Europe – The Final Countdown

“The Final Countdown” is a song by Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by lead singer Joey Tempest, it was based on a keyboard riff he made in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. Originally made to just be a concert opener, it is the first single and title track from the band’s third studio album.

One of the first singles Europe lead singer Joey Tempest bought was a good one: “Space Oddity” by David Bowie. That song, which was written in the lead-up to the 1969 moon landing, was a huge influence on Tempest and led to his own fascination with space exploration. He says that “The Final Countdown” lyric was inspired by Bowie’s song and how it piqued his interest in space travel.

The music video is very meta, showing the band being filmed for a video. On May 26 and 27, 1986, Europe played at the Solnahallen arena near Stockholm, footage of which was compiled for a home video called The Final Countdown Tour 1986. During these shows, director Nick Morris filmed the band being filmed, which was used for the music video to this song.

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Europe - The Final Countdown

Europe - The Final Countdown (Official Video)04:57

This song’s lyric is both apocalyptic and optimistic, describing a trip into Space (heading for Venus) and leaving Earth behind.

The iconic keyboard riff was composed by lead singer Joey Tempest five years before the song was recorded. The band’s keyboard player Mic Michaeli had lent him the instrument.

This was #1 in 26 countries including Germany and over eight million singles were sold worldwide.

This song has a lot of haters and has appeared on various “worst of” lists over the years. An example: it was listed #1 on VH1’s 40 Most Awesomely Bad Metal Songs.

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