THEATRE OF HATE
In 1980, Kirk Brandon founded THEATRE OF HATE from the remnants of the famous punk band The Pack. In addition to Kirk, the band consisted of well-known punk musicians Stan Stammers and Luke Rendall, old school friend Steve Guthrie, and Canadian-born John “Boy” Lennard, who revolutionized the band’s sound with his haunting saxophone lines.
Theatre Of Hate’s debut single, “Legion”/”Original Sin”, topped the independent charts in 1980, and “Westworld”, their debut album, produced by Mick Jones of The Clash and released in 1982, spent 21 weeks at number one. The album’s single, “Do You Believe In The Westworld?”, has become an anthem and is still frequently played in clubs and on international radio stations, and can also be found on countless compilation albums. Theatre Of Hate disbanded in 1982, after which Kirk formed Of Destiny together with Stan Spear. However, the band has resurfaced over the years and has performed a number of remarkable shows in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the US.
The band now has a permanent lineup featuring Kirk Brandon, Stan Stammers, Chris Bell, and Clive Osborne, who amaze their loyal fans time and again with energetic live performances, in which they perform both new songs and classics from their repertoire.
THE SKIDS
The Skids were founded in 1977 in their hometown of Dunfermline, Scotland, by Richard Jobson, Stuart Adamson, Bill Simpson, and Tom Kellichan. After releasing an independent single, the band was played by John Peel, they supported The Clash, and signed a contract with Virgin Records in 1978. Their first singles were “Sweet Surburbia”, “The Saints are Coming”, and “Into the Valley”—the latter reached the UK Top Ten in early 1979.
Their groundbreaking debut album “Scared to Dance” was released in 1979, soon followed by two hit singles: “Masquerade” and “Working for the Yankee Dollar”. Both singles were taken from the second album “Days in Europe”, produced by Bill Nelson. New member Rusty Egan, known from Rich Kids & Visage, could also be heard on this album following the departure of Tom Kellichan. The band released two more albums, “The Absolute Game” (1980) and “Joy” (1981), before breaking up.
The current lineup of Skids has been reduced to an explosive four-piece formation with Richard Jobson, Peter Byrchmore (membranes), Nick Hernandaz (drums), and Connor Whyte (guitar).
