Europe is a Swedishrock band formed inUpplands Väsby in 1979,[7] by lead vocalistJoey Tempest, guitaristJohn Norum, bassist Peter Olsson, and drummerTony Reno. They obtained a major breakthrough in Sweden in 1982 by winning the televised competition Rock-SM (Swedish Rock Championships); it was the first time this competition was held, and Europe became a larger success than the competition itself.
Since their formation, Europe has released eleven studio albums, three live albums, three compilations and twenty-four music videos. Europe's current lineup comprises Tempest, Norum, bassistJohn Levén, keyboardistMic Michaeli, and drummerIan Haugland.
The first incarnation of the band was namedForce and came together in 1979, inUpplands Väsby,Stockholm, and was integrated by vocalistJoey Tempest, guitaristJohn Norum, bass guitarist Peter Olsson, and drummerTony Reno.[11] "I remember when we started the band Force we were playing covers in the rehearsal room, because we just wanted to learn our instruments, like all bands," Tempest said, "Then one day I said maybe we should do our own stuff. Nobody had any ideas, so I brought mine into the rehearsal room, and that is when we started writing our own stuff."[12]
The band sent severaldemos torecord companies, but were told that in order to be published they had to cut their hair and sing in Swedish. Two years later, Olsson left the band and was replaced byJohn Levén.[11] Just a couple of months later, Levén joinedYngwie Malmsteen's band Rising Force, and Malmsteen's former bassist,Marcel Jacob, joined Force. This only lasted for three months, though; Levén apparently had issues with Malmsteen, so he and Jacob traded places again.[13]
In 1982, Tempest's girlfriend entered Force in the Swedish rock talent contestRock-SM. Competing against 4000 bands, they won the contest thanks to two songs, "In the Future to Come" and "The King Will Return". The reward was a record deal withHot Records. Tempest won the individual award forBest Lead Singer, and Norum won the award forBest Guitarist.[11] Just before the contest, Force changed their name to Europe. Tempest got the name from theMade in Europe album by Deep Purple.[14]
Theself-titled debut album was released the following year, and sold well both in Sweden and Japan. The album charted at number 8 in the band's home country and the single "Seven Doors Hotel" became a Top 10 hit in Japan.[11]
The second albumWings of Tomorrow was released one year later. The album got interest fromCBS Records who offered them an international contract in 1985.[11] "I think one of the most important albums for the band wasWings of Tomorrow," Tempest said, "We were learning how to write songs and John started playing some really cool stuff on the guitar. We became a better band and that was a good period for the band."[15] KeyboardistMic Michaeli was soon recruited to play in live concerts, and became an official member of the band shortly after.[11] At the same time, Tony Reno was fired because of his lack of motivation and alleged slacking off on rehearsals. Bassist Peter Olsson also claims that Reno was replaced on the albums by a drum machine.[16] His replacement wasIan Haugland.[11]
In 1985 Europe recorded thesoundtrack for the filmOn the Loose, which gave them the hit "Rock the Night".[11] Several months later Joey Tempest was asked to write a song for the charity projectSwedish Metal Aid.[17] He wrote "Give a Helping Hand", which would feature the biggest stars of Swedish rock and metal.[18] The income from the sales of the single, which was produced byEasy Action guitaristKee Marcello, was donated to the starving people of Ethiopia.[11]
In September 1985, Europe was approached by an executive from Epic Records. They helped Europe start the recording of its next album withJourney producer Kevin Elson. The result wasThe Final Countdown. Released on 26 May 1986, the album gave the band its international breakthrough, was certified Triple Platinum in the USA[19] and reached number 8 on theBillboard 200 chart.[9] Thetitle track, which was based on a keyboard riff composed by Tempest as early as 1981–82,[11] was released as the first single and became a worldwide success, peaking at number 1 in 25 countries,[8] such as the UK,[20] France,[21] Spain, and Germany.[22] The hit "Rock the Night" was in the top 10 charts in European countries. The power ballad "Carrie" peaked at number 3 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[10] "Cherokee" was the other single released.
