Leave Europe alone with “The Final Countdown” already! Although the band have no intention of deleting their biggest hit song from their setlist and still have fun playing it – contrary to what the media recently reported –, Europe have moved on. Besides, John Norum confesses to not much liking the studio version of the above-mentioned song, whose production is typical of the 80s, an era the guitarist doesn’t enjoy at all. A dislike he emphasizes several times during the interview.

In this respect, he would have preferred a sound closer to that of the album Europe have produced since their reformation in 2004 – the most recent of which, Bag Of Bones, released only a few weeks ago, features heavy, bluesy riffs. A real evolution.

John Norum is a good customer when it comes to interview: his answers are straightforward – starting with the very first on – while always being polite. They’re also extremely clear and abound in precisions, most notably regarding the band’s writing process. At the end of the interview, in the middle of an update on his next solo album, he can’t help telling us, with obvious happiness, about the birth of his son, five weeks earlier.

Read the interview…