10-12-2009Interviews - Europe

Its very different now from what it used to be in the 80s - Rocksnail talks to Europe

Watching the band as they take to a triumphant performance closing up this year's Bloodstock, an appearance which in itself generated some of the biggest buzz and questioning about the choice of headliners at the same time, it becomes obvious that these are more than just a one trick pony. The ballads are there but with a far greater rock edge. Joey Tempest oozes every bit of pure rock and roll than he did all those years ago and the band are now completed with the masterful John Norum returning to guitar duties after departing, something that obviously fills the band with great confidence. In all honesty 90 plus percent of the crowd are waiting for that one song but by the time it eventually comes through (and what a rendition) you wouldn't notice that the band have been onstage for an hour and a half already. The smiles that are etched across the faces as people depart from the arena were there throughout and no one is able to question Europe's statement that they are a hard rock act.

John Leven has been with the band since the very beginning and has stood and watched the band rack up millions of sales worldwide, been there when there turmoil of guitarists coming and going, the perceived battles against the keyboards and still retained an outlook so positive its refreshing. Then again standing infront of thousands of people on a regular basis rocking them to the sounds of your favourite instruments and doing what you love can't really be anything to grumble about. He takes some time to talk to us here at Rocksnail and gives us a brief insight into the world of Europe.

After 30 years how is it to be headlining a festival such as Bloodstock?
It's fantastic it's a little bit of a different festival than we are used too, a little more heavy metal but I think we are going to surprise a lot of people and show them that we are a heavy band as well.

Have you altered the set at all then for the heavier audiences?
We actually took out Carry!

That could cause somewhat of a stir amongst the hardcore, how has the summer treated you so far?
Yeah! We did a big festival back home, Sweden Rock Festival, Heaven and Hell closed and we were before them but we've never done a festival in England before so I don't really know what to expect, it's going to be great, the whole vibe is really great.

How do the band feel about upcoming release 'Last Look At Eden'?
It feels like the two albums that we did before this one was the necessary step into this direction. We're still getting better and better and this album is really great, we're really proud of it. We are really proud and we think we've really found a good producer for this one, Tobias Lindell, who works in Sweden.

Producers aside has the band done anything different on the creation of this album?
Not really, the secret society album we produced ourselves and I think it was a good step for us, we learnt a lot by doing it but it was really good to have a producer for this one. We just wrote a bunch of songs and rehearsed them.

What were you aiming for with this album then?
We were more into getting a 70's mixed with modern styles, going back to our roots bands we were listening to in the 70's.

Could you give us some examples?
Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Black Sabbath

Who made the decision to include the Led Zeppelin cover, that's a very risky move!
It's a very risky move, you have to be careful but I think we did a really good job on that its another one I'm really proud of. We said let's do some covers, let's do a Led Zeppelin one. We had a few ideas but we settled on 'Since I've Been Loving You'

And do you feel you have found the right balance of instruments on this one?
Yeah pretty much so I think we have found a really good balance between the two, we done some stuff with maybe a little too much keyboards on but we are really a guitar orientated band.

So do you think your fans will take this album with as much enthusiasm as you guys have for it?
I think so, from reading the forums on Europe official website a few people have heard the samples and there's a couple of stations are playing the songs and from what I read the fans are really excited about it, they seem to think it's the best album we've done so far. A few people aren't too happy about the cover but what do they know. We sure created a buzz about it. I think there was like 26 posts or something in one day. I think some people want a cover more like 'Prisoners of Paradise' or something.

So are you playing the songs live yet?
Since the album is not released yet were probably only just going to do one.

Is that something that is hard for a band, knowing you have so many good songs that you just can't play?
It's always like that, obviously there's a few songs we always are going to have to play, The Final Countdown, Rock the Night, you know. But it's always good to have new songs to play and after this summer's festivals were going on tour in the fall and were going to add a few more new songs.

Do you still enjoy being out on the road?
The travelling can be hard sometimes after waking up after a long hard night, like today I've not had much sleep... but I love being on the road.

How are things different now to the old days?
Of course it's very different now from what it used to be in the 80's first of all we sold a lot of albums in the 80's, nobody sells any albums these days!

Is that something you've all had to have a good think about, how to combat the internet revolution?
Not really, we just see what happens in the future with that. I don't think it will ever come back to where it's been. One thing that is different is that we have total control with what we do. On this album were on a pretty big record company but it's not like in the 80's we didn't really have control over everything.

So what are the highlights from such a long and illustrious playing career?
Oh, just being able to tour in so many territories, America, Japan and Asia, playing in Taiwan and SIngapore we played to 60 000 people in Bombay an Bangkok in a big stadium. It never gets old, it's an amazing feeling.

And the rigours of touring has never got on top of you?
Its never been hard for me.

Why the decision for the hiatus in 1992, was it necessary to get to where you are at now?
It's a decision that we came to, we had a lot of problems with record companies and the tax authorities in Sweden. It was different because after so many years of constant touring and working in music I had to work out what to do now, so it was hard for a while. But at the same time my first child was born so it was good to take a break.

I've got to ask just how do you feel about 'The Final Countdown nowadays?
Oh that was tremendous, we never thought that song in hit terms, all of a sudden it took off and had its own life. It was number one in 28 countries or something like that. It made us be able to tour all over the world.

I bet that heaped a lot of pressure on everything you did after that, was that hard to manage?
Yeah it did, 'The Final Countdown' album sold 6 million copies all around the world and the record company expected it to sell equally as much. 'Out of this world' sold two and a half million which is a lot of records but it just didn't compare to six million before so it was hard.

After that did you all sit down and discuss how you would go about coming up with another such 'Hit'?
No we always thought, well maybe that thought crossed Joeys mind because of the pressure he had from writing the Final Countdown. But we always thought we never tried to write a hit song before the final countdown, if you try to hard it's not going to happen it's got to come natural.

So you still love playing that live?
It's a great song to play, it's not like we rehearse it many times. But to play it live is always such a good response from the audience it's a good thing to have in your back pocket.

And how is life for you on a personal level?
Its wonderful for me personally I've just had my third son. My oldest son is 17 and playing guitar and my other son is 14 playing the drums but I don't think they're into that much that they'd want to be professional musicians. My 9 month old I don't know, we'll see in a few years time!

So what music gets you going now?
Still the old bands, some new stuff I bought an album the other day from Clutch, I love that album it's beautiful. I like Disturbed, anything Jack White does....

And does the band have a plan now or do you take each day one at a time?
We have a plan we release the album now in September, do a European tour in November/December. We have Christmas off then were coming back for another leg of European dates, were coming to England in February. We have Diamond Head I think as support. We had to choose from Diamond Head or Choir Boys but we chose Diamond Head. And then were off to Japan, I love going there because it's so different everything it works like a clock.

So what gives you the greatest feeling of happiness at the moment?
I'm just happy that we have a great album that we have put so much work into and I'm really proud of and it will be great to have out for the audience to listen to!