1. "Won’t Get Fooled Again"- The Who; “Born To Run”- Springsteen; "We're An American Band"- Grand Funk RR; "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"- Joan Jett/Blackhearts.
My first roommate played Final Countdown constantly. He would literally play it over and over again sometimes for hours. It took 30 years before I could listen to it again.🖖🏼
I had a roommate in Germany who was the same way, he constantly played this song. I still can't listen to it. Prof, I love the channel, I'll take the "F" on this class.
My old motorcycle has a cassette player. It only has one cassette in it. It's Europe's "The Final Countdown." I keep that song cued up, just in case I need to play it for some reason. It always gets a ton of smiles, thumbs up, and fist pumps! Every time I take it in for maintenance, I find out they've been playing it afterwards. : )
One of the most recognizable intros in rock history. I love Europe. Very talented band. I've never considered them to be a glam band, but they kick ass.
The Final Countdown recently (June 2022) hit a huge milestone: one billion view on RUclips. The track was also featured in the PlayStation 3 games Buzz Quiz TV and Buzz Quiz World naturally as the intro for the final round of the game. John Norum left Europe in October 86 to go solo. He also played on Don Dokken's solo album Up From the Ashes and joined Dokken for a time after the band reunited (and George Lynch left again). He wasn't in the band long though, due to Don's temperament and did later rejoin Europe.
When we were kids my brother(8yo) got a radio for his room that had a record player on top. This vinyl record was his first purchase and we listened to it over and over. Good times!
I'd heard this song through the 80's as a kid but I never really took notice of most music back then. Eventually I got into concert band in middle school and the high school marching band when I was in 8th grade. The Final Countdown was one of our stable of constantly played songs for all five years I was in the marching/pep band. Good times.
Once you hear "The Final Countdown", it will stick with you forever. Once planted into your brain, it will get your attention and act as a call to arms. Amazing song... and an amazingly talented group. I'm glad you talked about that. Their follow up album was also very good.
LMAO!!! Song reminds me of listening to WLS Chicago Superjock Larry Lujack Uncle Lar Hated Feliz Navidad. Every Christmas you could hear him Bi... about playing it. Great memories. Thanks again Professor 😃
The perfect playing of this song was them playing it live in Stockholm December 31st 1999. Of course it was during the final countdown to 2000. :) Definitely the best use ever.
I wrote this after watching your video: Gen X is passing by, one by one we see them fly. Influencers of, of their time the world changed and passed them by. Shades and bikes and arcade fights Tokens were the price for a really good time. Rock in the boombox filled the nights and the flux capacitor blew our minds. But who would have known that Marty had it right, trying to get back to ’85.
I never heard of Europe until I started dating a woman from Indonesia. She told me that Europe was popular in Indonesia. She loved the band and got me into their music. Whenever I hear The Final Countdown or Carrie, it reminds me of her.
After every video, I've got to go listen to the song you school is on in these videos!! I usually listen to the song or the band half the day because of you Professor!!! Sending love from Louisville Kentucky for all your hard work you do for us!!!
Glad I'm not the only one! I will sometimes pend hours going down a rabbit hole of music videos on YT or picking through my CD collection after POR vids.
What an absolutely interesting case. I can't quite count how many times I have heard this classic. Definitely a pop culture anthem for a variety of ways!
I still listen to it now in 2023. It was an amazing song that you just can't get enough of. Wish they'd done better in the US, but it's great to know they blew it out of the water all over the world as a band.
@@ProfessorofRock Hey, Adam! My favourite memory of this song was when it was played live to coincide with the turn of the millennium in Stockholm, on the 31st of December, 1999. The solo was played the way it was made for the album, with two guitars, shared by John Norum and Kee Marcello. That was so memorable. It was a joy to see them playing together. It was the only time they ever performed together live for the band. By the way, before The Final Countdown they played "Rock The Night". Here is the link: ruclips.net/video/0j_LNqwjsY4/видео.html
Its the single greatest song of all time. Its not the best by any stretch, but its the greatest. Or that's the feeling you get when that keyboard intro hits
I gotta say I'm just thrilled to see you're soon going to pass 1 million subs! BRAVO! You're still just killing it, by giving us all the obscure info about all these historic songs from the greatest era of music that there will ever be. Thank you so, So, SO MUCH! ❤❤❤
I love this song. I remember hearing it over and over many times in the 80's. The nets on trampolines was because someone was injured so they sued the trampoline manufacturer. So now its mandatory on every one made. Thanks.
