After the last one in the 7″ series being a tad on the crackly side, I thought I’d try to make it up to you all today.
mp3: The Skids – Sweet Suburbia
Released in September 1978, you have to admit that it sounds really crisp and sharp, with not a single crackle, pop or jump to be found anywhere. But that’s because I’ve cheated.
And while it is true that I have a second-hand copy of the original 7″ single, on white vinyl, sitting here in Villain Towers, the copy you’re listening to comes courtesy of the remastered version of the album Scared To Dance, issued by Past Night From Glasgow back in 2022. The reissue was a 2xLP release, consisting of the original twelve songs from the album on one piece of vinyl, while the other contained eight bonus cuts of non-album A and B sides from the era – Sweet Suburbia, and its b-side, were on the bonus disc:-
If you’d care to have a look at the sleeve of the 1979 release, you’ll spot that the folk at Virgin Records were suggesting to would-be buyers that it contained a weird gimmick. As far as I know, the gimmick was simply that the first 15,000 copies came on white vinyl. If you’d care to look a bit more closely at the drawing of the rear of the deer, you’ll perhaps agree it was maybe a bit surprising that it was allowed to be put on public display in certain record shops.
The PNFG re-release also comes complete with lyrics. Despite what your ears may be trying to convince you, this is exactly what Richard Jobson is singing:-
Remnants of the ancient heart remain
Time for one to seek an anti-soak
Bars for 3 and only room for 2
Box and box, a lift for legless hope
Sweet Suburbia
Living on the paper periscope
Hot dog life cold for the antelope
Concrete days and white electric nights
Steel and steel life on the open plain
Sweet Suburbia. Sweet Suburbia
Excavate a land for restless days
Contemplate a chance for future ways
Clip and hate to centralise the world
Food and food and cardboard expatriates
Sweet Suburbia. Sweet Suburbia
Birth and birth and birth and birth and birth
Live and live and live and live and live
Mate and mate and mate and mate and mate
Die and die and die and die and die
Sweet Suburbia…
This one reached #70 back in 1978. Deserved much better.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
How good are the early Skids singles, and I’m going to see them tomorrow, looking at set lists they are very likely to play this.
Middle Aged Man
To my shame I had never heard that before. It really liked it. I do like Skids – my favourite LP being Joy – but I never did explore too much. This song suggests I really, really should.
I do like when we hark bark to ‘limited editions’ in numbers of 15,000. It makes me chuckle.
As for the deer, as JC helpfully provided the lyrics, I believe the brazen animal is an antelope – an antelope, that by all accounts, is open to persuasion. Disgusting!
Flimflamfan
I never could get what he was singing, and now I know why. Great song nonetheless.