Scottish Punk band Skids ( not The Skids ! ) made initial headlines with their single "Sweet Surbaria" before "Into The Valley" became a top 10 hit. Their first album, "Scared To Dance", was also well received, with the title track and "The Saints Are Coming" receiving regular airplay on night time radio.
"The Saints Are Coming" later famously became a hit in 2006 when U2 and Green Day recorded a cover as a fund raiser for the New Orleans flood disaster fund, leading it to become a theme tune for sporting sides known as The Saints, such as Northampton Rugby, Southampton and The New Saints football sides.
Prior to the release of Skids second album, the brilliant single "Masquerade" was released and reached numer 14 in the UK Charts, but it was omitted from the follow-up album. Their appearance on Top Of The Pops to promote "Masquerade" was noteworthy for singer Richard Jobson's notorious out of time dancing. Jobson became a regular in the music press, being willing to offer an opinion on anything and everything as a rent-a-quote mouthpiece, which had a sense of irony given that much of Jobson's singing was unintelligble ! After Skids split, Jobson became a TV presenter, most notably as a film critic.
Guitarist Stuart Adamson's "bagpipe" guitar, which was to become the mainstay of Big Country, was already evident on Skids early recordings.
"Charade" and "Working For The Yankee Dollar" were released as singles from the album and became top 20 hits, at which point I purchased "Days In Europa".
The album attracted some contraversy at the time, with the cover depicting an Olympian receiving a crown of laurels from a Germanic looking women, and with the gothic script writing it was reminisent of posters for the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Added with some of the lyrics on the album, some critics felt that Nazi ideology was being glorified.
Whilst their early songs were guitar dominated punk efforts, "Days In Europa" saw a move towards synthesizers and electronic beats whilst retaining Adamson's trademark guitar playing. I liked it, although most of the time I had no idea what Jobson was singing about !
The album begins with "Animation", a mid-paced techno-pop stomp, with a rising chorus and searing guitar breaks. "Disengage time and the body's on its own. Feel the stagnation and this is where we are thrown. Labour saving days are the ones that can't recline. Labour saving days are the ones that always shine"
The fast paced "Charade" follows, with an anthemic chorus of Charade repeated five times, and a synthesizer plays the middle break.
"Dulce et Decorum Est ( Pro Patria Mori )" is one of the album's highlights, based on war poet Wilfried Owen's poem "Dulce et Decorum Est". It has a funky bass and guitar lines in the intro, a killer chorus, a lovely guitar break, and sad synth towards the end with military drumming. "Dulce et Docorum est my childlike dream is marching west, Dulce et Docorum est, for my soul I've failed the test. Dulce et Docorum est, come our Johnny join the rest".
"Pros And Cons" is probably the weakest song on the album but has an urgent synth and guitar intro, and is not bad.
Side One closes with "Home Of The Saved", a slow number aiming to be epic without quite nailing it.
"Working For The Yankee Dollar" has a drum intro, before a whistling synth and heavy guitar, then the guitar plays the main rift. There is a catchy shouty chorus. "In Germany in the forty five, my mind was on the altar. Thought of god, the iron rod and thought that needed shelter. From 'Tragen' pain and men insane and eyes that got much colder. Saw a German son with a Yankee gun and a uniform much older. Yankee, to war. Yankee, head high, Yankee, in call. Yankee, we cry"
"The Olympian" is another great track with a frantic guitar intro and vocal but has a sing-a-long chorus and a vibrant guitar break hinting at "Into The Valley" "All the banners, all the flank, say hey, hey, look at this man. Hey hey he's an Olympian"
"Thanatos" is the Greek god of death and also the Greek word for death. The song is energetic and has a great guitar intro.
"A Day In Europa" is my favourite track on the album. It has a happy beat, another sing-a-long chorus, and brilliant guitar solo. "And the memory shall linger, and the memory shall fall. A day in Europa, my regression recalls".
The album closes with the oddity "Peaceful Times". The music is a heavy synth/dub sound and what sounds like "Animation" played backwards, with a spoken vocal over it. I didn't like it when I heard it in 1980, but now it sounds brilliant !
Playing "Days In Europa" again, I still think it is a very good album, with the best songs being "A Day In Europa", "Dulce et Decorum Est", "The Olympian" and "Peaceful Times". Whilst the two singles are decent, they are not the best tracks !
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Animation
2. Charade
3. Dulce et Decorum Est ( Pro Patria Mori )
4. Pros And Cons
5. Home Of The Saved
1. Working For The Yankee Dollar
2. The Olympian
3. Thanatos
4. A Day In Europa
5. Peaceful Times
Released 1979
UK Chart Position : 32
Singles :
Charade ( No 31 - 1979 )
Working For The Yankee Dollar ( No 20 - 1979 )
Animation ( No 56 - 1980 )
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