Fans of The Rezillos or The Exploited may balk, but the title of Mark Sloper‘s documentary is actually a little tongue in cheek, referring to an accolade bestowed by the press early in the career of Skids. At that point, ‘we were the only punk band in Scotland’ laughs Richard Jobson, co-founder of the Dunfermline crew. Focussing on the recollections of the renaissance man singer, The Story of Skids is a simple, but engaging rock doc that succeeds thanks to the eloquence and the affability of its subject.

Perhaps due to their location, Skids were seen as being part of the later wave of punk bands that appeared after its initial burst of infamy. Jobson makes a claim that they were there almost right at the beginning. Their sound certainly wasn’t deriviative of The Damned, The Clash, or The Sex Pistols. There is bit of the Buzzcocks’ bounce, a fondess for Oi!-style call-and-response vocals, and in Jobson they had a frontman with the storytelling instincts of a folk troubadour. They also had the inventive work of mercurial guitarist, the late Stuart Adamson. As you would expect, the often fractious relationship between the two men forms a major part of the narrative.

We follow Jobson around key locations for his life and the band, mainly within the confines of Dunfermline with the odd jaunt to London and Germany. These tales are interspersed with the current iteration of Skids performing their most popular tracks like ‘Into the Valley‘, ‘The Saints are Coming‘, ‘Masquerade’, and the self-admittedly ludicrous ‘TV Stars’. The effect is a little like a more localised version of the Billy Connelly’s World Tour of Scotland format and it works well, providing context for Jobson’s reminiscences and demonstrating that he remains a frontman with no little energy.

The Story of Skids also takes in Jobson’s careers as a TV presenter, producer, novelist, and filmmaker, notably of the autobiographical 16 Years of Alcohol. As well as being a candid self-appraisal of a life lived without fear of trying new things, it’s also a portrait of the kind of working class autodidact that either doesn’t exist any more, or gets ground down by the bastards before getting the chance to shine. Jobson is an intelligent, witty, and reflective figure and his stint as a presenter has stood him in good stead.

The Story of Skids is nowhere near as ambitious as some of its subject’s best work, but it doesn’t matter too much when it’s told with heart and clarity by Richard Jobson. Could it have benefitted from the input of some of Skids surviving members? Perhaps, but there is the sense that Jobson’s account of the band’s existence is generous and honest enough to be a fairly authentic version of events.

In selected cinemas from Wed Oct 1 2025