Europe’s Joey Tempest recently sat down with Classic Rock for an interview. In this conversation, he took a moment to reflect on the band’s career, the song that changed everything for them, and their upcoming 40th anniversary.
Europe entered the music scene four decades ago. While they experienced moderate success from the start, it was the release of a single track, ‘The Final Countdown,’ that pushed them to a new level of recognition. This song altered the course of their career in a way that no one in the band could have predicted.
During the recent chat, Tempest shared his thoughts about the impact of ‘The Final Countdown.’ He shared that the track that turned into a hit transformed their path and vision for their career as a band. In no time, they became massive in the scene, even playing at festivals like the household names at the time.
Joey Tempest’s words about ‘The Final Countdown’ changing Europe’s career read:
“Sometimes I do, yeah. ‘With Wings Of Tomorrow’ [the second album, released as a four-piece in 1984], we knew we were going places, but we could never have dreamt what that song gave us. As international rock bands, Def Leppard and Iron Maiden had opened a lot of doors, and for a short period, we were the biggest band in the world.
Suddenly we were playing festivals with Duran Duran, and it was like: ‘Okay, we’re here for a while, are we?’ We became a ‘crossover band’; I don’t know whether that’s good or bad.”
Although they predicted some recognition for their second album, ‘With Wings Of Tomorrow,’ they didn’t expect their next one, ‘The Final Countdown,’ to bring a major turning point for Europe as much as it did. It propelled them from a niche genre to mainstream success and profoundly impacted their lives. Even after 40 years, the song remains a crucial part of their musical journey.
