Europe is a Swedish heavy metal band originally assembled as a progressive rock group; they later added keyboards to their sound in order to soften it, in hopes of gaining radio airplay. Europe's sound substantially influenced the power metal genre.

Biography

The first incarnation of the band was named Force and came together on the year of 1979, in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm, and was integrated by vocalist and keyboardist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, bassist Peter Olsson and drummer Tony Reno . The band sent several demos to record companies, but were told that in order to be published they had to cut their hairs and sing in Swedish. Two years later, Olsson left the band and was replaced by John Levén .

In 1982, Tempest's girlfriend entered Force in the Swedish rock talent contest Rock-SM. Competing against 4000 bands, they won the contest, their rewards being a record deal. Tempest won the individual award for Best Lead Singer, and Norum won the award for Best Guitarist. During the contest, Force were forced to changed their name to Europe. Their self-titled debut album was released on the following year, and sold well both in Sweden and Japan. The single Seven Doors Hotel became a Top 10 hit in Japan.

The second album, Wings of Tomorrow was released one year later, and the single Open Your Heart got CBS Records interested in the band, offering them an international contract in 1985. Keyboardist Mic Michaeli was soon recruited to play in live concerts, and became an official member of the band shortly after. At the same time, Tony Reno was fired because of his lack of motivation and alleged slacking off from rehearsals. His replacement was Ian Haugland .

In 1985 Europe recorded the soundtrack for youth movie On the Loose, which gave them their first number 1 hit in Sweden - Rock the Night. Several months later, they began the recording of their next album. The result was The Final Countdown, released in 1986. It became a worldwide hit, selling more than six million copies. The title track single was number 1 in 26 countries, and the ballad Carrie reached the Top 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA.

Not satisfied with the album's keyboard-dominated production and the band's new hair metal image, John Norum decided to leave Europe in November 1986 to pursue a solo career. Kee Marcello was asked to replace him, and after some consideration decided to join the band. The following year included successful tours through the European continent and the USA. The follow-up to The Final Countdown was entitled Out of This World and was released in 1988, a time when Guns N' Roses and U2 had broken the monopoly that hair metal had on the music industry. More touring followed, including a world tour with Def Leppard.

Three years later, in 1991, the album Prisoners In Paradise was released, but received limited media attention due to the "boom" of the grunge movement, started by Nirvana and Pearl Jam. After ten years of living, recording and touring together, Europe decided to take a long break after one last European tour in 1992. Since then, Tempest, Norum and Marcello have released solo albums, while the other members have participated in several different projects and bands.

For the millennium celebrations of 1999, Europe was asked to do a concert in Stockholm on New Year's Eve. That would be their first concert with two lead guitarists, since both Norum and Marcello had accepted to play. This wasn't a full-time reunion, however; just a one-off event. Over the years, there were several reunion rumours, and on October 2 of 2003 it was made official: Europe announced plans for a new album and world tour. The band then switched back to the classic Final Countdown line-up, with John Norum as the only lead guitarist; Kee Marcello claimed that he was too busy with his own projects.

In the summer of 2004 Europe went on a festival tour through the European continent. The concert setlists included several old classics, but also introduced the title track from their brand new album - Start from the Dark. The album was released in late 2004, and is currently being supported by a world tour.

Discography

Studio albums

• Europe (1983)
• Wings of Tomorrow (1984)
• The Final Countdown (1986)
• Out of This World (1988)
• Prisoners In Paradise (1991)
• Start from the Dark (2004)

Compilations

• 1982-1992 (1993)
• 1982-2000 (1982-1992 reissue) (2000)
• Rock the Night: The Very Best of Europe (2004)

Line-up

• Joey Tempest - Vocals
• John Norum - Guitar
• John Levén - Bass
• Mic Michaeli - Keyboard
• Ian Haugland - Drums and percussion

External links

• Europe's Official Site
• Europe Supporters Club
• Europe Bandnews
• German Europe Fanpage