Not satisfied with the album's keyboard-dominated production nor the band's commercialized image, John Norum decided to leave Europe in October 1986 to pursue a solo career.[11] "I didn't really like the direction the band was going in," Norum said, "We became this teeny-bopper, bubblegum band and I hated that whole image, the spandex, poodle-rock type of thing. I was more into the heavier, guitar-oriented stuff and it seemed like the keyboards were taking over more and more, and we were becoming more commercial. So I decided to leave. I just wanted to move on and do something else."[23]
Kee Marcello was asked to replace him, and after some consideration, he decided to join the band.[11] Marcello joined the band at its commercial peak.
Three singles fromThe Final Countdown reaching the US Top 30.[10] The following year included successful tours through Europe and the USA.[citation needed]
Out of This World andPrisoners in Paradise (1988–1992)
The follow-up toThe Final Countdown was entitledOut of This World and was released in 1988. The biggest hit from the album was "Superstitious" which peaked at number 31 on theBillboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. "Superstitious" would be the last Europe song to chart in the USA.[10] The album was certified platinum in the States and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 chart.[9][19] More touring followed, including an American tour withDef Leppard and a festival gig at theNational Bowl inMilton Keynes, England withBon Jovi,Skid Row andVixen.[11]
After ten years of living, recording, and touring together, Europe decided to take a break at the end of the 1992 tour.[11] "I remember in the tour bus afterwards we were talking about where the whole thing was going and I think at the time the consensus of the band was we really felt ready for a break," Tempest said, "We felt that it was time to put some roots down and I was really into the idea of making my own solo album."[26] In that time, Tempest, Norum and Marcello released solo albums whilst the other members participated in several different projects and bands. In return, Europe was dropped fromEpic Records.[citation needed]
The band members started to discuss the possibility of a Europe reunion in 1998.[26] "Mic and Ian came over to see me in Ireland," Tempest said, "Then whilst we were there, John Norum called from LA, and we were like 'Yes, maybe now is the right time to get things started again'."[26] For the 2000 millennium celebrations, Europe was asked to do a concert in Stockholm on New Year's Eve 1999. That would be Europe's first and, to date, only concert with both of their lead guitarists, since both John Norum and Kee Marcello had accepted the offer to play that evening with the rest of the group. They played "Rock the Night" and "The Final Countdown".[26][27]
Over the years, there were several reunion rumors, and on 2 October 2003 it was made official: Europe announced plans for a new album and world tour.[28] The band then switched back toThe Final Countdown line-up, with John Norum as the only lead guitarist.[26] "There was no doubt that we wanted John back, and John wanted to get back," Tempest said, "For me it was important to get that spark going again that we had before."[12] Kee Marcello claimed that he was too busy with his own projects. "I told them I didn't want to participate in a [new] studio album because musically, I want to go in a different kind of direction than the music Europe stands for," Marcello said, "Then we talked for a while about doing a six-piece tour – it didn't turn out that way because of different reasons."[27]
The songwriting for a new album,Start from the Dark, began early in 2003.[26] "It was just a matter of moving forward and writing songs for the new album," Tempest said, "That was always our intention. We thought that if we were gonna make a comeback, we wanted to do it properly, and that meant we wanted to write and record some new songs, a new album."[26] For the recording ofStart from the Dark, the band decided to work with producer Kevin Elson, who had also producedThe Final Countdown.[26] "We could either go with a younger producer, or we could go with someone that we knew, someone experienced who is on the same wavelength as the band," Tempest said, "So in the end we decided that Kevin would be the perfect choice."[26]
In the summer of 2004, Europe went on a festival tour through the European continent.[26] The concert setlists included the old hits, but also introduced the title track fromStart from the Dark.[26] The album was released on 22 September 2004, the same day that John Norum became a father.Start from the Dark featured a more modern sound compared to Europe's previous albums. "We wanted to be doing something at least that was a little bit relevant now; bit of a dry mix, detuned a bit," Tempest said, "So we felt like we didn't want to do an 1980s album per se, we just wanted to start like a fresh band really."[29] Eventually, the album sold in excess of 600,000 copies worldwide.[12]
