The Skids Announce 2026 UK Tour Celebrating The Absolute Game
Post-punk pioneers The Skids will hit the road in 2026 for a run of twelve UK dates, celebrating their landmark 1980 album The Absolute Game with a full live revival.
The Scottish band’s third studio album remains their most commercially successful release, reaching #9 on the UK Albums Chart and producing a trio of striking singles: Circus Games, Goodbye Civilian, and A Woman in Winter. Now, more than forty years later, The Skids are set to bring that same intensity and creativity back to the stage.
Fans will get a rare chance to hear the album performed live in its entirety, with all the urgency and ambition that made The Skids a key force in the post-punk era.
A Multi-Layered Celebration
Formed in Dunfermline in 1977, The Skids blazed through the UK charts with ten singles, including Into The Valley, The Saints Are Coming (later famously covered by U2 and Green Day), and Working For The Yankee Dollar. Their influence continues to echo through generations of alternative music.
To coincide with the tour, Glasgow label Last Night From Glasgow will reissue The Absolute Game, while frontman Richard Jobson will release both a memoir and a new novel. The Absolute Game (the memoir) offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the album, while The Alabama Song, a novel illustrated by Jonny Hannah, will also be available at tour stops.
Further celebrating their legacy, Dunfermline Athletic FC will unveil a new kit inspired by the band’s debut album Scared to Dance, with profits going to The White Ribbon Charity.
A new documentary, directed by Mark Sloper, will also premiere at Edinburgh’s Cameo Cinema on October 1st, with a wider release on Sky Arts to follow.
Special Guests: The Return of Au Pairs
Joining The Skids on all dates (except London) will be the legendary Au Pairs, marking their first live shows in over four decades. Known for their fearless politics and taut, angular sound, the Birmingham band – led by the uncompromising Lesley Woods – remains a defining name in post-punk history.
2026 Tour Dates
January
16th – Southampton – The 1865
17th – Cambridge – Junction
23rd – Bath – Komedia
24th – Birmingham – The Crossing
30th – London – Electric Ballroom
31st – Brighton – Chalk
March
28th – Manchester – O2 Ritz
April
17th – Cardiff – Y Plas
18th – Liverpool – Grand Central Hall
24th – Glasgow – Barrowland
25th – Edinburgh – The Queens Hall
Tickets available now at AGMP.co.uk
bit.ly/TheAbsoluteGame
