Days in Europa

Days in Europa
Studio album by Skids
Released	1979 (1979)
Recorded	Rockfield Studios, Wales, UK except: Basing Street: {{small>|"Masquerade"}} The Manor: "Yankee Dollar"
Genre	Punk rock
Label	Virgin
Producer	Bill Nelson
Skids chronology
Scared to Dance (1979) Days in Europa (1979) The Absolute Game (1980)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Days in Europa is Skids's controversial 1979 second album. Initially released with an "aryan" album cover reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics, complete with Germanic gothic-style lettering, this was quickly withdrawn and a new cover designed.^{[citation needed]} At the same time the opportunity was taken to change the album tracklisting and re-mix some of the original songs. Some of the deleted songs re-surfaced on later albums.

Unlike some of the post-punk albums of the period, some of the songs tend towards a slower tempo. The songs often refer to events in, or imagery from, World War I and World War II.

The tracks that found their way onto the second (re-mixed) version of the album were given a glossier sound by Bruce Fairbairn, allegedly for the US market.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

Original album (1979)

All tracks composed by Jobson/Adamson unless indicated otherwise.

Side One
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Animation"	4:51
2.	"Charade"	3:53
3.	"'Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)'"	4:08
4.	"Pros and Cons"	3:19
5.	"Home of the Saved" (Adamson)	5:05

Side Two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Working For the Yankee Dollar"	4:53
7.	"The Olympian"	3:32
8.	"Thanatos"	4:06
9.	"A Day in Europa"	3:01
10.	"Peaceful Times"	5:05

Cover of the second version of Days in Europa.

1980 re-release

All tracks composed by Jobson/Adamson unless indicated otherwise.

Side One
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Animation"	4:27
2.	"Charade"	4:00
3.	""Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)""	4:34
4.	"The Olympian"	3:22
5.	"Home of the Saved" (Adamson)	4:26

Side Two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Working For the Yankee Dollar"	3:52
7.	"Thanatos"	4:02
8.	"Masquerade"	2:44
9.	"A Day in Europa"	2:56
10.	"Peaceful Times"	5:00

This second release's cover includes the controversial first cover as a picture on the wall behind the woman in white's head. On the back of the cover the illustration is repeated, only with the withdrawn release's picture on the wall being replaced with that of the earlier Scared to Dance album. The track Pros and the Cons is removed, and Masquerade, also one of their single releases, is added.

2001 re-release

This CD release contains the same cover art and tracklisting as the 1979 original, and adds seven bonus tracks:

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Masquerade" (Non-album single A-side, 1979)	2:46
12.	"Out of Town" (1980 re-recording from The Absolute Game[2])	4:08
13.	"Another Emotion" ("Masquerade" single B-side, 1979)	3:00
14.	"Aftermath Dub" ("Masquerade" single B-side, 1979)	3:00
15.	"Grey Parade" ("Charade" single B-side, 1979, composed Jobson/Adamson/Nelson)	4:45
16.	"Working For the Yankee Dollar" (Single A-side remix, 1979)	3:39
17.	"Vanguard's Crusade" ("Working For the Yankee Dollar" single B-side, 1979)	4:42

The original version of "Out of Town", released as the B-side to the "Masquerade" single, is unavailable on CD.^[2]

Personnel

• Richard Jobson — vocals
• Stuart Adamson — guitars / vocals / keyboards
• William Simpson — bass guitar / vocals

With:

• Rusty Egan — drums
• Bill Nelson — keyboards

Second Version (Re-mixed) ONLY

• Thomas Kellichan — drums on "Masquerade" ONLY

Song information

A rough translation of "Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro Patria Mori)" is:

It is a sweet and glorious thing (to die for one's country).

Dulce et Decorum Est is also the name of poem by Wilfred Owen.

Thanatos is the Greek word for "death" and ancient Greek god of death, and is used in Freudian psychology to refer to the death wish/destructive urge, as opposed to Eros, the reproductive urge.

References

1. ^ Days in Europa at Allmusic
2. ^ ^{a b} Version Crazy - Skids: ‘Days In Europa’ Jap promo CD (Virgin VJCP-23105)