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Europe is a Swedish hard rock 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. 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 hair and sing in Swedish. Two years later, Olsson left the band and was replaced by John Levén. Just a couple of months later, Levén joined Yngwie J. 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. The early days... 1983In 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 the hit "Rock the Night". Several months later, Tempest was asked to write a song for the charity project Swedish Metal Aid. He wrote "Give A Helping Hand", which would feature the biggest stars of Swedish rock and metal. The income from the sales of the single, which was produced by Easy Action guitarist Kee Marcello, was donated to the starving people of Ethiopia. Worldwide Success Final Countdown era photoAt the end of the year they began the recording of their next album, with former Journey manager Walter "Herbie" Herbert as Europe's manager. 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 number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the USA. Not satisfied with the album's keyboard-dominated production and the band's new glam 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 glam metal had on the music industry. More touring followed, including an American tour with Def Leppard and a festival gig at Milton Keynes, England with Bon Jovi, Skid Row and Vixen. 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. On New Year's Eve 1991, Europe kicked off a new tour with a show at the Tokyo Dome, in which Tesla, Thunder and Metallica also performed. Interestingly enough, the show was called "The Final Countdown". After ten years of living, recording and touring together, Europe decided to take a long break when the tour ended in 1992. Since then, Tempest, Norum and Marcello have released solo albums, while the other members have participated in several different projects and bands. Reunions One night only: Europe 2000For the millennium celebrations, 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 was not 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. Start from the Dark was released in late 2004, and received good reviews from music critics. Europe recently finished up a world tour and is planning to record a new album, which is expected to hit the market in 2006.

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