Love this song. It was the first cassette tape I had bought back in 1986 I believe. It was from a store called Musicland. Probably their biggest song for sure!
This is one of my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE songs to do karaoke to. I love airing the keyboard riffs while i sing it, especially when I'm stopped at a red light and it's blasting out of my car stereo. This song is simply one of those tunes that is IMPOSSIBLE to listen to and NOT sing along!
Nowadays the online stations play an edited version that leaves out the beginning, which is one of the best parts of the song. And it's not the only song from the past that now that it's played, it's shorter than originally. Bands in the 80's and still some in the 90's, would include in their songs guitar solos and instrumental parts that showcased real musicianship. I think a real musician, band or artist and their song are best appreciated when fully played, no edition, no cuts. As little as I get to listen to today's "music", I notice it's the same in every current song: only autotuned "singing" and no solos or instrumental, like good music used to be. Keep up the cool job, Prof!
One of the thousands who took part in that competition, Rock SM, was the band I played in. We got to record a single, which after a year ended up on a compilation album. However, the record was not distributed professionally, and by then our band was already disbanded. So every time I hear Europe, I think about what could have happened if we ended up with the right label. Probably the same, but we had a good name: Darkness… 😀
That intro sounds exactly like something epic is about to happen! It never gets old I love that grap you and tells you pay attention something you should not miss because it is going to be earth shaking. An another example of an absolute classic being concerned a filler. I was a PISTONS fan in the bad boys years and they couldn't have selected a better song. Great episode professor never knew they won a battle of bands with 4000 contestants.
The intro to a Battle Royale for sure! The blood starts pumping, endorphins go through the roof and every hair stands on end as soon as those first chords play!
It’s the perfect sound for high school seniors graduating. Sorry for using that metaphor too much lately since it will happen to me in less than a year!
The whole album was banger from start to finish. Their followup album was even better but didnt get as much limelight. Marcello's guitar solo on "Superstitious" is absolute perfection. One of the greatest ever recorded.
I agree about that solo, it is perfection and one of the best solos I have ever heard! Key's brother Rob is as good as him too! He is in a band called The Defiants, good stuff!
We also blasted JUMP from Van Halen while on the trampoline. Man I loved Europe. We saw them in concert at least 6 times, and my favorite guitarist of all time was actually Europe’s second guitarist, Kee Marcelo who I feel is a better player than Norum. He just has more chops, versatility, and technical skills. And man, their follow up albums are KILLER - Out of this World, and Prisoners in Paradise. Their is some amazing music on those records. Great video here man. Love to see Europe get some recognition. And those guys are still going strong - sold out shows all over Europe! I miss the 80s too. I graduated from high school in 1985. It was also an amazing time to be a teenager. Mercy.
You either hate or love Final Countdown, but you can't deny that synthesizer riff is recognizable in just a couple bars. Definitely hair metal's zenith, or close to it!
Thank you 🙏 For recollecting this iconic song. It was my first album at 12 years old.together with Bon Jovi’s Slippery when wet and Iron Maiden’s Somewhere in time my inauguration into Hard Rock/Heavy Metal. And the incentive to grow my hair long 😂🥳🤘🤘 Golden years!!!
I think The final countdown is one of the greatest songs ever I love it from the keyboard ref introductions the vocals and also the amazing guitar solo which is great. I’m glad that Europe released the song as a single and it has become very popular especially in sports stadiums and stuff like that which is very appropriate.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 Europe. Along with Asia representing our continents. 😅😅 Final Countdown is played everywhere...... but you never get tired of it. Thanks Professor. Have a great weekend.
I agree... being a kid and teen during the 80's and early 90's was bliss...there will never be a decade like it again, feel blessed to have experienced it, nothing brings back the memories and the feel of an era like music, listning to ZZ tops rough boy, Starships We built this city or Peter Cetera's Glory of Love just takes me right back to 1986...
Whenever I hear the opening of the final countdown I am like oh my gosh that is Europe and the final countdown and I get goosebumps every time I hear it and also when I hear Carrie again I just can’t help but stop what I’m doing and just listen to the song final countdown such a great song and album from 1986 I love it
I grew up in the 60's and 70's I lived Europe still listen to them when I can. Love that album . I'm now in my middle 60's and if I hear them on the radio I damn near blow out my speakers.
