Born on October 6: Richard Jobson, the Scottish punk poet who sings and films

Born in 1960 in Kirkcaldy, the singer-songwriter has more than one string to his bow.

Equally at ease with setting Marguerite Duras' lyrics (or his own, for that matter) to minimalist orchestration, such as the heartbreaking India Song on the 1981 album "The Ballad of The Etiquette," he maintains the flame of the Skids, the heroes of Scottish punk, with songs like "Into the Valley" and "The Saints Are Coming." At the same time, with Sturat Adamson in his midst, the Skids were, in a way, the matrix of Big Chantre, another champion of epic Irish rock. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Richard Jobson still takes a perverse pleasure in reconciling fire and water to this day...

Alongside his musical career, Richard Jobson has also written and directed a number of feature films, many of which have remained confined to the UK. However, we will remember "16 Years of Alcohol" (2003), "New Town Killers" (2008), and "The Somnabulists" (2012).

When, many years later, Richard Jobson discovered the photo in this article taken at Café Der Hallen in Leuven, Belgium, in February 1982, he immediately remembered the frosty reception he received that evening. Which probably explains his grimace...

(MH with Stéphane Massart - Photo : Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Richard Jobson, in poet form, at the Céfé Der Hallen in Leuven (Belgium) on February 8, 1982