Europe

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Europe is a Swedish rock band founded in 1979 in Upplands Väsby near Stockholm, at first under the name Force. The first line-up consisted of the singer Joey Tempest, the guitarist John Norum, the bassist Peter Olsson and the drummer Tony Reno. Demo tapes sent to record companies brought the demand that the band cut its hair and sing in Swedish. In 1982 the group became the first to win the television contest Rock-SM, the Swedish rock championship, and that was the breakthrough in its home country. Olsson was succeeded by John Levén.

Music and breakthrough

The first two albums, Europe in 1983 and Wings of Tomorrow in 1984, did reasonably well only in Sweden. The international breakthrough came with the third album, The Final Countdown, in 1986. The title song reached number eight in the American Hot 100 and Carrie number three, and Rock the Night reached number thirty. Out of This World followed in 1988 and Prisoners in Paradise in 1991. In 1992 the band went on indefinite hiatus, but in 1999 it came together again for a performance on New Year's Eve in Stockholm. In 2003 an official reunion followed, with albums such as Start from the Dark, Secret Society, War of Kings and Walk the Earth, and in 2026 Come This Madness.

Influence

The music is melodic hard rock with a striking synthesizer riff, sung with a clear, powerful voice. That made Europe the best-known Swedish rock band after ABBA in the 1980s. The success showed that rock from Scandinavia could reach the international charts.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1983Europe
• 1984Wings of Tomorrow
• 1986The Final Countdown
• 1988Out of This World
• 1991Prisoners in Paradise
• 2004Start From the Dark
• 2006Secret Society
• 2009Last Look at Eden
• 2012Bag of Bones
• 2015War of Kings
• 2017Walk the Earth
• 2026Come This Madness

See also

• Last Look at Eden