 Taken from the album The 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 . 
