Europe - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Wednesday 18th October 2023

Formed in Upplands Vasby (near Stockholm) in 1979, Europe are often unfairly derided and shown contempt by arrogant music critics and fans. That is possibly down to the phenomenal worldwide success and consequent unavoidable over exposure of 1986’s famous The Final Countdown song and the MTV-inspired image that accompanied it. But it is lazy and musically uneducated to simply judge them on “that song” when you consider the rich vein of form that followed that era and the heavier, more modern sounding albums they have released since fully reforming in 2003. In fact, since releasing their self-titled debut in 1983, Europe have released a further 10 albums, with 6 of those between 2004 and 2017. Just “that song”? Yeah… right!

Celebrating a recording career spanning 40 years, it is remarkable that the line-up has remained largely unchanged for around 37 of those; Joey Tempest (vocals), John Norum (guitar), John Leven (bass), Mic Michaeli (keyboards) and Ian Haugland (drums). The exception to that was the excellent and underrated Kee Marcello albums (from 1988-1991), when Norum left and was replaced on guitar by the brilliant Marcello, before re-joining for the early 2000s reunion. So, it has been a fairly consistent line-up which speaks volumes for the cohesion within the band and is unusual for many rock acts that have been around for so long.

The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is perhaps more renowned for orchestral music and is the home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. So, it was perhaps surprising that such a beautiful, all seated venue with elegant terraces and balconies was booked to host Europe, a hard rock band. On closer inspection of the tour dates, venues and show information, it made perfect sense, with the band touring without support and favouring a ‘two act’ structure with an interval in the middle. Very theatre like indeed, and very much in line with other venues on the tour such as St David’s Hall, Cardiff and the London Palladium. The venue filled quickly and efficiently, which is more than can be said for the merch stall, which had a long and incredibly slow queue minutes after doors opened and only one overworked man at the helm!

Anticipation was building as the lights dimmed and the first few minutes of a soon-to-be-released documentary about Europe beamed onto a white projection sheet that covered the stage. The carefully chosen documentary excerpts highlighted the origins of the band, telling the story of their formation and how the band name changed from Force to Europe (you’ll thank me for that nugget of information if it helps you to win money on a TV game show!). It was a nice touch, considering the importance of 40 years together, and when the screen dropped to the ground, the band had opened the time capsule and were onstage rocking to opening song ‘On Broken Wings’, a B-Side to the Final Countdown single. The band’s first ever single ‘Seven Doors Hotel’ followed but I can’t help but feel

that it would’ve been more appropriate to start with that, as it would’ve flowed better from the documentary opening segment. It was clear that the all-seated venue was causing a slightly sterile environment and there wasn’t much ‘get-up-and-go’ from the crowd, despite the best efforts of a blonde female in the front row who danced, writhed and fist pumped from beginning to end, along with a just as enthusiastic but slightly less energetic woman next to her. There was an incredibly well-behaved guide dog sitting with its owner front of stage and even it appeared unmoved! A big song was needed to get things moving and that was delivered in the form of fan favourite ‘Rock the Night’, with people quickly rising to their feet head bopping and first pumping as well as participating in a ‘call and response’ with Joey Tempest. A ‘dad dancer’ rocked out on the stairs up in the balcony, showing the front row blonde that she wasn’t the only one with dancing chops! It took a bit of warming up but at last, we had lift off!

The early years had been covered in the first few songs, so it was only natural that Europe would cover and showcase their more recent, modern sounding material that deserves to be heard by a wider audience, so it was pleasing to hear the heavy, grungy ‘Start From The Dark’ from 2004’s album of the same name preceding the title track from 2017’s ‘Walk the Earth’. To celebrate the 40 year milestone, Europe recently recorded and released a new single, ‘Hold Your Head Up’, a punchy rocker of tune that perfectly ties the band’s modern sound with their past endeavours and serves as a taste of what’s to come with a new album due in late 2024 or early 2025. It was well received by the Glasgow crowd and led nicely into a beautiful rendition of ‘Dreamer’ from 1984’s sophomore ‘Wings of Tomorrow’ album with Joey’s sole accompaniment being Mic on piano. It showed that at 60 years old and after 40 years in the music industry, Joey’s voice is still pure and clear and capable of eliciting emotion in an audience.

It was back to more present times with the doomy, foreboding “War of Kings’ (2015), which for some reason reminds me of rampaging Vikings and this was followed by Joey leaving the stage to allow Mic, Ian and the two Johns to play the wonderfully atmospheric instrumental ‘Vasastan’, a tribute to an area in their home city of Stockholm. John Norum’s guitar playing was simply sublime and reminded me very much of the legendary Gary Moore in ‘The Loner’ era of his career. With Norum and Kee Marcello, Europe have been fortunate to have been blessed with such gifted guitarists in the last four decades, and there was a definite emotional connection between guitarist and audience for a few special minutes. Norum seamlessly moved into the opening of the brilliant ‘Girl From Lebanon’, the first of the night from 1991s Prisoners in Paradise album, a song that once again caused people to rise from their seats and let their hair down (ok… I had no hair to let down but it’s one of my favourites and low-key air guitar and drumming was in order!).

