Published: Thursday, 25th February, 2010 7:25am

Jobson rediscovers enthusiasm for The Skids

by Gary Fitzpatrick

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RICHARD Jobson has discovered a born again enthusiasm for The Skids' music as he prepares for the band's hometown re-union at the Alhambra.

Excitement is growing as the sell-out gig approaches but Richard is determined that the inaugural Fifer Festival will not be overshadowed by the concert at its culmination.

The Alhambra will next week host a five-day festival celebrating the remarkable career of a West Fife hero - by turns a singer, songwriter, poet, model, style icon, actor, TV presenter and now film director.

He rose from humble roots to front a punk band whose influence still lives on around the world and now, as he approaches his 50th birthday, works with the top names in the film industry.

Aspiring directors and actors of the future will be able to gain the benefit of Richard's experience at workshops and seminars at the Alhambra.

Crime writer and self-confessed fan of the Skids, Ian Rankin, will be interviewing Richard about his life and times on Wednesday night and his films will be screened over the week.

There will also be a first chance to see his new powerful film, 'The Journey', about people trafficking, with narration by Emma Thompson.

Ironically, Richard much prefers to look ahead to the next project in his busy schedule - he has also just directed Richard Ashcroft's new video - rather than dwell on past glories.

He seemed reluctant initially to get back together for The Skids' 30th anniversary re-union in 2007, which turned out to be a great success with two concerts at the Glen Pavilion followed by a memorable appearance at T in the Park.

Richard told the Press, "When I was first asked about the Fifer Festival I was a bit shy of the idea but then I saw it was part of the bigger picture of Celebrating Fife.

"There's a lot of good work being done in Fife although the people here don't shout about it as much as some of our neighbours do.

"It's a fantastic place and remains an inspiration to me."

He admitted he thought The Skids' story had come to a close after the 2007 gigs.

"I thought The Skids had been put to bed then we were approached quite late in the day about the Homecoming Scotland event at the end of last year," he explained.

"We thought, 'why not', as it was only going to be a 20-minute appearance and we would see how it went.

"As it turned out it was great fun and I feel the music is becoming increasingly relevant."

The band are now enjoying retrieving songs from their back catalogue which have rarely, if ever, been performed live and so the Alhambra concert promises to be something special.

Richard went on, "I would never be interested in getting back together to do the full touring thing.

"We've all got too much going on to do that.

"But for one-off special events like this and maybe again in the future, that's different and we're enjoying it.

"So now we're working on songs that haven't been played live before, some that haven't been played for a long time.

"The songs still have a relevance. There wouldn't be the same enthusiasm if the songs were ephemeral and it was just a mercenary thing."

Much of the band's early material such as 'Into The Valley', 'The Saints Are Coming' and 'Working for the Yankee Dollar', was based on Richard's contemporaries who joined the army and quickly found themselves in the front-line.

"Because of the economic situation facing them, they joined up and found themselves in Northern Ireland," he recalled.

More than 30 years on and if anything the themes in those songs have a greater resonance in 2010 with young soldiers losing their lives in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq before it.

After the festival, Richard will be going to Afghanistan to work on his next movie which has the working title, 'Into The Valley', about a Fife soldier in Helmand Province although filming will also take place in the Kingdom.

If The Skids' music remains relevant today, it is also proving popular with a new audience and chiming particularly in the world of sport, as was seen earlier this month.

Richard was at East End Park for the Scottish Cup tie against Celtic to see the Pars take to the field as always to 'Into the Valley' and a few hours later a TV audience of millions saw the New Orleans Saints celebrate their first ever Superbowl success to 'The Saints Are Coming'.

Looking ahead to next week, Richard said, "The workshops will hopefully encourage young people who feel maybe they can't get into certain fields because it's inaccessible because of where they come from.

"I'm there as living proof that you can."

A confident, garrulous character even from his early days, Richard said he was not hindered by such inhibitions when he was starting out.

"My mantra was always just get on with it," he said.

"I didn't really think about what other people thought about my work."

Richard is delighted that the re-birth of the Alhambra is attracting so many top bands, including his old friends, The Stranglers, this Saturday night.

"They were great supporters of The Skids in our early days and we played with them back then," he said.

"I'll be there on Saturday night, dancing about at the front."

Jumping ahead a week, Richard said,"We're very excited about playing at the Alhambra, which is an amazing venue and great for Dunfermline what's happening there.

"There's a lot happening in the town.

"I was in a great little cafe, Reuben's, in the New Row the other day. People are trying to make a difference.

"The important thing with the Alhambra is that local people are responding and they want to make it work."

The Fifer Festival runs from Tuesday to Saturday.

Disappointed fans of The Skids who missed out on tickets for the sell-out concert will have another chance to see their heroes - and they won't have to pay.

The band have announced they will play an acoustic session at the Alhambra on Wednesday night.

The performance will take place after the interview between Rebus author Ian Rankin and Richard Jobson. Tickets are free of charge and are available from the venue.

Those already with tickets are reminded of the new date as the interview was originally planned for the Thursday evening.