The Skids, from Dunfermline in Scotland, were one of the most ground-breaking bands of the punk era, and it’s testament to their excellence that they remain a popular live draw 45 years on, even if they only have one original member these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most fans recall them most fondly from their golden years of 1978-1980, and it’s from that period that this excellent 22-track Last Night From Glasgow compilation of BBC session recordings dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It gathers together all five sessions that they did for John Peel, and adds their cover of David Bowie’s All The Young Dudes<\/em>, recorded for Kid Jensen in 1979.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the tracks have been officially released before (the Bowie cover back in 1980 on the double 7in version of Working For The Yankee Dollar<\/em>), but unless you shelled out for the 6CD boxset The Virgin Years<\/em> back in 2015 you might not have heard the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that’s the case, this release – available for the first time as a 2LP vinyl set or a single CD – is essential listening for all serious Skids fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n BBC Sessions were known for their quality, and that’s certainly the case with this one. Of course, it’s great to hear subtly different takes on classic singles like The Saints Are Coming<\/em>, Masquerade <\/em>and Circus Games<\/em>, but it’s the deeper cuts – and there are lots of them here – which I enjoyed most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It opens with Scared To Dance<\/em> track Of One Skin<\/em>, always one of my favourite Skids songs, and we’re treated to versions of other album cuts like Dossier Of Fallibility<\/em> as well as b-sides like Contusion <\/em>and Night And Day<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s several tracks which were knocking about as demos, but never made it is far as vinyl back in the day; namely Summer<\/em>, Hang On To The Shadows<\/em>, Withdrawal Symptoms<\/em>, Zit<\/em>, War Poets<\/em> and an excellent cover of Loud Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAlbum cuts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n