Song · Thomas Dolby
“Europa and the Pirate Twins” by Thomas Dolby
From the album The Golden Age of Wireless (1982)
“Europa and the Pirate Twins” by Thomas Dolby appears on 10 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 1982 and 2023. It was first released in 1982 on the album The Golden Age of Wireless. Its best result is #37 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #55 alternative song of 1982 and #2,474 alternative song of all time.
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"Europa and the Pirate Twins" came out as a single in 1981, ahead of Thomas Dolby's debut album The Golden Age of Wireless, and it's synth-pop with dust on its boots. It kicks off with a bluesy harmonica solo from XTC's Andy Partridge, then settles onto a Bo Diddley beat pumped out on electronic drums, with a high, glinting synthesizer line running through the whole thing.
Dolby wrote it and produced it with Tim Friese-Greene, sings lead and plays the synths and electronic drums himself, with Kevin Armstrong on guitar, Mark Heyward-Chaplin on bass, Justin Hildreth on drums and Les Chappell helping out on backing vocals. The spark was the atmosphere of World War II, and it gives the song a wistful, newsreel glow. It reached 48 in the UK and also charted in the US and Canada.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 37 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1982 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 166 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1988 | 109 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) | 501 |
| 1989 | 163 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1994 | 493 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1998 | 441 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 273 | 91X | 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) | 500 |
| 2002 | 1757 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1093 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2023 | 584 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s | 850 |
Also listed as: Europa And The Pirate Twins.
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