Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Yorkshire Indie band Skylights on their love for Granite City fans and Aberdeen FC

Aberdeen FC stars Jonny Hayes, Connor Barron and Ryan Duncan have all offered messages of support to Yorkshire Indie band Skylights with club legends Alex McLeish, Dean Windass and Adam Rooney also backing the four-piece

A member of Skylights holding an Aberdeen FC scarf on stage
Yorkshire Indie rockers Skylights have formed a strong connection with fans in Aberdeen and with Aberdeen FC. Image by Justin Leeming

Yorkshire Indie band Skylights have forged a unique bond with Granite City fans and the city’s football club.

Such is the connection the four-piece are welcomed as returning heroes whenever they play Aberdeen, always to exuberant audiences.

Guitarist Turnbull Smith says he enjoyed “one of the greatest nights of my life” in the Granite City.

And he expects another memorable night in the city on Saturday when the four-piece play a much anticipated headline show at the Beach Ballroom.

It is the band’s biggest gig in the city having previously played Unit 51, Tunnels and The Lemon Tree.

Skylights have received messages of support ahead of the concert from Aberdeen FC players such as Jonny Hayes, Connor Barron and Ryan Duncan.

The band hope many of the Dons players will attend the gig as the Pittodrie club have no fixture this weekend due to international duty.

Club legends Alex McLeish and Dean Windass have also given the band a ringing endorsement ahead of the show.

The guitarist of Skylights, who are set to headline the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen
Skylights are set to headline the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen. Image supplied by Skylights

Turnbull said: “Aberdeen is a really special place and the people there have shown us so much love.

“When we first played Aberdeen at Unit 51 everyone knew the words to our songs.

“There were 400 people there and they were all singing along, it was incredible.

“After that show we went out for a big party with everyone that came to the gig.

“We were going from pub to pub meeting people as well.

“The love from everyone was brilliant.

“I walked into the Carlton pub in Aberdeen and our singer was up dong karaoke and everyone was cheering.

“We started the band just to have a bit of fun.

“We see all the people who come to see us as our mates so we have a few beers with them and have a good time.

“One of the best nights of my life was in Aberdeen, it is absolutely sensational there.”

Support from Aberdeen player and Pittodrie legends

Skylights are Turnbull (guitar), Rob Scarsbrick (vocals), Jonny Scarisbrick (bass) and Myles Soley drums.

Former Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis and 2014 League Cup winning striker Adam Rooney have also given the band messages of support.

Skylights’ connection with Aberdeen FC and the Red Army is so strong they penned song Outlaw in tribute to the club and supporters.

Outlaw contains the chorus ‘Stand Free, Wherever You May Be’ the chant used by Dons fans .

The song has been played over the sound-system at Pittodrie before games.

Turnbull said: “We’ve had messages from Jonny Hayes, Connor Barron and Alex McLeish, it has been bonkers.

“I feel like it’s not me and this is all a crazy dream.

“If the players are not on international duty they will come along.

“We did the Outlaw song with ‘Stand Free’ because we had such a connection with the people in Aberdeen.

“They showed us so much love so we thought we would give some back.

“We are so proud that they play the song at the stadium.”

‘We’ve spent all our money on smoke and effects for the Beach Ballroom’

Many Aberdeen based Skylights fans travel the length and breadth of the country to watch the band perform live.

Skylights, from York, released What You Are last year to acclaim last year with the album crashing into the UK top 40.

A black and white photo of Skylights in a brick tunnel
Skylights band L-r: Turnbull Smith, Jonny Scarisbrick, Rob Scarisbrick, Myles Soley. Image: Barnaby Fairley

Turnbull said: “When I first started playing music in my teens we played places like York, Manchester and Leeds and were an unknown band so people just stood and watched us.

“Then we were offered a tour in Scotland that was Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.

“Edinburgh was good, Glasgow was good but Aberdeen was off the scale.

“It was absolutely incredible. Everyone was bouncing and having so much fun.

“We are so buzzing to be playing the Beach Ballroom that we’ve  spent all our money on smoke and pyro effects.

“We’ve spent a fortune on effects as we just want to have a big party.

“We are like a bunch of kids, so excited about playing.”

New Skylights single set for release

Support for the Beach Ballroom show is Aberdeen indie rockers Hitlist.

Skylights released track Rebellion in March this year and Turnbull confirmed a follow-up is imminent.

He said: “‘I’m writing a few songs and we have a new song coming out called Time To Let Things Go.

“There’s also another track called Burning Skies.

“Time To Let Things Go is finished and we’re waiting for the vinyl to be shipped in.

“I can’t wait to get that out.”

Conversation