30/01: Hydrant, Brighton
(w. Random Hand)
Supporting REEL BIG FISH...
11/02: Kulturverein Sagewerk,
Neunkirchen, DE
12/02: Wagenhallen, Stuttgart, DE
13/02: Ampere, Munich, DE
14/02: Magnet, Berlin, DE
15/02: Grunspan, Hamburg, DE
16/02: luxor, Cologne, DE
17/02: CC Rene Magritte, Lessines, B
18/02: Rock City, Nottingham, UK
19/02: O2 Academy, Newcastle, UK
20/02: ABC, Glasgow, UK
21/02: The Ironworks, Inverness, UK
22/02: 53 Degrees, Preston, UK
23/02: Academy, Manchester, UK
24/02: Solus, Cardiff, UK
25/02: HMV Forum, Kentish Town,
London, UK
26/02: Corporation, Sheffield, UK
27/02: O2 Academy 2, Birmingham, UK
28/02: O2 Academy, Bristol, UK
01/03: Lemongrove, Exeter, UK
02/03: Waterfront, Norwich, UK
03/03: O2 Academy, Oxford, UK
04/03: Junction, Cambridge, UK
05/03: University, Southampton, UK
06/03: Glazart, Paris, F
07/03: Dynamo,Eindhoven, NL
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The Skints describe themselves asa reggae band that lives in the punk scene. Kerrang! magazine describe them aseclectic punk rockers with massive cross-over appeal. Whichever way you look at it, The Skints debut album Live. Breathe. Build. Believe has been winning them over up and down the country with its mix of dirty roots reggae and youthful punk rock spirit. The Skints bridge the gap between early UK reggae classics (think UB40s Present Arms and Steel Pulses Handsworth Revolution) and the contemporary, conscious street-sounds of The King Blues and Sonic Boom Six while adding a cheeky twist of Lily Allens Alright, Still modern rocksteady-pop. In any other hands, dub-soaked tales on the options and outlook of London youth from violence and drugs to job-prospects and the telly - could fall very far of the mark but The Skints hit the spot because we're hearing it straight from the real thing; the London youth themselves.
The Skints were formed in 2005, London teenagers knee-deep in a music scene ruled by skacore kings Capdown and King Prawn but it wasn't long before they had reached way back to the likes of Augustus Pablo and Max Romeo for their altogether more rootsy inspiration. Having spent the last year and a half gigging hard, the band managed - under their own steam - to rack up an impressive set of both headline and support shows across the UK, including tours with The King Blues, The Slackers, The Aggrolites and a slot at the Mighty Sounds Festival in the Czech Republic. After numerous gigs with Sonic Boom Six, The Skints electrifying live show earned them the chance become a part of the maverick Rebel Alliance Recordings roster, home to SB6, Mouthwash, Random Hand and more. Following its recording at Holne Bridge studios with punk-scene wunderkind Peter Miles, The Skints dropped their debut album Live. Breathe. Build. Believe. in November 2009 into a punk scene with high expectations. The verdict from Punktastic.com - the UK's leading punk rock zine - was that the end product doesn't so much as live up to that potential as completely obliterate it. Stellar stuff indeed.
Heavy rotation for the spiky social-commentary of Contemplations of the Modern Rude Boy on the BBC Radio One Punk Show followed, with DJ Mike Davies offered the band the chance to come over to the Maida Vale studios and record a live session. With the continued support of the show and a stunning showing on the inaugural Rebel Alliance Recordings tour (where the rhythm section Jamie and John also got to play backing band for ska legend Chris Murray) The Skints star is burning so white-hot that their last London shows at the Underworld and the Borderline have been sold-out, standing-room-only affairs. The bands triumphant year continues with a European tour with New York ska legends The Slackers followed by the LDN Calling tour of the UK with London punk alumni The Grit and Moral Dilemma and slots at some of the UKs most exciting festivals including Reading & Leeds Festival, Relentless NASS, Ynot, One Love Festival, Rebellion Festival and may more.
