to describe some of his creative work as not what he\u2019s imagined, and again, his refusal to willingly toe any corporate line stays true to his punk origins. And his late mother provides a crushing line; when told of the band\u2019s status as Scotland\u2019s number one punk band, she caustically replied that the Skids were only number one because there were no others.<\/p>\n
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Richard Jobson will probably be mortified to be reminded of the night I spent enjoying his unique brand of hospitality, sleeping outside in a shed under the blanket of a recently deceased horse in minus 15 temperatures in the depths of winter, but that anecdote is only funny to recount because the reality is he\u2019s a great host and a genuine friend treasured for many reasons not least his masterclass in omelette-making on his classic AGA. Jobson provides an oral history of his band in this spry, funny documentary, and whether you\u2019re a Skids fan or not, he demonstrates why he\u2019s a true polymath that would make any team-sheet of iconic Scottish cultural figures.<\/p>\n