Skids and Theatre of Hate (20.10.2026) live at The Engine Rooms, Southampton.
A genuine double header and there’s even a tour t-shirt with both bands on it. Not the first time I’ve seen both bands on the same bill – two of my life-long favourites and the legends that are Richard Jobson and Kirk Brandon. Can’t be bad.
It’s a dark wet Tuesday night and hard to get people out in this season changing period – there’s a few hundred here, lots of room but a very enthusiastic few hundred in tonight.
This is my fourth Skids gig of the year (a personal record I think) and many of my blogs have featured Skids and Kirk Brandon‘s so this is brief. Also, this is day one of six gigs in six days for me. How did that happen? At least they are reasonably local.
The double headline negates the need for a support band and we start around 8pm with Theatre of Hate. Grapes of Wrath an excellent start but that throws me as it’s on a Spear of Destiny LP… a later check finds it was written in the Theatre of Hate years, but not released before the split.
Stan Stammers’ bold bass throbs – a TOH hallmark sound – as he wanders around the stage. The sax is ever prominent.
Conquistador picked up the pace and naturally Do You Believe in the Westworld? was the highlight. Disappointed not to hear Legion hey ho, plenty to enjoy.
Skids next. Unsure if they will be on last every night or if it will alternate. A guitar intro played and Jobson comes out shadow boxing and bouncing in readiness. He instantly raises the room.
Melancholy Soldiers to start. They could pretty much play anything from their catalogue and I’d be happy. I am happy. I move from a wall to lean on to punching the air and my trademark wobbling about within a few songs. It’s great live music eh, especially when it’s stuff you’ve lived with for over 40 years.
Into the Valley, Charade and the masterful Masquerade.
One of the early tracks, that appears on the latest Skids release of old material (Skids1977), is Sweet Suburbia and I grabbed a video of that one (YouTube link).
Jobson paused to recount the band’s visit to Southampton Football Club earlier that day – they run out to The Saints Are Coming on match days (The original Skids version). Amid the Pompey banter Jobbo says they promised to go back and play at the game live if the Saints get to the play-offs…then they play it and there must be some footy fans in because everything goes up a notch.
Stuart Adamson is credited with his songwriting input throughout. I’ve just finished reading the excellent and tragic Adamson biography, Stay Alive, which heightens the emotions. Circus Games is introduced at the last song he wrote with the Skids. A brilliant song without those pesky kids’ voices.
Skids never fail to disappoint and this is an uplifting start to my gig heavy week. Ahoy! Ahoy!
