- Original Artists: Europe
- Album: The Final Countdown
- Released: 1986-05-26
- Recorded: 1985-09-01
- Genres: Rock, Acoustic
- Artists: Pudenski Brothers
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Europe
Europe are a Swedish rock band formed in in 1979, by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum, bassist Peter Olsson, and drummer Tony Reno. The Band received a major breakthrough in Sweden in 1982 by winning the televised competition Rock-SM.
So we are peacefully sleeping in our beds and unfortunately there is an astroid heading towards earth about to kill all of humanity or a Nuclear war catastrophe There is also a nod to David Bowies Space Oddity apocalyptic and optimistic, describing a trip to Venus. The iconic keyboard riff (kazoo riff) was composed by lead singer Joey Tempest five years before the song was recorded.
Nuclear War
During the 1980's whilst we still had the cold war lots of musicians turned to nuclear war for inspiration. Nuclear war seemed more likely. You only have to think about Two Tribes - Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 99 Red Balloons by Nena, Atomic by Blondie and Enola Gay by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, these songs all featured nuclear concerns and were big hits in the 1980s.
What are the lyrics about?
It's about people leaving earth to colonise a new world before the world ends due to nuclear war. It also draws on the analogy of dying being a journey into the unknown, so whether they're leaving on a spaceship, or leaving in death, it’s still ‘farewell’.
The acoustic version of the song played by the Pudenski Brothers gained more relevence during 2019 and into 2020 as the country moved towards Brexit which was recognised by the band as they played at the Brewhouse and Kitchen as the UK left the European Union at 11 p.m. GMT on 31 January 2020
The Final Countdown was the album of the same name which gave the Europe its international breakthrough, it was certified Triple Platinum in the USA The Final Countdown as a single was released as the first single and became a worldwide success, peaking at number 1 in 25 countries. John Norum decided to leave Europe in November 1986 to pursue a solo career as he didnt like the direction that the metal band were going in. He felt the influence of the use of the keyboards were taking the band in a different direction.
