Taken from the albumThe Golden Age of Wireless, "Europa and the Pirate Twins" was written by Thomas Dolby, who produced it in collaboration with Tim Friese-Greene. The song opens with a "bluesy" harmonica solo, performed by Andy Partridge of the band XTC. The song makes use of electronic drums, and features a "high-register" synthesiser line throughout. The song's main musical hook is a "Bo Diddley beat", a repetitive rhythm common in several musical genres. 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 generation and the one which endured the last global conflict". Dolby has described the song, along with the tone of the album, as reflecting "a sense of 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". The song was described as "a semi-autobiographical romp" in the liner notes for Dolby's 2009 greatest hits albumThe Singular Thomas Dolby, the release of which was overseen by the singer. "Europa and the Pirate Twins" received a "sequel" on Dolby's 1992 album Astronauts & Heretics, in the song "Eastern Bloc"; which has been described by Audio magazine as "appealingly faithful" to the original.
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. The song spent three weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a peak position of 48. The song first appeared in RPM magazine's Canadian singles chart on 18 June 1983, debuting at number 50. It eventually reached a peak position of 45 in that chart. The song debuted in the United States' BillboardHot 100 singles chart on 2 July 1983, spending five weeks there and peaking at number 67. It also reached a peak position of 37 on the Billboardrock chart in 1982. 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", and black-and-white shots of Dolby and a shrouded female figure by the coast. The video was written and directed by Dolby.
"Europa and the Pirate Twins" has been described by Peter Buckley, in his book The Rough Guide to Rock, as "showcas Dolby's trademark combination of the charming and the gimmicky". 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". Mason added that the song "pack a remarkable amount of detail into two short verses and a bridge" and "resolves with a soaring, bittersweet chorus". 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".
Cover versions
Noice, a swedish 80s band released a cover of the song with swedish lyrics on their album "Europa" in 1982.
Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down released a version on the 2006 CD single "Say It All," and then on the B-side of the 2007 7" single of "Phantom Punch."
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.
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.
