EUROPE's JOEY TEMPEST Reflects On JOHN NORUM's 1986 Departure: 'It Was A Sad Day Because We Started The Band'

In a new interview with the Song Cake podcast, EUROPE frontman Joey Tempest was asked if it's true that the band's original guitarist John Norum first left EUROPE on the eve of the world tour in support of the Swedish hard rock group's third album, 1986's "The Final Countdown". Joey responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Uh, no. It was a bit earlier, and he told us as well. You have to ask him about everything, but he had some issues with the... I don't know. He kind of felt like he wanted to go solo for a bit, and he was away for two albums. I mean, we started the band together. I missed him a lot. The first time I saw him play in this band WC, WATER CLOSET… He was so amazing, and I wanted to play with him, and that was it. He told us on the road, 'I think I'm off, guys. It's a bit too much for me.' And I know some of the things that we did that were strenuous for musicians. We could do a promotion tour of three weeks, only doing playback shows, photo session and interviews, without playing a single note for three weeks. And John and John [Levén, EUROPE bassist] were, like, 'What the hell is this? This is not what I signed up for.' That's one way."

Joey continued: "Becoming a crossover band into a more of a popular culture is difficult for a band that grew up with musicianship, and listening to [DEEP] PURPLE, and learning their instruments, and rehearsing every day. All of a sudden, you're doing playback shows on TV, on family shows and stuff. And we had to go through it. But that wasn't it. And maybe he had some personal things as well at home or with the management. You have to ask him, but it was a sad day because we were... We started the band, and what happened towards the end was that we were traveling in different limousines and we didn't talk. We talked through the tour manager. When we [reunited] in 2002, we addressed this, and we said, 'So what do we do now? We're gonna write together. We're gonna listen to each other and be open, and we're gonna think long term. We're gonna own our music, start a company, and think long-term.' And here we are, 2026. And we're very happy and fortunate that we're here and doing one of the best albums ever. But those years when he was away was difficult, but we were lucky finding Kee [Marcello, Norum's replacement between 1986 and 1992]. [he had] great humor [and was a] great player. But, of course, John was from my hometown and my home village."

Founded in Stockholm in 1983, EUROPE is one of the most enduring acts on the rock scene. The band's classic lineup — Joey Tempest (vocals),John Norum (guitar),Mic Michaeli (keyboards),John Levén (bass) and Ian Haugland (drums) — has formed the core of EUROPE's identity for over 40 years. They achieved worldwide fame with the multi-platinum album "The Final Countdown" and have sold over 15 million albums globally.

EUROPE's latest studio album, "Come This Madness", came out on September 25 via Silver Lining Music. The LP was recorded at RMV Studio, the Stockholm-based recording facility founded by Benny Andersson and Ludvig Andersson. The album features special guest appearances from Tobias Forge (GHOST) and Mikael Åkerfeldt (OPETH) and was produced by acclaimed producer Tom Dalgety (GHOST, RAMMSTEIN, PIXIES, THE CULT, OPETH),who became a true creative force throughout the process, deeply embedded in the band's writing and recording, shaping the album's sound from the ground up. To bring the project to its final stage and complete their vision, the band turned to one of rock's most respected recording legends Mike Fraser (AC/DC, VAN HALEN, METALLICA, THE CULT, LOVERBOY) to mix the record.

The "Come This Madness" album artwork was created by Storm Studios (PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, MUSE).

EUROPE recently embarked on an extensive run of live dates, including a major tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of "The Final Countdown".

In September 2023, EUROPE released a standalone new song titled "Hold Your Head Up". The track, which was described by the band as "a punchy uptempo rocker with reminiscent elements of early EUROPE," was recorded in August 2023 at Atlantis Studios in Stockholm with producer Klas Åhlund (GHOST, ROBYN) and was mixed by Stefan Glaumann (RAMMSTEIN, DEF LEPPARD),who also mixed EUROPE's "Secret Society" album.

EUROPE's previous album, "Walk The Earth", was released in October 2017 via Hell & Back Recordings (Silver Lining Music). It was recorded at famed Abbey Road Studios in London with Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (RIVAL SONS, Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton).