Simon Rushworth
Perhaps the ultimate Hair Metal Hero, expert crooner Joey Tempest combined pretty boy looks with a pretty special set of pipes to take the late 80s rock scene by storm.
As frontman with Europe he toured the world belting out The Final Countdown and countless other pop rock classics – setting the standards for a new breed of metal band.
Latest record Last look At Eden is every bit s good as anything Joey has done before and we can’t wait to catch Europe on tour in the UK in the next few weeks. For now let’s look at the music behind the man.
Hair Metal Gold: I’d have to say my favourite record from the so-called hair metal era is Whitesnake’s 1987. I remember hearing Still Of The Night for the first time and it just blew me and the rest of the band away. I already liked the Slide It In-era stuff but that was taking rock to an entirely different level.
My Classic Cuts: I suppose the song which I have to mention is The Final Countdown. We might have written better songs and there might be some songs I prefer but without that song I’m not sure what would have happened.
The Big Gig: I’ve been to some great gigs and I remember coming over to London from Sweden as a kid to see Thin Lizzy in Hammersmith. During the late 80s/early 90s we played with Guns N Roses at the Budokan in Japan when they were just getting big. We did two nights and they were raw but remarkable.
Europe Live And Dangerous: I think we’d be hard pushed to look beyond Sweden Rock last year as the best Europe gig. After what we’ve been through to come back and do that was amazing.