Euro Stars

TRUE giants of rock, Europe will forever be associated with their rousing anthem The Final Countdown.

But there’s more to Europe than that hair rock air guitar classic. Sweden’s most successful rock act have been thrashing around, on and off since 1979 – when frontman Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum first dipped their toes in the icy pool of Scandinavian glam-rock.

Since then they have released eight albums, selling 16 million copies, and toured the world. But it’s impossible to escape the shadow of that epic hit – which topped the charts in at least 25 countries.

“The Final Countdown is well known,” say Joey, with particularly un-rockstar-like understatement. “But real rock fans know that we’ve had eight albums and thousands of songs – and The Final Countdown is only one.

“It started life as just an album track but it took on a life of its own. We wrote it as an opening track for a show using borrowed keyboards. It wasn’t even going to be a single.

“We decided to go for a live video though, and released it – and people realised it was a gem. It’s magic; it communicates with people on a pure rock level.

“No one thought it would be a classic though.”

So what it is it about that song which caught the planet’s imagination? Joey thinks hard. “It flows well,” he says after a heavy pause. “I guess it’s unique. It’s like a movie soundtrack without the movie. It takes you with it.

“We were inspired by British metal bands like UFO, which is what we grew up listening to, and we use that galloping tempo. The space theme, meanwhile, came from David Bowie’s Space Oddity. I came up with the theme when I was 16, but didn’t put it into song until 1985, when I was 22.

“We are a guitar-orientated band but are a lot heavier than most people realise. Last year we played Bloodstock (in Staffordshire), which is an extreme metal festival. People wondered what we were doing there, but we played loud and powerfully – and they loved it.”

Although they sat out the bulk of the 90s, they reconvened in 2002 and have thrown themselves into it displaying a typically Nordic work ethic. “We decided to give it a break in 1992,” says Joey, who is preparing for his upcoming tour at home in London with wife Teesside lass Lisa Worthington-Larsson and son James Joakim.

“The media thought we had broken up, but we had just decided to work on other things. I did three solo albums as a singer-songwriter and did lots of shows, but I missed the band more and more. We met again on the Millennium Eve and played two songs outside in Stockholm – including The Final Countdown. It was very cold, but it felt good to be together again. We also saw these other 80s bands touring and wondered why we weren’t writing new songs.”

So they did. And, he explains, it felt like they’d never been away.

“We realised we had to get back together again and in 2004 recorded a comeback album. Our drummer (Håkan Jan ‘Ian’ Haugland) said it felt like coming back from a coffee break.”

In the past five years they’ve released three albums, including latest effort Last Look At Eden.

“With its big riffs it’s a link back to our past but it has a modern sound as well, and we used a lot of young talent in producing it,” says Joey.

On February 22, Europe play Oxford’s O2 Academy in a gig supported by Black Country rockers Diamond Head.

For Europe it counts as an intimate gig.

“We once played at the Milton Keynes Bowl with Bon Jovi, in front of 60,000 people – which was amazing,” Joey remembers. “We also played with Metallica in Tokyo – which was a big gig too.”

It was in the 80s, predictably, that they had their most fanatical following, though. “Once we were touring in Italy” he recalls. “We were in Rome and decided to do some sightseeing, so went to have a look around St Peter’s. We walked in as tourists, but were recognised and ended up having to run for back to our limo pursued out of the church by crowds. That used to happen a lot.”

Like all self-respecting hard rockers, they’ve also earned stripes as committed party animals. But Joey admits they have since settled down. A lot.

“Our wildest days were in the beginning, and there have been some very crazy times,” he says. “We still like a party, but it used to be 20 per cent music and 80 per cent partying. Now it’s the other way round.”

One thing’s for sure though: there’s no sign of a ‘final countdown’ for Europe. They’re here to stay.

Europe play the Oxford O2 Academy on February 22, supported by Diamond Head. Tickets are £17. Ticket Hotline: 0844 477 2000 or book online at ticketweb.co.uk See next week’s Guide for an interview with Diamond Head axe-warrior Brian Tatler.