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I recently interviewed Tommy Johannson of the Swedish band Sabaton. As an aside at the end of the interview I asked him, given the band’s love of all things historic, if he could go back to any point in time when would it be and why? Without hesitation he replied “to the early 80′s so I could write The Final Countdown before Joey Tempest!”
Given the success of that song and the fact that it made Europe a household name in Europe and far beyond, many people are unaware of the rest of the band’s back catalogue or the fact that it has been 40 years since the release of their first album. However, those in the know were out in force in Glasgow to celebrate Europe reaching a career milestone with a set chock full of classics and deeper cuts.
The evening kicked off with a five minute video introduction from the band taking us through their early days as Force, before Joey announced the name change to Europe, a change that was not universally well received by the band at the time, but after a few more beers were had, all was good and the name stayed.
Things got off to a rocking start with ‘On Broken Wings’ before we were transported back the full 40 years for the excellent ‘ Seven Doors Hotel’. Joey was in great voice and had a wide smile firmly plastered across his face throughout the set, he looked in his element as he led the Glasgow crowd on the ‘woo-oh-woo’ parts mid-song.
Things really got going though when John Norum played the opening riff to ‘Rock The Night’ which made an early appearance in the set and got the audience on their feet. As crowd pleasers go, they don’t get much better and again the everyone was in full voice throughout.
The setlist for the evening brought in all eras of the band’s career and ‘Start From The Dark’ kept things rocking along nicely with its quite wonderful down-tuned groove.
The stage set was fairly sparse, barring the drum and keyboard rise, but the lightshow more than made up for any shortcomings and was used to great effect. A taped intro then lead into the majestic ‘Walk The Earth’ before new single ‘Hold Your Head Up’ brought things bang up to date.
Mic Michaeli then led Joey in a piano based version of ‘Dreamer’ which brought the pace down momentarily, before ‘War Of Kings’ reminded everyone how hard Europe can rock when they are in full on attack mode!
John Norum took the spotlight for the instrumental ‘Vasastan’, which showed off his fretboard dexterity perfectly, perhaps channeling the spirit of Gary Moore. I never feel that Norum gets the credit he deserves as a guitarist, again because of people’s misunderstanding of Europe’s rock credentials. Having ‘that’ song in your repertoire can be a blessing and a curse!
‘Varastan’ led into ‘Girl From Lebanon’ before another of the night’s big numbers ‘Carrie’ had arms swaying and voices raised once more. The first half ended with a return to the early days as the guys launched into ‘Stormwind’, much to the delight of two girls in front of me who were word perfect throughout. Ian Haugland popped up to say they would be back soon and everyone headed to the bar to recharge for round two.
The second half again kicked off with a short intro video, this time picking up on the band’s return to the stage in Sweden in 2004 after their 13 year break. ‘Always The Pretenders’ followed which then ran into a fast and furious version of ‘Ninja’.
Joey donned an electric guitar for the epic ‘Prisoners In Paradise’ which went down a storm. A blast through ‘Sign Of The Times’ was followed by Joey and John playing an immaculate acoustic version of David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ as they had done right back in the early days when they first got together.
We were soon back in full on rock mode with a very heavy and brilliantly orchestrated version of ‘Last Look At Eden’ and a bit of pop rock pomp with ‘Open Your Heart’. We then returned to the very first album with ‘Memories’ which gave bassist John Leven a chance to chat and show off his bass skills and gave, Ian Haugland a real workout behind the kit.
Mr Haugland was to get another workout soon after when following ‘More Than Meets The Eye, he took to the mic to ask if the crowd liked a drum solo. After a unanimous ‘yes’ vote, he stated he didn’t and rattled into something completely different, his interpretation of the ‘William Tell Overture’, it was certainly different!
‘Ready Or Not’ got things back on track before one of my set highlights ‘Superstitious’ made a welcome appearance. During the mid section of ‘Superstitious’ the band went into Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ with the crowd on vocals which was a magical moment and a perfect way to round off the main set.
The guys were soon back though with ‘Cherokee’ before the keyboard intro to ‘The Final Countdown’ almost brought the house down. The crowd bounced and sang their way though the track with whatever energy reserves they had left and it proved to be the crowning glory of an excellent night.
Europe proved once more why they have had such a long and successful career. This set had something for everyone from the casual listener who only knows the hits, to the die hard fans that have been with the band for the last 40 odd years.
Not sure the band have another 40 years in them, but hopefully they will continue to Rock The Night for many years to come and, at very least, for their 50th anniversary!
Review by Dave Wilson
Photos by David Randall
(click or tap photo to enlarge, use browser back button to return to review)
Setlist:
Set 1: On Broken Wings/Seven Doors Hotel/Rock The Night/Start From The Dark/Walk The Earth/Hold Your Head Up/ Dreamer/ War Of Kings/ Vasastan/ Girl From Lebanon/Carrie/Stormwind
Set 2: Always The Pretenders/Ninja/Prisoners In Paradise/Sign Of The Times/Space Oddity (Acoustic)/Last Look At Eden/Open Your Heart/Memories/More Than Meets The Eye/Ready Or Not/Superstitious
Encore: Cherokee/The Final Countdown
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
Latest session: SUNDAY 26 MAY
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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 9 June 2024.
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