Tags: Skylights, Leeds United, Aberdeen, football, music
By Alfie Dunn
It’s 2012 – the year of the Spanish super squad sweeping aside the competition to win that years European Championships hosted in Poland and Ukraine. The year of Chelsea beating Bayern Munich in their own backyard to bring the Champions League back to England. The year of Manchester United winning their 13th Premier League title. And unfortunately, the year that Skylights called it a day on the musical endeavour.
The band that are unapologetically themselves, turning away singers for being too good in their auditions and assigning their mate as their drummer, just because his dad was a drum teacher. In fact, lead singer Rob (affectionately known as Skaz) was bribed to join the band with “just a few tinnies” – but after four years “bumbling about for a bit, playing shit shows and just being unprofessional” through their own admittance, Skylights packed up their kit. Guitarist, Turnbull Smith, told me: “I certainly got fed up of it all, especially after my first son was born”.
But as a parting gift, Skylights dropped Y.R.A before they departed – the song that would turn out to be at the heart of their resurgence, almost ten years later…
Fast forward to 2018 – the year in which England reached a World Cup semi-final and got fans believing again. The year in which Gareth Bale scored one of the greatest goals of all time to help Real Madrid lift their third consecutive Champions League title. The year that Marcelo Bielsa put pen to paper to become the manager of Leeds United. And, amazingly, the year Skylights came out of retirement with no expectations of success and with absolutely no idea of the highs they’d reach over the next 6 years.
But how did the possibility of a comeback even enter the mind of Smith?
“My missus turns up after being at work and says, ‘I’ve just had your old Skylights CD on in the car on the way home, and you actually weren’t that bad’. And our singer, Skaz, had been bugging me for 6-7 years at this point wanting to get something going again.”
Smith continued, telling me how he wasn’t keen on the idea because he always did all the work – “fucking promo and all that” (as he called it) – and flat out refused the idea of a reunion. Well, until his wife agreed that she would hire a venue and rent some of the necessary equipment just for a special one-off comeback gig and after some deliberation, Smith settled on the idea that he ‘just couldn’t say no to his missus’.
So, Skylights were back, but not without immediate issues. The venue was booked, the deposit paid – but only after all this did they realise they may have been overambitious and accidentally booked a 600 capacity venue for the first gig back in 7 years.
“I’m there thinking there’s gonna be my wife, my mum and dad and maybe one or two pals, so there’s gonna be about 5 people in this massive room and it’s going to be an absolute embarrassment! So we thought, fuck, what are going to do?”
Skylights and Leeds United:
The York band are all match-going Leeds fans and have been for years. Singer Rob and bassist Johnny have been season ticket holders since they were kids and sit at the top of the Kop, where tickets are now like gold dust – and this is where the inspiration for Y.R.A (the final song released before the band’s split) came from.
I just spammed that song across every social media – and to my amazement, it actually started getting some really good feedback. I was thinking fucking hell, people like this song.
Turnbull Smith
Leeds fans are like no other in the country, undying in their passion for their club, and anything associated with it – no matter how tenuous the link. Elland Road houses one of the most raucous atmospheres in the country every other weekend, with the Beeston air often being filled with chants of “We are the Y.R.A!” from all stands in the ground – an abbreviation standing for Yorkshire Republican Army.
With Y.R.A being the final tune released by the outfit, it seemed the logical song to push from Smith’s perspective in order to try and avoid the embarrassment of an empty room upon their return.
“I need to sell some tickets here. So I went of social media, zero followers, not having a clue what I was doing, and I just spammed that song across every social media – and to my amazement, it actually started getting some really good feedback. I was thinking fucking hell, people like this song.”
The ‘spamming’ of the song worked and was an instant hit – I even received a message myself, being a Leeds fan. In fact, it was such a hit in the LUFC community that the band received a message from the club’s media manager asking for permission to use the track in the promo material for the season ahead – and according to Smith, that’s when people started taking notice of them.
The 600-person venue that was booked for the band’s return unfortunately had a leak not long after the tune was used by Leeds United and the gig was re-allocated to a venue half the size, which sold out weeks in advance as the fans of the club adopted the band as their own.
After that, the relationship with the club and it’s fans went from strength to strength. Y.R.A is now played before every Leeds home game, over the speakers in the stadium which is very surreal moment for the group.
“Its funny, really, the first time they played it, Skaz got held up and missed it! But whenever we hear it before a game, it’s a very proud moment for us, we’re chuffed to bits.”
Speaking on the influence of Leeds United on their success however, Smith would like to think that they’ve progressed past just being the band that only Leeds fans like because they get what it means to be ‘Leeds’. He admits that in the Leeds area, the influence of the club on them selling out shows is still huge but the band are pushing their music across county and country borders now.
“We sell loads of tickets in Manchester, we sell out shows in Aberdeen and we sell out shows in Dublin too”
Despite the harsh, bitter and historical rivalry held between Leeds and a certain club in Manchester, the band are glad that the football tribalism doesn’t always carry across into their music, admitting that even when they play Y.R.A in Manchester, ‘people buzz to it’.
Skylights and Aberdeen
But its not just Leeds fans that have shown love to the band over their football related lyrics, the band have also made a second home for themselves in Aberdeen.
After playing a show up there previously with an old band (sensationally supporting Take That’s Mark Owen), Smith knew he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to return when offered the chance of a gig past the Scottish border. After a successful sold out show, the quartet cracked on with writing new material until they hit a brick wall on the track, Outlaw. This was until lead singer Skaz had an idea to implement the lyrics ‘Stand free wherever you may be’, part of a song sung on the terraces by the Aberdeen faithful.
Following the release of the single, the Aberdeen fan base lapped it up and Smith recalls about how he started getting sent videos of the players walking out to their song at Pittodrie Stadium.
“They play it on European nights and our Aberdeen following just started growing and growing and growing. It’s a second home to us now – we’re walking down the high street and people stop us, it’s nuts!”
What’s next for Skylights?
Following a sold out show in Leeds O2 Academy, in which former world featherweight champion Josh Warrington jumped on stage and played with them, and a show supporting Shed Seven in Leeds’ Millennium Square, Smith and the rest of the band are focused on just enjoying the moment.
“When we made this comeback and had that first show, Skaz was like ‘right, we just want to sell out small Leeds venues, 100 capacity maximum’, and we all thought even that wouldn’t happen. So it’s an absolute miracle really and we’re just in the mood now of let’s just make the most of this whilst the going is good. I mean, it’s a fucking miracle!’
At the time of writing, Skylights are just weeks away from releasing their new single, Time to Let Things Go, and are hoping for a number one on the physical sales charts after putting a lot into the production of limited edition 7” vinyl records.
As far as another album goes, Smith told me exclusively that there’s a couple of digital singles in the works – and they will only be digital as they “can’t be arsed to wait another 6 months for vinyls!”
Time will only tell what will happen in the future, but regardless, the York outfit are loving every minute of it.