Great video Adam. They did a fantastic job on this album. One of the few bands of this time period I bother to listen to. Great songs at the right time.
I love how they wrote it as an opening walk out song. One of the best concerts I went to was Judas Priest during the Screaming for Vengeance tour. Halford riding his bike out during Hellion and leading into Electric Eye was epic. Not sure anyone does that anymore.
How great it was to grow up during the 80's. Only those who did can know what it was like. The groups in that time were amazing. They had to be we didn't settle for less. The things we could do we can't do now, the concert back then will never be matched. We had a higher standard when it came to our music. And anytime we want to go back we just play something and instantly be back in that time.
It was a golden age of experimentation that started in the 60s...went through the excesses of prog rock in the 70s and was fine tuned for the new wave of the 80s.
I was a teenager in the 70's and a young adult in the 80's. So I understand what you mean, so sorry you missed the 70's though because the music from that decade was simply awesome! 👍💯✌🇨🇦🤟🤟
What really separates the 60s through the 90s musically, was the prevalence of *bands* - and music that originated from a group of artists each contributing their own specialty into a song. Today's pop music is nearly all solo vocalists, playing songs put together in a studio with computers. Individual vocalists are so much easier for a record label to manage and promote. But band music is much more anthemic. There is something inherent in multiple instruments played together, that calls out for an arena.
One of the first albums I bought was 'The Final Countdown'.. Oh the rush one feels when taking an album to the cashier, hardly containing one's excitement at the thought of getting home, taking the wrapping off the cassette, checking the lyrics on the folded sheet that's in the case to see if you mis-heard any of the lyrics on the radio... We're so lucky to have had such precious experiences ❤
As a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Indians/Guardians. Hearing the intro for this song when we are 3 outs from winning a game has special meaning!!! I have always loved it. So much so that it is my ringtone!!! Thanks Adam!!! I needed something special today!!! Great video!!! ❤❤❤
I'll say this again. I do not understand how this channel isn't one of the biggest on RUclips. Adam, you have done an amazing job with this channel. Thank you. Makes me wonder if there's a channel like this for Country music as well.
I'm impressed, either my mind's opening up to appreciate other forms of music, or you're doing a good job of finding gold! I could use a guy like you Professor, in this no horse mountain abode I'm living in.
Had to check out that Geiko commercial to remember where I first heard the song The Final Countdown. It not only introduced me to the band, but boy... was it ever a funny commercial. 😅😅.
Yet again you impress the hell out of us with your synth knowledge!! I had a JX8P when this came out and yes, I did in fact play it. LOL! The preset was called Polybrass I if I remember correctly! 😅
As an old guy who remembers the pre internet decades. I truly do appreciate channels like this that show why the value of platforms like RUclips, X, Truth Social cannot be underestimated and should be protected from ANY and ALL Censorship. On average how many hours do you put into research also for an episode? Just to show all the ignorant that think guys like you don’t “work” for a living.
Great timing! Europe just dropped a new single within the past week (titled “Hold Your Head Up,” no relation to the old Argent tune) ahead of a new album planned to go out next year. If the new album is as good as their last few have been, then I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
About 20 years ago, my brother gave me a birthday card that played that intro when you opened it. Lol! I used to open it all the time! I still have it somewhere. Hard to believe the song was already about 20 years then!
Dad comment of the year "What's with this netting around all the tramps....I think having a net is pretty dumb. (Back when I was a kid) If you got body slammed off the tramp you probably broke your arm."🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Very good true story you created! I'm one of the biggest fan on the band Europe. I know everything and much more good and amazing story about them, unfortunately they stay behaind doors, because tv and media repeat only the same question about TFC. By The way TFC sold 16 million copies. Great job, Thank you.! Fan from far Bulgaria❤
Europe are so much more than the final countdown their early albums and even their recent stuff is powerful and anthemic with my favorite being the 1988 Ron nevison produced out of this world and Joey Tempest what a vocalist and also props to John norum as well
While listening to this episode I started to mimic the opening chords of this song, and my school-age sons started singing, "the final COUNTDOWN!" Truly, this one turned out to be a song for the ages!
The Final Countdown has its well deserved spot in my vinyl collection, both the album and the maxi-single are standing side by side in that record cabinet.
