The Absolute Game is Skids' 1980 third album (not counting the two different versions released of their second album, 1979's Days in Europa) and was produced by Mick Glossop.
The album continued Skids' progression from a punky sound into a more mellow one - paralleled by many bands of the period. The album has a great deal in common with Days in Europa, but not much with its successor, Joy. Around this time the band was riven by internal rifts and disagreements, leading to various changes in personnel. Soon after the release and tour of The Absolute Game, Adamson and Baillie left the band. (Adamson had already played on one song from the album Joy before leaving, called Iona.) Adamson went on to launch the career of his new band, Big Country, and Baillie returned to Scotland. A great deal of Big Country's future sound and style can be heard in this album. In particularly on Hurry On Boys, which features bagpipe simulations and real didgeridoo. Joy has a completely different sound from other Skids albums, and some fans consider The Absolute Game to be the last canonical Skids album. This album also marked the first collaborative effort between Richard Jobson and new bassist Russell Webb, who continued to work together in the band The Armoury Show and also on Jobson's solo album Badman.
Read more about The Absolute Game: Controversy, Personnel
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