Joy

Joy, the last Skids studio album recorded for Virgin Records, was mostly completed after guitarist and co-songwriter Stuart Adamson had left to form Big Country. The results as unveiled on Joy relied a lot less on layered guitar sounds and instead embraced the band’s Scottish heritage. Throughout Joy are bagpipes, choral sounds, and experimental instrumentation, making for a distinctly Celtic-pastoral vibe.

Singles taken from ‘Joy’ include ‘Iona’ - which marked the last appearance Adamson made on a Skids recording before Big Country, as well as a contribution from label mate Mike Oldfield on keyboards – and ‘Fields’ – which featured up and coming art-poppers and fellow Scots The Associates.