Europe are our national heroes in Sweden. They put Sweden firmly on the global heavy metal map, where it has remained ever since - it is one of, if not the, most prevalent hotbed of hard rock and heavy metal talent in the world today. And the band Europe keeps making big selling albums with new fan favorite anthems to this day. With their classic "The final countdown" lineup still firmly in place, I might add.
I feel like Final Countdown is a separate song from all of Europe’s other music. It’s such a universal song and so distinctive from their other work (which are incredibly fantastic also).
I think that's why they weren't appreciated in the USA. They are touring most everywhere overseas for their 40th anniversary and not here. Basically, the same line-up.
AC DC's Thunderstruck.. and their If You Dare... and the double shot of Europe's The Final Countdown and Rock The Night.. man, 4 songs to get you riled up!
I was stationed onboard the USS Nimitz in the mid to late 80's when the movie Final Count Down came out. The Nimitz was the carrier used in the movie as was Europe's song. The Captain of the Nimitz would play Final Countdown when we broke away from the Underway replenishment. So cool!
I love this song and this band. It was one of the first albums I ever bought and I wore it out! The Final Countdown was also one of the first songs I learned to play on my keyboard. I had a small Yamaha that I had bought at a Shop-Ko - LOL. I spent hours trying to perfect that song. Some great memories from a great era in music. :)
Anything in the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10 is a megahit. It didn't have to reach #1 to have longevity. I can think of a ton of hits that charter near the same position and are still staples today while some #1 songs don't hold up today.
I love how Adam uses the word “tasty “ as slang, not as an adjective. It’s an 80’s vocabulary that brings me back to those “gnarly” times 😂 I wasn’t a huge fan of Europe, but they were the artists who were my gateway drug into the glam metal scene, lol! The songs that get me hyped up and energized are Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard, Canned Heat by Jamiroquai, ZZ Top’s Gimme All Your Lovin’ and You Really Got Me by Van Halen ( or The Kinks😉). I know that there are many many more, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head.
The 80s was my decade as well. What a time! I thought they'd never end. I came to age then. I had my first heartbreak, got my license, me and my friends just being silly. Oh, how I wish we could go back, but alas. Still have those great moments though.
Great video! I and Joey Tempest were born on the same day. I have always been a Europe fan. I wish I could make a hit song in my spare time. Me and my friends jumped ramps on our bikes and played around with boxing gloves for a time. We seemed to have fun getting hurt! Yes we also had music to go along with it. But I'm not superstitious about it ;-)
"The American Dragon" : Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE) played this song to the ring throughout his indie scene career and kept this song relevant to young fans ... even recently in AEW ... He should be credited for that as well ...... I deeply appreciate him for that , I truly wish EUROPE plays the song LIVE at a Wrestlemania when he returns to WWE ...... Thank you Professor for this episode ... I once made a top 10 best keyboard intros of all time and this is the undisputed No. 1 song ...... Cheers and hailz from Seoul !!!!!! |m|_ //-_- _|m/ ...... ...... ......
It's always great to hear The Final Countdown. I am happy to be alive. We had dangerous sledding runs and rode my bike down the biggest hill with no helmet. I had no fear as a kid.
None of us did. We were _supposed_ to get some hard knocks. Parents these days are too overprotective. I kind of understand, because it was very hard for me not to be, but sometimes a kid has to learn the hard way.
Awesome track. Saw them live at Solnahallen about 3 months after releasing this single and the roof lifted! First two albums are the best ofc but quality outfit overall!
I walked into Metal for Melbourne one day as a 14yo and they were playing this song and I thought that it sounded ok. Went back the next day and the song was playing again so I bought the album. Made sense at the time.
One of my brothers was in Spain some years back and there were these long haired guys on the beach where he was that he struck up a conversation with. Turns out it was some of the members of Europe a band my brother had never heard of. He was always more into new wave and electronic/dance music. Still counts as a Europe memory though for him at least. I was in the Army and had no idea about anything happening in the world. at that time.
Europe, and the video for "Cherokee", was actually one of the big inspirations for the aesthetic of one of my characters for a D&D game in the Ravnica setting. She's a bard who is a slam poet and keytar player with a very goth aesthetic. But whenever she gets to perform, I think of that video.
You missed mentioning the remade bagpipe version of The Final Countdown done by The Snake Charmer (and friends) on RUclips. A worthy addition to the history of this song.
