The song also featured Billy MacKenzie (vocals) and Alan Rankine (guitar) (core members of The Associates) along with Virginia Astley (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.

Joy marks a concerted effort to update traditional Scottish music into the age of modern rock recordings.

With Paul Wishart on saxophone "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is a cover version of the song by Eric Bogle.

Promotion problems at Virgin forestalled a tour although the band recorded a BBC Radio 1 session and shot a music video for "Iona."

Virginia Astley would go on to record her debut solo releases with Russell Webb and guest on Jobson's poetry album The Ballad of Etiquette.