EUROPE Guitarist: 'The '80s Was The Worst Time Ever'

France's Rock One recently conducted an interview with guitarist John Norum of Swedish hard rocers EUROPE. You can now watch the chat in two parts below.

When asked what period of the band he would go back to if he had a time machine, Norum replied, "Well, now is the best time we ever had in this band. We get along great, we have a great time making records, we're going on tour, playing shows. But if I had to choose a different time period than now, I should say [2004's] 'Start From The Dark' album, when we started the reunion thing. I mean, the '80s was the worst time ever. It was horrible. I mean, the whole image thing was dreadful. We became like a teeny-bopper, bubblegum band, and I didn't want anything to do with it. I'm not a fan of '80s music at all. I can maybe [name] one or two bands I can listen to from the '80s. When the '80s was over and the '90s started, I was very happy. POISON were gone, CINDERELLA, WARRANT… All that stuff was over with. I was, like [lets out of sigh of relief], 'Oh, finally, it's over. All that junk.' Productions were bad, the albums sounded bad, the songs were cheesy. But there were a few ones that were good. I mean, GUNS N' ROSES were good. They came out with their first album in '87, I think. That one's still a classic; that's a great album. And then VAN HALEN did good albums in the '80s. And AC/DC did good albums in the '80s. But they were different; they were not glam-rock bands — they were more classy, they were better musicians, better players. But anyways, to answer the question, 2004 was a great time [for EUROPE]. And 2005. And 2006. And 2007. Up until now, it's [been] good."

EUROPE's ninth studio album, "Bag Of Bones", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2.

"Bag Of Bones" was released in Europe on April 27 via earMusic/Edel. The CD, which features a guest appearance by blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION),was produced by Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with IRON MAIDEN, JOE BONAMASSA, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, BLACK STONE CHERRY and JOURNEY, among others.

The "Not Supposed To Sing The Blues" video was directed by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others.

The "Not Supposed To Sing The Blues" digital single was made available on March 9.

Interview part 1:

Interview part 2: