There are many bands in the history of rock music that fall unfairly under the term "one-song band". There are also those who are referred to as a "one-album band". The ensemble from Sweden Europe fits into the second category, although for many it remains within the first category. Resurrected in 2003, the musical alliance exists to this day.
But these Swedes managed to seriously “thunder” the whole world long ago, about 30 years ago, in the heyday of glam metal.
How it all began with the Europa group
One of the brightest Scandinavian bands appeared in Stockholm in 1979 thanks to the efforts of singer Joey Tempest (Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson) and guitarist John Norum. The guys got together with bassist Peter Olsson and drummer Tony Reno to rehearse and perform songs. Force - that was their first name.
Despite the powerful name, the guys failed to achieve something significant, even within Scandinavia. The group constantly recorded songs, sent demos to various record companies. However, they were always refused cooperation.
Everything changed for the better when the guys decided to rename the band to the laconic but capacious word Europe. Under this music label, the musicians successfully performed at the Rock-SM contest, where they were invited by Joey's friend.
The latter received a prize for the best vocals, and John Norum - for a virtuoso performance on the guitar. Then the group was offered to sign a contract with Hot Records, which young hard rockers took advantage of.
The debut work appeared in 1983 and became a classic "first pancake". There was a local success in Japan, where they drew attention to the single Seven Doors Hotel. The song hit the top 10 in Japan.
The ambitious Swedes did not despair. A year later, they created the second album, Wings of Tomorrow, which became their debut.
The group was brought to the attention of Columbia Records. "Europeans" got the right to sign an international contract.
The stunning success of the Europe group
In the autumn of 1985, the group Europe (consisting of: Tempest, Norum, John Leven (bass), Mick Michaeli (keyboards), Jan Hoglund (drums)) arrived in Switzerland. And temporarily occupied the PowerPlay studio in Zurich.
The upcoming album was patronized by Epic Records. Directly engaged in producing a specialist named Kevin Elson. He had previously successful experience with the Americans - Lynyrd Skynyrd and Journey.
The record could have been released before May 1986. But the process was delayed due to the fact that Tempest fell ill in the winter and could not take notes for a long time. The recordings were mixed and mastered in the USA.
The main hit of the album was the song that gave the name to the entire opus of 10 tracks - The Final Countdown. The song's feature is a spectacular keyboard riff, which Tempest came up with back in the early 1980s.
He played it more than once in rehearsals, until bassist John Levene suggested that he write a song based on this tune. Tempest composed the text thanks to David Bowie's cult work Space Oddity. In The Final Countdown, they sing from the perspective of astronauts who are leaving on a long space journey and looking sadly at the planet. After all, it is not known what lies ahead for them. The chorus was the refrain: "There is a final countdown!".
When Tempest recorded a trial version and gave it to the rest of the participants to listen to, some liked it, some not so much. John Norum, for example, was generally outraged by the "pop" synth beginning. And he almost insisted on giving it up.
The final word was left to the author, who defended both the introduction and the song. Keyboardist Mikaeli worked on the chic-sounding riff.
New hit from Europe
Among the songs of the album, it is worth highlighting the thriller Rock the Night, the melodic composition Ninja, the beautiful ballad Carrie.
It seemed to everyone that the clockwork number “Light it all night” was more suitable for this purpose. The song was composed in 1984, the guys performed it more than once at concerts. And she was well received by the fans. The record company put an end to the disputes by insisting on the release of The Final Countdown.
The song instantly became an international hit, No. 1 in England, France, Germany, native Sweden, even in America it hit the ratings. The audience liked the sounds of this song in the vastness of the Soviet Union. The band's performance was shown in the folk music program "Morning Post".
In general, everything turned out to be smooth, “tasty”, carefully worked out. Allmusic columnist Doug Stone called the album one of the most outstanding in the history of rock music a few years later, when the hype and first impressions had passed.
To be continued
International success did not turn the guys' heads, and they did not rest on their laurels. After finishing the world tour, the musicians again retired to the studio to record new material.
True, alas, without John Norum. He was dissatisfied with the group's lightweight sound and left the band. Instead, another good guitarist Kee Marcello was recruited.
It was with the participation of the latter that the next album Out of This World was released. The disc was created according to the patterns of the previous one, and therefore automatically took high positions in many charts.
The only thing is that such a cool composition as The Final Countdown was not in it. But on the other hand, this work was adequately appreciated in America, which has always been difficult for European groups.
Three years later, the fifth album Prisoners in Paradise was released. Music has acquired a significant rigidity than before. The disc went gold in Sweden and entered six different charts.
In 1992, the group's hiatus was formally announced, but most fans realized that this was a breakup, as the team members went to other offices or went solo, and the contract with Epic Records was terminated.
Revival
In 1999, members of the Europe group united for a one-time performance in Stockholm.
Four years later, the group reunited in the "golden lineup" from the time of the album The Final Countdown.
In September 2004, a new work, Start from the Dark, was released. The music has changed, the sound has been modernized, there was not one thing - the same miracle of 1986.
Further discography:
- Secret Society (2006);
- Last Look at Eden (2009);
- Bag of Bones (2012);
- War of Kings (2015);
- Walk the Earth (2017).
