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Europe is a Swedish Hard Rock band originally assembled as a Progressive Rock group; they later added Keyboards to their sound in order to soften it. Europe is one of the most successful Swedish bands of all time, having sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. BIOGRAPHY The beginning The first incarnation of the band was named ''Force'' and came together in 1979 , in Upplands Väsby , Stockholm , and was integrated by Vocalist and Keyboardist Joey Tempest , Guitarist John Norum , Bassist Peter Olsson and Drummer Tony Reno . The band sent several Demo s to Record Companies , but were told that in order to be published they had to cut their hair and sing in Swedish. Two years later, Olsson left the band and was replaced by John Levén . Just a couple of months later, Levén joined Yngwie J. Malmsteen's band Rising Force, and Malmsteen's former bassist, Marcel Jacob joined Force. This only lasted for three months, though; Levén apparently had issues with Malmsteen, so he and Jacob traded places again. In 1982 , Tempest's girlfriend entered Force in the Swedish rock talent contest ''Rock-SM''. Competing against 4000 bands, they won the contest, their rewards being a record deal. Tempest won the individual award for ''Best Lead Singer'', and Norum won the award for ''Best Guitarist''. During the contest, Force were forced to change their name to Europe. Their Self-titled Debut Album was released on the following year, and sold well both in Sweden and Japan . The single " Seven Doors Hotel " became a Top 10 hit in Japan. The second album, '' Wings Of Tomorrow '' was released one year later, and the single " Open Your Heart " got CBS Records interested in the band, offering them an international contract in 1985 . Keyboardist Mic Michaeli was soon recruited to play in live concerts, and became an official member of the band shortly after. At the same time, Tony Reno was fired because of his lack of motivation and alleged slacking off from rehearsals. His replacement was Ian Haugland . In 1985 Europe recorded the Soundtrack for youth movie ''On the Loose'', which gave them the hit " Rock The Night ". Several months later, Tempest was asked to write a song for the charity project ''Swedish Metal Aid''. He wrote "Give A Helping Hand", which would feature the biggest stars of Swedish rock and metal. The income from the sales of the single, which was produced by Easy Action guitarist Kee Marcello , was donated to the starving people of Ethiopia . Worldwide success At the end of the year they began the recording of their next album. The result was '' The Final Countdown '', released in 1986 . It became a worldwide hit, selling more than six million copies. The Title Track was number 1 in 26 countries, and the ballad " Carrie " reached number 3 on The Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the USA . Not satisfied with the album's keyboard-dominated production nor the band's commercialized image, John Norum decided to leave Europe in November 1986 to pursue a solo career. Kee Marcello was asked to replace him, and after some consideration decided to join the band. The following year included successful tours through the Europe an continent and the USA. The follow-up to ''The Final Countdown'' was entitled '' Out Of This World '' and was released in 1988, a time when Guns N' Roses , INXS and U2 had broken the monopoly that melodic hard rock had on the music industry. The album would sell two million copies, which was considered a fiasco compared to previous sales figures. More touring followed, including an American tour with Def Leppard and a festival gig at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes , England with Bon Jovi , Skid Row and Vixen . In September 1989, Europe did a gig at the Whisky A Go Go club in West Hollywood, California , under the Pseudonym ''Le Baron Boys''. That name would later be used as a title for a much-circulated Europe Bootleg , which contained demo recordings from 1989-90. Two years later, the album '' Prisoners In Paradise '' was released, but received limited media attention due to the "boom" of the Grunge movement, started by Nirvana and Pearl Jam . On New Year's Eve 1991, Europe kicked off a new tour with a show at the Tokyo Dome , in which Tesla , Thunder and Metallica also performed. Interestingly enough, the show was called "The Final Countdown". After ten years of living, recording and touring together, Europe decided to take a long break when the tour ended in 1992. Since then, Tempest, Norum and Marcello have released solo albums, while the other members have participated in several different projects and bands. Reunions For the ''. ''Start from the Dark'' was released in late 2004, and received good reviews from music critics. Eventually, the album sold an excess of 600,000 copies worldwide. Europe recently started a new world tour and released their latest album, '' Secret Society '' in late 2006. Recently Ian Haugland said in an interview that the next Europe album will be released in the spring of 2009. BAND MEMBERS Current members
Former members
DISCOGRAPHY ''For complete discography and sales information, see:'' '' Europe Discography '' Studio albums
Compilations
Singles
Promotional Music Videos
DVDs
:Collection of all their Music Video s from 1986 to 1992, plus old interviews and live footage from Swedish TV. Released as ''Rock the World'' in the USA.
:Concert recorded in Solnahallen in Stockholm , Sweden 1986. Released in Japan only.
:Concert recorded at the Hammersmith Apollo in London , England 2004. Interviews, music videos and band info are included as bonus material. Released as a double-DVD.
:Remastered edition of the Solnahallen concert DVD, which was released to mark the 20th anniversary of the album '' The Final Countdown ''. Includes interviews, unreleased pictures from the Final Countdown tour and biography. MUSIC SAMPLES : POP CULTURE
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