Europe(I)

"Europe" is a Swedish rock band founded by vocalist Joey Tempest and guitarist John Norum. In the first period of its existence, the group belonged to the genre of glam metal, but after the revival moved to modern hard rock and heavy metal. Group Europe was founded in 1979 in Stockholm under the name of Force; its first lineup included Joey Tempest, John Norum, Peter Olsson and Tony Reno. However, at first they could not build their career, because the record companies they sent their demos to, demanded to cut their hair and sing in Swedish instead of English. This led to the departure of Olsson, whose place was later taken by Marcel Jacob. However, after three months Olsson returned without getting along with the new group. In 1982, thanks to the Tempest's girlfriend, the band got into the Rock-SM contest, where for the first time it was called Europe and won; Joey Tempest and John Norum received separate awards for the best vocalist and best guitar player, respectively, and the band received a contract with the label Hot Records. The band took a new name from one of the albums of Deep Purple. The debut album of the same name was released in 1983. The album did not achieve much commercial success, did not receive any certification, and took only 8th position in the Swedish chart, although the single Seven Doors Hotel hit the Top 10 in Japan. A year later followed the second album Wings of Tomorrow, which, like the previous one, was not successful, although it drew the attention of Columbia Records, who offered the band an international contract. Two years later, in May 1986, the third album, The Final Countdown, was released, glorifying the band to the whole world. The album was produced by Epic Records. He took a position in the top ten in the 12 charts, received four certifications. Doug Stone from Allmusic called this album "one of the brightest and most outstanding in history." The song of the same name became an international hit. However, after its release, John Norum decided to leave the band, disappointed in the dominance of synthesizers in production. In his place was invited to Ki Marcello. One year later the album Out of This World was released, which repeated the success of its predecessor, took the position in the 12th chart, received five certifications. Prisoners in Paradise came out three years later, became gold in Sweden and hit the 6th chart. In 1992, the group disintegrated, although formally it was positioned as a break; Vocalist Joey Tempest was engaged in a solo career, and the other participants took part in other projects. The band's contract with Epic Records was dissolved.