Music that John Norum left Europe’s ‘disgust’ after his greatest hit

In May 1986, the Europe launched The Final Countdownyour most famous album. The flagship of the album was the hit of the same name, the largest that the Swedish band has had and notorious for its introduction loaded with keyboards.

The group soon hit the success stops and became an eighty phenomenon, including us United States. Five months later, however, the guitarist John Norum He resigned.

What led the talented guitarist to leave the boat at the height of fame? In a recent interview with the site Guitar.comNorum explained his reasons.

According to him, everything was so big that it was no longer cool. The band came from two consistent albums – Europe (1983) and Wings of Tomorrow (1984) – but that did not even come close to the frenzy caused by The Final Countdown. When the new work and the same name burst, Norum could not stand the burden of fame.

Also, he was a guitarist after all. With the keyboards gaining more and more spotlight and the image getting first over the song, Norum preferred to jump out.

He explains:

“When you achieve success so fast, it happens so fast and you really don’t know how it works, how the business works and everything. Suddenly, it’s like you have to wake up and give interviews every day, from morning to night, and TV shows, take flights early and everything. And the fact that the keyboards are taking over us more and more, we become more like a pop band.”

The guitarist adds:

“I hated all that big -hair chewing gum image, lycra pants and all that image of the 80s. Then some band guys were very convinced, they started to overdo the sex, drugs and rock and roll, drinking every day, all the time. I resigned. “

“Turning the Depeche Mode”

In another interview, Vinyl Writer Music (via website Igor Miranda), Norum has made more criticism of the period:

“I asked the guys: ‘We are turning the Depeche Mode? Today I like them a lot, but at the time I hated. But all the other members liked and we had a lot of fun in the recording. In the end, my solo was great. “

Europe and John Norum

Without John Norum – who soon started a solo career – the Europe recruited the guitarist KEE MARCELLO and launched Out of this world In 1988. The album was a certain success, driven by tracks as “Superstitious”, “Open Your Heart”, “Let the Good Times Rock” and “More than Meets The Eye”but nothing compared to the predecessor.

The Swedish band continued to active until 1992, when it ended activities. After a meeting show in 1999, the definitive return took place in 2003, with John Norum resuming the post.

+++ Read more: Why YouTube is killing musical journalism, according to Gastão Moreira
+++ Read more: movie about Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne continues in production; Learn more
+++ Read more: Dave Gahan, from Depeche Mode, about Mark Lanegan’s death: ‘Same as losing Bowie’