Skin

The collapse of Jagged Edge led Myke Gray (b. 12 May 1968, Fulham, London, England; guitar) to form Taste with Jagged Edge bass player Andy Robbins, ex-Kooga vocalist and guitarist Neville MacDonald (b. Ynysybwl, Pontypridd, Wales) and drummer Dicki Fliszar, previously with Bruce Dickinson’s live band, in 1991. Rory Gallagher’s previous use of the Taste name soon led to a name-change to Obsession and then, finally, Skin. The band were content to ignore grunge trends and instead developed a more traditional melodic hard rock style, at times reminiscent of mid-80s Whitesnake, but with a fresh, contemporary edge both musically and lyrically. Near-constant touring, including support stints with Thunder and Little Angels, helped the band develop a strong UK fanbase, and Skin built on this, with the The Skin Up EP and “House Of Love” both doing well before the The Money EP pushed them into the UK Top 20. Their self-titled debut album displayed the band’s songwriting and musicianship to the full, with strong, bluesy vocals from MacDonald, and it deservedly hit the UK Top 10. The band successfully transferred their electric live show to the second stage at Donington in 1994, and enjoyed another Top 20 single with “Tower Of Strength”, confirming their status as one of the UK’s most popular rising rock bands. In 1995 they released an album of classic rock ‘n’ roll cover versions, available in Japan or in a strictly limited edition (50 copies) to readers of British metal magazine Kerrang!. Recorded live at the Borderline, London, in October 1994, the material included classics from Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Montrose, Golden Earring, the Beatles, Deep Purple, the Who and EMF. The long-standing live favourite, “Take Me Down To The River”, was also released in more conventional form. Keyboardist Colin McLeod was added to the line-up in 1996, and took part in the recording of Lucky. The band was dropped by Parlophone Records following the album’s release, a victim of the music scene’s commercial indifference to classic heavy metal. A third studio set, Big Fat Slice Of Life, was released in Japan in spring 1997. The band set up their own Peach imprint and re-released an expanded version of Big Fat Slice Of Life under the title Experience Electric. This excellent release proved to be the band’s last. They split up following a farewell performance at London’s LA2 on 26 April 1998.