Europa and the Pirate Twins

"Europa and the Pirate Twins" is a song by English artist Thomas Dolby, from his 1982 album The Golden Age of Wireless. Written by Dolby, who produced it alongside Tim Friese-Greene, the song was released as a single on 3 October 1981.

"Europa and the Pirate Twins"
1981 UK 12-inch edition by EMI
Single by Thomas Dolby
from the album The Golden Age of Wireless
B-side	"Therapy / Growth"
Released	3 October 1981
Genre	Synthpop
Length	3:19
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Thomas Dolby
Producer(s)	Thomas Dolby, Tim Friese-Greene
Thomas Dolby singles chronology
"Urges" / "Leipzig" (1981) "Europa and the Pirate Twins" (1981) "Airwaves" (1982)

The song, described as a "synth pop classic",[1] was inspired by the atmosphere of World War II, and features a guest appearance by XTC's Andy Partridge. The single reached a peak position of 48 in the United Kingdom, Dolby's home country, as well as charting in the United States and Canada.

Composition

Taken from the album The Golden Age of Wireless, "Europa and the Pirate Twins" was written by Thomas Dolby, who produced it in collaboration with Tim Friese-Greene.[2] The song opens with a "bluesy" harmonica solo, performed by Andy Partridge of the band XTC.[1] The song makes use of electronic drums, and features a "high-register" synthesiser line throughout.[1] The song's main musical hook is a "Bo Diddley beat", a repetitive rhythm common in several musical genres.[3]

Drowned in Sound's Joseph Stannard has noted that "Europa and the Pirate Twins" is written with World War II as a strong influence, and that the song "emphasises the short distance between [Dolby's] generation and the one which endured the last global conflict".[4] Dolby has described the song, along with the tone of the album, as reflecting "a sense of [a] relationship that's going on as being overwhelmed by something on a grander level", adding that "there's a very strong wartime atmosphere to it".[4] The song was described as "a semi-autobiographical romp" in the liner notes for Dolby's 2009 greatest hits album The Singular Thomas Dolby, the release of which was overseen by the singer.[5] "Europa and the Pirate Twins" received a "sequel" on Dolby's 1992 album Astronauts & Heretics, in the song "Eastern Bloc";[6] which has been described by Audio magazine as "appealingly faithful" to the original.[7]

Release

"Europa and the Pirate Twins" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 3 October, 1981. It was Dolby's first major label release, taken from his EMI-released début album The Golden Age of Wireless.[8] The song spent three weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a peak position of 48.[9] The song first appeared in RPM magazine's Canadian singles chart on 18 June 1983, debuting at number 50.[10] It eventually reached a peak position of 45 in that chart.[11] The song debuted in the United States' Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on 2 July 1983, spending five weeks there and peaking at number 67.[12] It also reached a peak position of 37 on the Billboard rock chart in 1982.[13]

The song's release was accompanied by a music video, blending together several elements of footage. These included footage of the Ziegfeld Follies, Dolby interacting with a futuristic "telecomputer",[14] and black-and-white shots of Dolby and a shrouded female figure by the coast.[15] The video was written and directed by Dolby.[16]

Chart	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart[11]	45
UK Singles Chart[9]	48
US Billboard Hot 100[12]	67
US Top Rock Tracks[13]	37

Reception

"Europa and the Pirate Twins" has been described by Peter Buckley, in his book The Rough Guide to Rock, as "showcas[ing] Dolby's trademark combination of the charming and the gimmicky".[17] Writing for Allrovi, Stewart Mason described the song as "a hyperactive synth pop classic", whose "every nook and cranny is stuffed with some sort of ear-grabbing hook".[1] Mason added that the song "pack[s] a remarkable amount of detail into two short verses and a bridge" and "resolves with a soaring, bittersweet chorus".[1] Writing about the song's music video, Dennis Shin of PopMatters described Dolby as being on the "leading edge" in the medium, highlighting the videos for "She Blinded Me with Science" and "Hyperactive!" in addition to describing that for "Europa and the Pirate Twins" as being "one of his lesser-known and unsung videos".[14]

Cover versions

• The Swedish band Noice released a cover of the song with Swedish lyrics entitled "Europa" on their album Europa in 1982.[18]
• Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down released a version on the 2006 CD single "Say It All,"[19] and then on the B-side of the 2007 7" single of "Phantom Punch."[20]
• Roger Joseph Manning Jr. included a live recording of the song as one of the bonus tracks on the 2009 U.S. CD release of his album Catnip Dynamite.[21]
• Acumen Nation side band Iron Lung Corp included their version on their 2013 covers album Body Snatchers.[22]
• In 2020, Dolby's children Harper, Graham and Talia recorded a parody version video about dealing with life under COVID-19-induced lockdown entitled "Corona and the Pirate Twins," under the name Dolby Kids. The song uses music and video elements from Tom's original version and current remake, with a new lyric and vocal by Harper and new scenes featuring the three of them, plus the family dog Sky. Tom released it on his official YouTube channel.[23]

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Europa and the Pirate Twins". Allmusic. Allrovi. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
2. Raggett, Ned. "The Golden Age of Wireless : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Allrovi. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
3. Goodwin 1993, pp. 79–80.
4. Stannard, Joseph (September 28, 2009). "Thomas Dolby: reflections on The Golden Age of WIreless and The Flat Earth". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
5. Merriman, Chris (2009). The Singular Thomas Dolby (booklet). Thomas Dolby. EMI. p. 2.
6. Stannard, Joseph (November 4, 2011). "Thomas Dolby – A Map of the Floating City / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
7. "Rock ~ Pop Recordings". Audio. CBS Magazines: 84. 1993.
8. Hardy et al. 1988, p. 142.
9. "Thomas Dolby | Artist | Official Charts". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
10. "Top Singles – Volume 38, No. 16, June 18 1983". RPM. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
11. "Top Singles – Volume 38, No. 20, July 16 1983". RPM. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
12. "Europa and the Pirate Twins – Thomas Dolby". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
13. "The Golden Age of Wireless – Thomas Dolby : Awards". Allmusic. Allrovi. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
14. Shin, Dennis (October 6, 2012). "20 Music Videos from the 1980s That Have Aged Well". PopMatters. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
15. Thomas Dolby (writer and director) (1981). "Europa and the Pirate Twins". Vevo: EMI.
16. Merriman, Chris (2009). The Singular Thomas Dolby (booklet). Thomas Dolby. EMI. p. 7.
17. Buckley 2003, p. 303.
18. https://www.discogs.com/Noice-Europa/release/284823
19. https://www.discogs.com/Sondre-Lerche-And-The-Faces-Down-Say-It-All/release/883025
20. https://www.discogs.com/Sondre-Lerche-And-The-Faces-Down-Phantom-Punch-Europa-The-Pirate-Twins/release/1001593
21. https://www.discogs.com/Roger-Joseph-Manning-Jr-Catnip-Dynamite/release/4312400
22. https://www.discogs.com/Iron-Lung-Corp-Body-Snatchers/release/4992602
23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPd1-ARS-Ag

Literature

• Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. ISBN 1843531054.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Goodwin, Andrew (1993). Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture (illustrated ed.). Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0415091705.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hardy, Phil; Laing, Dave; Barnard, Stephen; Perretta, Don (1988). Encyclopedia of Rock (2nd ed.). Schirmer Books. ISBN 0029195624.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)