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Were these guys really from Europe, or were they from the
USA and figured calling the band "USA" would be too boring? Yea,
we know, they were from Sweden, so don't write us about it. Europe
has been described as a highly polished pop metal (bubble gum metal)
band, but from our perspective at ilovethe80s.com, they were extremely
talented and are one of our favorite 80's bands.
The band Europe was formed way back in 1979 by vocalist
Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, and drummer Tony Reno. The
original name of the band was "Force". In 1982, Joey Tempest's
girlfriend signed them up for a Swedish rock talent show. Just
prior to the show, the band changed their name to Europe, and out of
4000 bands, Europe came out on top. The winner won a recording
contract. The band's first album did well in Sweden and Japan.
It was their second release, Wings of Tomorrow, that go the
attention of CBS records and thus began an illustrious career.
By 1986, the songs of Europe were playing on every rock
station in America with the release of the
The Final
Countdown, which charted at 8 on the Billboard 200.
Many of you will remember the songs "Cherokee", "Carrier", "Rock the
Night", and "The Final Countdown" from that album. Europe's
follow up release,
Out of this World (1988),
was also well received (remember the song "Superstitious"?).
By 1992, Europe had decided on a hiatus. Some the
original band member line ups had changed due to disagreements over the
direction of the band, and frankly the Seattle sound was quickly
diminishing the allure of heavy metal. Since their heyday, Europe
has reunited from time to time for tours and new material. We have
heard the newer stuff, and although it does sound good, it is more edgy
than the pop metal sound we love from the 80's hair metal heyday.
Europe continues to be very popular in the UK. At
the time of this writing, the Europe Discography was as follows:1983: Europe
1984: Wings of Tomorrow
1986: The Final Countdown
1988: Out of this World
1991: Prisoners in Paradise
2004: Start from the Dark
2006: Secret Society
2009: Last Look at Eden
2012: Bag of Bones |
