
Skids
VIRGIN 1979
A-side: ‘Into The Valley’
Unforgettable “Albert Tatlock” novelty punk chant-along
Often derided in punk quarters for their preening and pretentiousness, the B-side of Skids’ biggest hit was as basic as it comes. The Dunfermline band headed by singer Richard Jobson and buzzsaw guitarist Stuart Adamson (long before he made it sound like bagpipes) weren’t shy in proclaiming their differences from the throng, second wavers who wrote about futility of war and processing past emotional traumas. But not here. After a bit of onstage ‘banter’ (“This is the political part,” says Jobson, “speaking politics to you today”) and an introductory ode to Stanley Ogden and Eddie Yates (Coronation Street’s greatest window cleaners) they launch into a list of 12 names drawn from the Street and fellow ITV soap Crossroads. There are two exceptions – DJ John Peel (who’d previously played a session version on his Radio One show) and Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool footballer) – but it all revolves around the chorus hook, a chant-along shout-out to Weatherfield’s most obstinate curmudgeon, Albert Tatlock. And while the rousing A-side has lived on as the theme song for Jobson’s beloved Dunfermline AFC, ‘TV Stars’ has remained a cult favourite, a rollicking reminder of the thin gruel served up on British television in the 70s. It’s a great ball of fluff, but that’s one of the things B-sides are for.