By Maitphang Syiem
Looking at the title of this article, readers might be somewhat mystified. But this about the final countdown which will start on the Nov 30, 2025 at the Me’Gong Festival with their scintillating numbers to be resounded live especially and particularly in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya. Indeed, we are talking about the band called Europe. The name itself synchronises perfectly because they are from Sweden which is in Europe. We can undeniably say that there is not a single person who will not know about the group Europe and their breakthrough song “The Final Countdown” which became a great hit single and the others like “Cherokee”, “Walk the Earth”, Prisoners of Paradise”, “Dreamer” and many more, if one digs into their discography. Having said that they are Swedish, and the fact that we only know their songs does not fully define the purpose of knowing their music. If one were to amusingly ask who that person is from the band Europe, the answer would most probably be “I Don’t know.”
Going down memory lane when we were in school and college and as true music lovers, we’ve diligently followed all the bands and learned their histories. Indeed we should dig into the history of famous musicians, musical groups etc. Some musicians have inspired and have changed and helped rebuild many lives. Music indeed has power. Billy Joel the Pianist said “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.” Further, quotes by famous lyricist E.Y. Harburg, “Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” truly resonates with most of us.
So, keeping this tempo let us inquisitively find out about “Europe,” the band. As mentioned earlier the band Europe was a rock band founded in Sweden in the year 1979 in Upplands Väsby, Sweden, with four original founding members namely, frontman Joey Tempest known for his distinctive voice, John Norum known for his melodic solos, powerful guitar riffs, Peter Olsson on Bass and Tony Reno on Drums. In the earlier years the band “Europe” was called “Force”, but in 1982 during a Band Competition called Rock-SM, a competing band had a similar name with the word Force “which was “Rising Force”, therefore Joey Tempest, suggested a new name “Europe” so they entered the competition and even won it. Ever since the name change, they rocked their way into international fame.
The band had a humble beginning from a small town and struggled their way through sheer persistence and perseverance. We can see that in one of their anthemic songs clled, “ Walk the Earth,” which talks about passion and determination. The lines, “Our conscience weighs on all of our minds/ So we lay our hearts right on the line/ We keep pushing on, holding steady and strong/ Knocking them down just to make our home.” The chorus – “And we walk the Earth With our heads held high/ For the life we want Yeah, we’ve got to fight Yeah/ We walk the Earth Like champions/ With heart and soul Like champions.” . These lines truly speak of their musical commitment and artistic vision. Reading between the lines one can understand the depth, feelings and thoughts in the song just as E.Y Harburg said in the aforementioned lines.
Diving into the band “Europe” in terms of music style or genre, in the earlier years they were grouped as hard rock. Some commented that they belong to a glam metal genre of the likes of Motley Crue, Hanoi Rocks, Quiet Riot White Lion and many others. However, in one interview the front man Joey Tempest said they really don’t have a specific genre but said their music is a rock form entangled with melodies so we have what we call the Melodic Rock. That is spot on as most of their songs are melodic, powerful rock riffs with overwhelming guitar solos. This is one genre which most of the music lovers particularly those in Meghalaya and many bands in the NE-region also play the Melodic Rock genre.
Their biggest breakthrough was in 1986 when they made their third studio album The Final Countdown which also became the ever-greatest hit Melodic Rock Song which sold over 15 million copies worldwide and their songs were always top of the charts. In 1992, the group members had their ups and downs and eventually they had to concentrate on their individual projects so they went into hiatus but amazingly after eleven years they came back and reunited in 2003 with the exact original members. Just as the words from their song says “So we lay our hearts right on the line/ We keep pushing on, holding steady and strong”, they came back even stronger with evolved musicianship and musical skills and in 2004 they came up with the following album Start from the Dark (2004) and subsequently Secret Society (2006), Last Look at Eden (2009), Bag of Bones (2012), War of King (2015), Walk the Earth (2017).
So what do we get from knowing their history and what’s the takeaway? The biggest takeaway is that Europe’s journey started as a small-town music group to being internationally acclaimed music rock icons. That in itself is a huge inspiration and motivation for all budding musicians and youths of our State. Their resilience, passion, adaptation, reskilling of their musical skills is a great testament, Europe as a band explicitly exhibits enduring commitment to their musical talents. Our state of Meghalaya, is actually a den of musicians of different styles and with a commitment. Many of our musically inclined talented youths can definitely set the stage to stardom. Music has the power to influence and if used in the right way one can achieve many positive things in society. The Pioneer of Neurology Oliver Sacks said “The power of music to integrate and cure is quite fundamental. It is the profoundest non-chemical medication. “A famous Violinist Yehudi Menuhin also said “Music is a therapy. It is a communication far more powerful than words, far more immediate, far more efficient.”
The present society has many problems particularly among the youth. There are issues of addiction and other socio-economic challenges. Can there be an alternative way of helping the disoriented, and misled youths through the power of positive music? It is fine to see the Rock Music and Pop Music Giants coming to our State, but we also wish for our youths to become Rock Giants, Pop Giants going places worldwide and rising to stardom. So can we have a Shillong Version of the Berkeley School of Music in Meghalaya so that our youths can be technically educated with various specialisations in music? This is something all of us but especially those in governance need to ponder upon!
Nevertheless, the band Europe’s journey is an inspiration which exhibits the power of change through music. To conclude “The earth has music for those who listen.” – William Shakespeare
(The writer is a Geo-spatial Technology expert)