Showtime was a Swedish music magazine written in Swedish, and featuring all styles of music. Here’s an interview with Europe from 1984 translated to English for you!
Europe, the Swedish hard rock band, is really in the news. They are about to sign a ten-LP contract in the US. The door to success is currently wide open. Showtime met the band when they were playing in a small town in Småland, Ödeshög.Actually, the story of Europe is already fantastic as it is. An unknown band from Upplands Väsby that plays hard rock — this form of rock hated by the mass media, and at least at that time also by the record companies — goes and wins the Rock-SM. It was 1982 and the prize consisted of an LP recording.The band became popular with the audience through the victory and their first album. Young Swedish hard rock fans finally had a Swedish band to look up to after previously only having foreign role models. Of course, hard rock bands had been found in this country for a long time. But none had ever come as close to recognition as Europe. The mass media continued to, if not ridicule, then at least silence the young long-haired people from Väsby. But the record industry, which always cares more about a strong buying public than about the critics, took the group seriously. Soon enough, foreign companies would be lining up to take care of Europe's future.I meet the members of Europe a few hours before they are due to go on stage in Ödeshög.— It's certainly happened quickly. Sometimes it seems very quickly, says Joey Tempest. Joey is the singer in Europe. He also writes most of the songs, and is the one the girls scream for the most, I've been told. I'll call him Jocke from now on, because that's his name in Swedish.— You never think it's going to happen too quickly, but you never know. It'll probably take a few more years before success goes to our heads, Jocke smiles and glances at bassist John Levén for support.— Well, we're pretty level-headed guys. If you get supported, people around you will quickly find out.Jocke and John talk about Upplands Väsby. About the suburb 20 kilometers north of Stockholm where everyone grew up and still lives.— Down in Väsby Centrum, some people may perceive us as “troublesome” when several of us join the band at the same time.— But it’s probably more the others who have changed because we’re a bit famous. We ourselves are the same as we’ve always been. And the real friends are still friends.While Europe is touring the Swedish countryside, a game is going on that Jocke, Jompa, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno are only partially involved in. Two major record label giants in the US are fighting to get a contract with Europe. When I meet them, nothing is clear, but apart from the money, it’s about the scope of the contract.— One of the companies wants us to sign for 10 LPs in the future. Ten! Jocke laughs, but quickly becomes serious again.— That’s not good. Of course, it’s fantastic in itself. But who wants to commit to that much? And for so long?Even I realize that it seems crazy. Jocke adjusts his hair. He does it at regular intervals all the time when we talk. Appearance is important when you play rock'n'roll. I've come to understand that it's especially important if you play hard rock and the audience that's expected is predominantly teenagers. Europe is probably also one of the hard rock bands I've met that has the largest proportion of girls in the audience. It will become clear before the evening is over.— I think that success is a lot about proving to yourself that you can do something, says Jocke after a moment of reflection.— All the praise, all the pats on the back and all the admiring fans... you should certainly take it. Pretending like nothing happened would be ridiculous. But you should probably be careful not to fly too high in the blue. Keep a sense of yourself for a while, before you know how to take your success to the outside world.Trollehatt in Ödeshög, where Europe will play, is a strange place, located on the E4 among petrol stations and discount department stores. Here in the countryside, where the Östgötland plain takes over after a mountainous and lake-rich Småland landscape, a group of businessmen have set up an amusement park that must be one of the largest in this part of Sweden.— Ugly and scary, some think. They see a danger in all these “summer parks” that are being built along our major highways.— Ugh… what?! think the young people in the area, who now at least have somewhere to go on the weekends.I agree with the young people. Ödeshög is not the most beautiful place in the world. What does it matter if you blow up the occasional amusement park among petrol stations and motels in this country? A barn is exactly what Ödeshög is all about. Made of sheet metal. Corrugated sheet metal walls painted white and pink. And at the top of the roof, in big red letters: TIVOLI! Yes, it is a tivoli too. In addition to dancing, disco and rock club with room for a couple of thousand, there are radio cars, shooting ranges, force measuring devices and row after row of machines of various kinds. There are slot machines, racing car games, TV screens where everyone can create their own little Star Wars and so on.Jocke, Jompa, Jonta, Tony and Gunnar Mikaeli (the keyboard player who accompanies the group on tour) in Europe get a moment to themselves in the land of toys. In a moment they will test the sound in the venue.Trollehatt (Hat of Trolls) will be renamed Trollenatt (Night of the Trolls) before the audience is allowed in. It really means nothing more than that the clock has passed nine in the evening.— An insane place! exclaims Jocke. When we got here by bus after a 400-mile drive, we wondered where we had ended up. The place looks completely unlikely. But it's nice here. Absolutely OK.— The stage is the widest we've ever played on, I think. It's going to be fun tonight…It's not the center of the rock world they've ended up in, Europe. But the step from here to the big stages still seemed shorter than back to the time when the rehearsal room in Upplands Väsby was Europe's only place on earth.— It's been four and a half years now, says Jocke. I sang in a band called 'Blazer' and knew Jonta, the current guitarist, a little bit. We met one night on a walkway out in the suburbs. And it was decided that I would try singing with him and a guy from the hard rock band 'WC'. That's how it happened. And so there were three of us. The fourth was the bassist who eventually dropped out in favor of John Levén.Four and a half years ago? I ask. But you're only 20 years old in the group now. That means you were only 15-16 then?