Europe released its seventh album,Secret Society on 26 October 2006. "We think it's one of the strongest albums that Europe has ever done," Tempest said, "There is definitely some more melodic stuff on this one.Start from the Dark was very raw and made a statement, which is cool but for us it felt like a debut album in a way, so we wanted to branch out a bit on this one and take it to new levels."[12]
On 26 January 2008, Europe did a semi-acoustic live concert at Nalen in Stockholm, calling the eventAlmost Unplugged. The band was accompanied by a string quartet and played reworked versions of its own songs, as well as cover versions of songs by bands that have influenced Europe's sound throughout the years –Pink Floyd,UFO,Led Zeppelin andThin Lizzy. The show was broadcast live over the Internet on Europe's official website.[30] It was released on CD on 17 September 2008[31] and on DVD on 19 August 2009.[citation needed]
On 23 July 2008, Europe did a co-headlining concert withWhitesnake inPadua, Italy. During Whitesnake's performance of their encore "Still of the Night", Joey Tempest joinedDavid Coverdale on stage for the last chorus.[32] In August 2008 Europe was the opening act forDeep Purple for two concerts in Sweden, inLinköping on 8 August andYstad on 9 August.[33] John Norum joined Deep Purple on stage in Ystad for a performance of "Smoke on the Water".[34]
On 21 July 2009, bass guitarist and former member of Force, Marcel Jacob, committed suicide. He was 45 years old.[35]
Europe performing in Festivalna hall, Sofia in 2012.
Europe's eighth studio album,Last Look at Eden, was released on 9 September 2009.[36] Thetitle track was released as a single in June.[37] The band has described it as a modern retro rock album.[38] "This time, we're taking some new directions with our songs, and we're exploring different styles," they stated, "There is a definite classic rock vibe on some of the tracks... a tip of the hat to groovin', funkin' 1970s rock songs - but ones we have bought into the here and now."[39] The second single, "New Love in Town", was released as a digital download on 3 September 2009.[40]
On 12 July 2011, Europe confirmed thatKevin Shirley would produce their ninth studio album. The recording sessions started on 3 October 2011.[42][43] On 24 January 2012 the band announced the album title,Bag of Bones.[44][45] The album was released on 18 April 2012 in Japan byVictor Entertainment[46] and on 25 April in Sweden by Gain Music Entertainment.[47] "Bag of Bones" debuted at number 2 on the Swedish album chart on 4 May 2012 and was certified Gold in Sweden on 12 July 2012.[48]
The band played at theSweden Rock Festival in 2013, with their performance recorded for a 30th anniversary double CD, DVD andBlu-ray Disc, which was released in October 2013.[49][50][51]
In 2014, Europe celebrated the 30th anniversary of their second studio albumWings of Tomorrow. They performed the entireWings of Tomorrow album on several shows, including in Sweden.[52]
Europe's tenth studio album,War of Kings was released on 2 March 2015 by UDR Records.[53] It was produced by Dave Cobb, producer for bands such asRival Sons.[53] This was followed in March 2015 by a 14-date tour of the UK co-headlining withBlack Star Riders, supported byThe Amorettes.[54]
Europe participated in a major cable televisionGEICO advertising campaign which started airing September 2015 in the US; in a television commercial, they are featured singing "The Final Countdown" to the background of an office break room, as a microwave oven cooks a burrito.[55]
Europe released theWar of Kings Special Edition together withLive Performance from Wacken Open Air Festival which was performed on 29 July 2015. The digital version was released on 27 November 2015 by UDR Records and the Blu-ray & DVD version released in early 2016.[citation needed]
In November 2016, Europe announced the 30th Final Countdown Anniversary Tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their top selling album "The Final Countdown". In this tour, they performed the entire "The Final Countdown" album and the entire "War Of Kings" album in every concert. They also filmed the concert performed in Roundhouse, London on 12 November 2016 and released it on 21 July 2017 via Blu-ray, DVD & iTunes Digital Download.[citation needed]
In mid-2017, Europe announced their eleventh studio album, titledWalk the Earth. The album was released on 20 October via CD with bonus DVD and digital download.
In 2023 they announced their 40th anniversary tour titled Time Capsule, with dates in Europe across eight countries. The tour started on 30 September 2023 inLausanne, Switzerland, and ended on 26 October 2023 inLondon, England.[56][57]
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