Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979,[5] by lead vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, bassist Peter Olsson, and drummer Tony 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.
Europe
Force (1979–1982)
Upplands Väsby, Sweden
- 1979–1992
- 1999
- 2003–present
- Peter Olsson
- Tony Reno
- Marcel Jacob
- Kee Marcello
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, bassist John Levén, keyboardist Mic Michaeli, and drummer Ian Haugland.
Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s with their third album, 1986's The Final Countdown. As of 2003, Europe has sold 10 million albums worldwide.[6] The band has had two top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart (The Final Countdown and Out of This World)[7] and three top 30 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ("The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night" and "Carrie", which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100).[8]
Europe went on hiatus in 1992, reunited temporarily for a one-off performance in Stockholm on New Year's Eve 1999 and announced an official reunion in 2003. Since then the band has released six albums, Start from the Dark (2004), Secret Society (2006), Last Look at Eden (2009), Bag of Bones (2012), War of Kings (2015) and Walk the Earth (2017).
Europe gained new attention in the US after being featured in a GEICO cable television commercial campaign during 2015–2016.
The band is mainly influenced by Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, UFO and Michael Schenker Group.[9][10]
History[edit]
Europe and Wings of Tomorrow (1979–1984)[edit]
The first incarnation of the band was named Force and came together in 1979, in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm, and was integrated by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, bass guitarist Peter Olsson, and drummer Tony 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 several demos to record 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 by John Levén.[11] Just a couple of months later, Levén joined Yngwie 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]
Musical style and influences[edit]
The band is mainly influenced by Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, UFO and Michael Schenker Group.[9][10]
Studio albums
Media related to Europe (musical group) at Wikimedia Commons