Saturday 24th November 2012
Telfords Warehouse, Chester
“Is there a band making more of a cultural impact in the UK in 2012 than The Skints? Probably not. Album of the year? It certainly f***ing could be.” – 24/7

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The Skints have had one hell of a year. And the ride’s about to get wilder.

The East London reggae/punk/ska/dub outfit are well used to playing huge gigs. They have hundreds of performances under their belts, both as headliners and supporting the likes Bedouin Soundclash, Gym Class Heroes, The Slackers and Gogol Bordello.

Likewise, they are no strangers to national airplay. Right from their inception in 2007, Radio One DJs like Colin Murray were championing their natty dancehall sound and providing The Skints with major exposure.

And adulation from thousands of fans on the festival scene is nothing new either. The Skints have smashed the stage at every festival that you could care to mention, and continue to lead the way in the UK’s ska revival.

But the last extraordinary twelve months has seen euphoric highs and shattering lows in the lives of The Skints. All of which makes them stronger, hungrier and champing at the bit to unleash their incredible live show for the Funkdub Live eighth birthday event.

December 2011 saw The Skints’ renowned cover of Katy B’s On A Mission. Already a club banger that has been credited with dragging dubstep into the mainstream, The Skints rearranged the song into a captivating slice of dub reggae. The intimate video garnered 10,000 views in its first day, and it’s currently nudging a quarter of a million. It has also won the vocal backing of Katy B herself, alongside the heavyweight dubstep producers of the original track, Skream and Benga.

Off the back of that success, The Skints released the acclaimed single Ratatat, again getting major radio airplay and backing from the likes of Radio One’s Huw Stephens. Impressive download figures meant that was only kept of the iTunes reggae singles top spot from an old dead Rasta called Bob.

It was only a matter of time before the media came knocking, and Marcia and Josh were invited in to talk to Steve Lamacq on BBC Radio 6 Music. Later in the year, the ardent fans of the BBC Radio One Punk Show were treated to an interview with Marcia.

Summertime means festivals, and in addition to killing it at the usual haunts, including Reading and Leeds, The Skints found themselves with an army of new fans after playing a blistering set at the BBC Introducing Stage at the BBC Hackney Weekend.

The band was also touring non-stop: headlining in the UK and supporting US punk legends Less Than Jake, and You Me At Six!, but then disaster hit The Skints.

The band van, crammed with their treasured instruments, amps and clothing was stolen from under their noses. How do you deal with the loss of years’ worth of expensive and sentimental equipment? Suck it up, play a fundraiser show, buy new guitars and get back on the road.

The release of Rise Up!, the next single from the highly-praised Part & Parcel album, got things back on an even keel, and the future is looking brighter than ever for The Skints. Their exceptional year will be topped off by supporting the reggae super-collective Easy Star All Stars for their tour of the UK.

Their massive headline tour in October gives them just enough time to prepare for the Funkdub Live eighth birthday event, where Funkdub founders 3DJ and G-Kush will deliver another night of outstanding music.

Over the last eight years, connoisseurs of fine music have flocked to the Funkdub Live experience as much for the sublime DJ sets as the eclectic bands they support.

Spinning the finest cuts of funk, soul, hip-hop, electronica, reggae, dub and rock and roll, the Funkdub waxologists will play live DJ sets before and after The Skints’ headline set.

Funkdub Live presents The Skints will be on Saturday, 24th November at Telfords Warehouse, Chester. Entrance is FREE before 9pm, £4 thereafter.