''Joy'' is the fourth studio album by Scottish punk rock and new wave band

Skids __NOTOC__ Skid or Skids may refer to: * Skid, a type of pallet * Skid (aerodynamics), an outward side-slip in an aircraft turn * Skid (automobile), an automobile handling condition where one or more tires are slipping relative to the road * Skid, ...

. It was their first album after the departure of signature guitarist

Stuart Adamson William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...

who went on to found

Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scot ...

. It represented a change of direction from rock towards

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

—amplifying the traditional Scottish element already hinted at in previous releases. This would be their last album until the release of '' Burning Cities'' over 36 years later.

Recording

The band's line-up included: Richard Jobson and Russell Webb along with

J. J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biograph ...

(drums and percussion), Paul Wishart (saxophone, flute, keyboards, percussion and vocals) and a collection of musical friends. They rehearsed at

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in London. The release of the first single "Fields" was released in August—with

Kenny Hyslop Kenneth John Hyslop (born 14 February 1951 in Helensburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish drummer. He joined the band Salvation with Midge Ure, which later became Slik and, after Ure's departure, some of the remaining members formed the Zones. He als ...

on drums. The song also featured

Billy MacKenzie William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...

(vocals) and

Alan Rankine Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 3 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s. Early l ...

(guitar) (core members of The Associates) along with

Virginia Astley Virginia Astley (born 26 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter most active during the 1980s and 1990s. Her songwriting career started in 1980. Her classical training influenced her as did a desire to be experimental with her music. Alt ...

(flute). The strummed guitar and marching band elements (bagpipe emulation and percussion) signalled a change in musical direction—though the rabble-rousing-melody and football pitch vocal delivery were standard Skids fare. A second single, "Iona" (named for the Scottish island) was the only song on the album to be recorded at Highland Studios in Inverness, Scotland. Released in October 1981 this was the last Skids track to feature

alongside

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. At 3:24 the single edit is significantly shorter than the version on the album.

Music

''Joy'' marks a concerted effort to update traditional Scottish music into the age of modern rock recordings. The sound is fundamentally more pastoral than previous Skids efforts. Gone are the layers of harmonically treated electric guitar. Elements of this style were hinted at previously—particularly on the ''Strength Through Joy'' mini-album. The lyrical concerns of strife, war and brotherhood are Jobson staples. With Paul Wishart on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a song written by Scottish-born Australian singer-songwriter Eric Bogle in 1971. The song describes war as futile and gruesome, while criticising those who seek to glorify it. This is exemplified in the s ...

" is a cover version of the song by

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Release

''Joy'' was released in November 1981. Promotion problems at

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forestalled a tour although the band recorded a

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session and shot a music video for "Iona." With patchy coverage, no live support and a difficult change in musical direction, the record sank without a trace. Critical reception was mixed at best, and the band split up the following year. The album bore fruit in several working relationships.

would go on to record her debut solo releases with Russell Webb and guest on Jobson's poetry album ''The Ballad of Etiquette''. Following the disbandment of Skids remaining members Richard Jobson and Russell Webb formed

The Armoury Show The Armoury Show were a British new wave band, formed in 1983 and consisting of Richard Jobson on vocals, Russell Webb on bass guitar, John McGeoch on guitar and John Doyle on drums. The band was named after The Armory Show, a famous 1913 ...

with

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John McGeoch John Alexander McGeoch (25 August 1955 – 4 March 2004) was a Scottish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Magazine (1977-1980) and Siouxsie and the Banshees (1980-1982). He has been described as one o ...

and John Doyle. ''Joy'' remained unreleased on CD until 2016 but was released in

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format on 7 December 2009—including several alternate single mixes as bonus tracks. The album was included in the 6-CD box set of Skids albums "Skids – The Virgin Years" in 2016.

Reception

Ira Robbins of

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called it "a failed concept album about Scotland. To call it bad is curt but realistic." Mark Allan of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called it " gloomy conclusion to what was once a most vibrant band." ''

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'' greeted it favourably.

Track listing

Notes *Track lengths taken from listing on band's official site. Some pressings of the 7-inch vinyl single for "Iona" listed a 4:55 version of the title track: this was a labelling error, and these pressings actually contained the 5:07 7-inch single mix included on the 2009 reissue. Other pressings contained a shorter remix/edit which ran 3:20 (with the correct running time listed on the label); this has been released on various CD compilations.

Personnel

;Skids * Richard Jobson – lead and backing vocals, guitar, piano * Russell Webb – bass, backing vocals, guitar, piano, timpani, choir ;Additional personnel * Paul Wishart – saxophone, flute, piano, backing vocals, choir * Alan Darby – additional guitar * Tim Cross – Fairlite synthesizer, piano *

J J Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

– drums, percussion * Dave Duncan –

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

– guitar (track 5) *

– Fairlight synthesizer (track 5) *

– guitar (track 11) *

– vocals (track 11) *

Ken Lockie Ken Lockie (born 1956) is an English singer-songwriter and producer, best known as the creative force behind English new wave band Cowboys International and as a sometime collaborator with John Lydon in Public Image Ltd. Early life and educa ...

– cello (track 11), vocals (track 11) *

– choir; flute (track 11) * Frances Lynch – choir * Nicky Holland – choir * Debbie Mitchell – choir * Nick Griffiths – choir *

– drums * Carey Taylor – percussion

Production

* Ray Smith – cover art

References

External links

* {{Authority control Skids (band) albums 1981 albums Virgin Records albums