12@12
Europe – Halfway To Heaven (Tempest/Vallance) b/w Yesterday’s News (Tempest/Marcello/Michaeli/Haugland/Leven), Got Your Mind In The Gutter (Tempest/Hill/Marcello) & Superstitious (Tempest)
1992 4 Cut Picture Disc
The last of three tracks culled from the underrated Prisoners In Paradise record, Halfway To Heaven peaked at 42 in the UK singles charts and paired Joey Tempest with Jim Vallance as a songwriting team.
Tempest spent four days in Vancouver working with hitmaker Vallance but the alliance never enjoyed the success it surely deserved. This is a classy tune oozing sentimentality and it more than matches the band’s best late 80s output. Included on the 12 inch version is the outstanding Yesterday’s News – a track which would emerge on the 1982-1992 compilation and become a staple of the band’s live set.
And if you missed the issue of Smash Hits Magazine featuring the lyrics to Halfway To Heaven then the band kindly reproduced them on the B-side of this bright and breezy piece of vinyl.
This might not be recognised as a Europe classic but for true fans it will always be regarded as an essential listen.
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