Mic Michaeli dabbled in some humourous ‘cocktail party music’ on the piano and keyboards before explaining that the next song was the first that he wrote with Tempest, the sugary sweet but oh-so-popular ballad ‘Carrie’. Some phones were held aloft and a few males grabbed their partners for a dance, with the full voice of the audience harking back to the days of the famous ‘Glasgow choir’ often found in the famous and much missed Apollo venue which was situated just along the road from the concert hall in the 70s and early 80s. ‘Stormwind’ (ironic, as the show was played on a night when a weather warning for rain and high winds was issued for Glasgow and the surrounding area!) brought the first half of the show to an end and in true theatre style, the house lights went up, allowing people a valuable 20 minutes or so to grab a drink at the bar!

The second set started in the same manner as the first, with a preview of a part of the upcoming documentary that focussed on the early 2000s reunion and that swiftly led to the band returning to the stage for a song from the second album of the new 2000s era, ‘Always the Pretenders’ from 2006s Secret Society. There was a quick-fire trio of ‘Ninja’, the ultra-melodic ‘Prisoners in Paradise’ and the marching brilliance that is ‘Sign of the Times’ before Joey and John Norum sat on stools

centre stage with acoustic guitars, telling of how they started out by sitting in woods with beers whilst strumming their guitars to songs by various artists. One such song was ‘Space Oddity’ by David Bowie. Now, I have to confess that I struggle with Bowie’s output and can’t really say I’m a fan, so an acoustic cover of that particular song didn’t excite me. But I accept it’s a much-loved song and the audience seemed to like what they were hearing. For me, what came next was far more exciting; the epic, cinematic ‘Last Look at Eden’, in my opinion, one of the most powerful songs the band has ever written. It was a ‘hairs standing on the back of my neck’ moment for me, as it is every time I hear it. If you don’t know it, or if you have simply given it passing attention since its 2009 release, I’d urge you to give it a chance. It’s a wonderfully constructed rock song and its live power can’t be described. You have to be there to see it!

‘Open Your Heart’ had the audience bouncing throughout its catchy chorus before bassist John Leven, a man who ironically has the most bass-like voice I’ve ever heard, took centre stage with a bass solo that led into the early 80s rock of ‘Memories’ from the debut album. A welcome trio of songs from the criminally underrated ‘Out of this World’ (1988) once again brought the crowd to their feet, with ‘More Than Meets the Eye’ leading to an Ian Haugland drum solo. But this wasn’t a normal boring drum solo. As the intro tape said, it was “time for something completely different” and different it was, with the manic and hyperactive Haugland banging on the toms and cymbals, accompanied by the William Tell Overture. It’s one of the more entertaining drum solos that I’ve seen and stirred fond memories of the legendary Neil Peart’s solos with Rush. It was structured, fun and enjoyed by all judging by the applause at the end. The applause didn’t get a chance to last as the band went straight into ‘Ready or Not’ and thereafter another fan favourite in ‘Superstitious’, which included a small snippet and sing-along of Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’. Why? I have no idea… but it worked and brought the main set to a close.

There was of course time for an encore and that started with ‘Cherokee’, a song that lyrically is quite corny but musically has some strange ability to bring a crowd together. It’s an incredibly fun song that managed to whet the appetite for what was to come. Yes, it was the point of the show where the intro to “that song” was played… and it’s an intro that brought everyone to their feet, with pogoing, head banging and smiles all round. I maintain that Europe have so many other songs worthy of the adulation heaped on The Final Countdown but credit where credit is due; it’s a song that has endured over 36 years of changing musical trends but still seems to be as popular now as it was then. There is no doubt that it remains Europe’s jewel in the crown and there would be riots from Stockholm to Auchinleck if they ever omitted it from their set. It’s “that song” that the hordes want to hear and they know every word and every note. There were air guitars aplenty as John Norum masterfully played the song’s solo and the loudest of loud cheers when it all ended and the band took their bow. Every other song in the set was destined to eventually lead to these wonderful few minutes of live music where the connection between band and audience was abundantly obvious. Wow!

Europe have always been fighting against the grain; fighting against trends in music, fashion and how people now consume music. It’s testament to the skill, talent, endurance and tenacity of the band that they have managed to reinvent themselves in the 2000s as a modern hard rock band, with fresh ideas and sounds, whilst still paying homage to their 1980s heyday and legacy. To still be in the music business, still releasing great new music and still performing top notch live shows 40 years after their debut is a phenomenal achievement that they should be immensely proud of. In around two and a half hours, Europe successfully showcased 40 years of music. Every single album was represented, with the exception of ‘Bag of Bones’, although ‘Bring it all Home’ from that album was played over the PA system as the band left the stage. As the Glasgow audience left the venue, there was no doubt that they had experienced something very special indeed and that after 40 years, Europe ably

demonstrated that they had long escaped the shadow of “that song”, proving that they have always been so much more. This is the kind of time capsule you want to dig up and open.

The Time Capsule tour continues in the UK with shows in Gateshead, Wolverhampton, Salford, Leicester and London before ending with hometown shows at Cirkus, Stockholm.