— Yes, we started early, laughs Jocke, who can't quite remember when he himself played rock for the first time.— I started strumming on the acoustic guitar when I was seven, but pretty soon I was standing at home imitating Elvis.Elvis?!— Yes… he was almost dead then. But the records were there.I hardly know if I should believe him, but he seems honest, Joakim, alias Jocke, alias Joey Tempest.— How come it became hard rock then and not pop music, disco, punk or something?— Yes, why, John Levén grumbles. It just happened that way. That's what we all liked.The music you grew up with?— Well, Jocke continues. It was more of a disco wave when we were younger. It was a bit of a reaction to the glittery disco music, wasn't it? He looks at John who seems to agree.Trollehatt has opened. The disco has started and it seems that somewhere between 500 and 1000 young people have found their way here tonight. Where from? Ödeshög has no more than three thousand inhabitants in total.— We have traveled here from Linköping, says a boy of sixteen, eagerly occupied with his pretend racing on a TV screen.— From Jönköping, says a girl in a denim jacket with AC/DC embroidered on the back. I guess they are not the kind of people who come here to go to the disco. Otherwise they wouldn't be hanging out here in the arcade, would they? The girl is about to try to shoot the hat off a cowboy, or whatever figure it is, at the shooting range.— No, no. This crappy music. We're going to watch Europe, of course!Outside the entrance to Trollehatt there aren't as many people as inside. But it's livelier, and more restless, you could say. Those who can't, or don't want to, gather here.— Europe... what is it?! a girl screams when I ask if she shouldn't go in.— Yes, yes, I've heard of them but I don't feel like it. It's more crowded out here. I don't think she would come in even if she did, I think to myself. When I suggest this out loud, her four cavaliers become enraged. To put it in an overly cultured way. Their swimming eyes and swaying bodies pour menacingly over me, and I find it best to quickly and elegantly slip away from the company.Backstage, Europe is in the final stages of preparing for their stage performance. They are due to go on at eleven, and there is less than an hour to go. The stage clothes are being put on. They are leotards instead of trousers. Shiny, slim leotards in all the colours of the rainbow. Jocke is to wear blue and black tonight. He feels a little unsure. He pulls the fabric around his legs, in his crotch, and looks at the others in wonder.— No, you can't have those, says someone in the band. It sounds very serious. And Mr Tempest looks as if the world really was about to collapse. Until the redeeming laughter suddenly explodes. Raw but heartfelt. Isn't that what they usually say?I didn't see Europe when they were on stage at Tyrolen at Gröna Lund in the autumn of 1982. But they have certainly developed their stage show since then. And they certainly put more effort into their appearance these days. It was the final of the Rock-SM, and even though they didn't know it themselves, that day would be the big kick-off in Europe's career.— In fact, we didn't even know we would be in the Rock-SM, says Jocke.— We had made a tape in the rehearsal room, which we initially intended to send in. But we regretted it. That's why we were surprised when we got a response, and suddenly we were in the carousel anyway.— It turned out that my girlfriend had sent the tape without our knowledge, continues Jocke.— But no one got angry. She thought we were simply too indecisive and took matters into her own hands.No harm done, I think to myself. After winning the Rock-SM, Europe was taken care of by one of the competition's organizers, Thomas Erdtman, with several years in the record industry and his own small, newly started record label. It was on that label Europe got to record their first LP. And where's also ’Wings Of Tomorrow' released.
The front cover of Showtime # 6/7, 1984 Thomas is Europe's manager, and he is the one who is now traveling across the globe to, as they say; "fix a good deal for a world-wide release". Well, that sounds like the proverbial phrase in the record industry, which has unfortunately become so influential that rock musicians themselves are starting to follow suit.— At the beginning of next year we hope to start recording our new LP, says Jocke, enthusiastically painting a picture of Europe's immediate future.— Hopefully we will play a number of 'Monsters Of Rock' galas in Germany this summer, where Van Halen and AC/DC are the main attractions. Then SAS (well, actually, the airline!) is interested in bringing us to Japan in connection with Björn Borg's exhibition matches. Then we also hope to be able to do a small tour of Japan. Then the USA is of course the big goal.To then have the strength to go on stage in Ödeshög, Sweden. Give people a rock show I've seen done in this country. With heart, sweat and an honest and uncontrived respect for the audience, I think that's admirable. Let's just hope that any success doesn't ruin these guys.The audience loves them. Whether it's the girls at the front screaming à la sixties hysteria as soon as the first bars of 'Dreamer' or 'Open Your Heart' start. The girls want ballads. The guys are blissful when classic guitar riffs cut like knives in the room. Like in 'Stormwind' or 'Wasted Time'. Then hundreds of fists are raised. Clenched, in time with the music. Some have their own air guitar on their stomachs and follow Europe's John Norum in their own little solos. That's what it's all about. In hard rock, idols are heroes like in no other genre of music. The members of Europe are aware of that.— Our fans are great. They live it out in a completely different way than the usual pop audience, says Jocke, long after the Odeshögs concert has faded.— Maybe it's because we live it out so completely on stage. It becomes a kind of response.I ask him if he is aware that Europe will go out and fight in the same arenas as their own heroes from their childhood, now that they are going international. Previously, Jocke and Jompa have talked about favorites like Gary Moore, Whitesnake and Van Halen, all with many years at the top of the rock world behind them.— Yes. It feels strange. Unreal in some way right now. But we will manage. We are actually quite good. At least that's what we think ourselves.He sounds honest when he answers, even if I sense a hint of smiling self-irony. But the guys in Europe seem so determined, so strong in their belief in themselves and their music that it wouldn't surprise me if they succeed.