Aaah, one of Swedens proud exports!! I turned 7 in 1986 and at that age you basically like whatever is playing on the radio, which most often weren't any kind of "heavy" rock at the time. Sure, I knew about KISS and Twisted Sister (and I thought Dee Snider was the ugliest woman ever. what? they had to be a girl band when it had Sister in it's name, right? xD) and such, but that was the kind of music that dangerous teen guys listened to. So Final Countdown was probably the first song I liked in that genre. It was epic at the time! A friend of mine had successfully recorded it on to tape from the radio, and I don't know how many times we raaaaaan to his place after school just to listen to it. xD And about netted trampolines.... Back in the day we played at our own risk. It was a different time. I'm not gonna say us kids were smarter back then, but I do feel like we were more aware than kids seem to be today. We knew we had to be at least a bit careful when jumping a trampoline, we could envision getting hurt otherwise, something that kids today seem to be completely unaware of. But maybe I'm just glorifying my younger self here, remembering it the way I want to? After all, I was that kid who fell of a house roof once. Oh well.... Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
I am extremely happy for their success. I was finishing high school when they came out. Them and the outfield got a little of airplay in my car and home
@ProfessorofRock Outside of Washington DC, next to Joint Base Andrew's in Maryland. Military family. Far cry from Idaho I believe you said. My apologies if I misremembered
Poll: What is your pick for the greatest rock anthem ever? One that ignites you every time?
I'll nominate "We Will Rock You" by Queen.
Pretty much everything by The Who
Philadelphia Freedom, Elton John. I think this song helped Billy Jean King to win the tennis match. 🎾
1. "Won’t Get Fooled Again"- The Who;
“Born To Run”- Springsteen;
"We're An American Band"- Grand Funk RR;
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll"- Joan Jett/Blackhearts.
Rock and Roll All Night - Kiss
My first roommate played Final Countdown constantly. He would literally play it over and over again sometimes for hours. It took 30 years before I could listen to it again.🖖🏼
Oh boy!
We had a guy in our dorm (lived diagonally across the hall from me) who played "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton over and over like that.
I had a roommate in Germany who was the same way, he constantly played this song. I still can't listen to it. Prof, I love the channel, I'll take the "F" on this class.
Lmao
I can’t listen to it now. I just can’t. It was way overplayed and I just can’t stand it 😂
My old motorcycle has a cassette player. It only has one cassette in it. It's Europe's "The Final Countdown." I keep that song cued up, just in case I need to play it for some reason. It always gets a ton of smiles, thumbs up, and fist pumps! Every time I take it in for maintenance, I find out they've been playing it afterwards. : )
One of the most recognizable intros in rock history. I love Europe. Very talented band. I've never considered them to be a glam band, but they kick ass.
They were just a regular arena rock band!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 The arena bands were the best
THIS IS EUROPE'S
FINAL COUNTDOWN
THEIR SIGNATURE MASTERPIECE 👏👏👏
💕💕THE KEYBOARD 🎹🎹
INTRODUCTION.
The Final Countdown recently (June 2022) hit a huge milestone: one billion view on RUclips. The track was also featured in the PlayStation 3 games Buzz Quiz TV and Buzz Quiz World naturally as the intro for the final round of the game. John Norum left Europe in October 86 to go solo. He also played on Don Dokken's solo album Up From the Ashes and joined Dokken for a time after the band reunited (and George Lynch left again). He wasn't in the band long though, due to Don's temperament and did later rejoin Europe.
When we were kids my brother(8yo) got a radio for his room that had a record player on top. This vinyl record was his first purchase and we listened to it over and over. Good times!
I'd heard this song through the 80's as a kid but I never really took notice of most music back then. Eventually I got into concert band in middle school and the high school marching band when I was in 8th grade. The Final Countdown was one of our stable of constantly played songs for all five years I was in the marching/pep band. Good times.
Once you hear "The Final Countdown", it will stick with you forever. Once planted into your brain, it will get your attention and act as a call to arms.
Amazing song... and an amazingly talented group. I'm glad you talked about that. Their follow up album was also very good.
LMAO!!! Song reminds me of listening to WLS Chicago Superjock Larry Lujack
Uncle Lar Hated Feliz Navidad. Every Christmas you could hear him Bi... about playing it. Great memories. Thanks again Professor 😃
My kids were nuts for this song. Drove me crazy but I really did love it 😂
The perfect playing of this song was them playing it live in Stockholm December 31st 1999. Of course it was during the final countdown to 2000. :)
Definitely the best use ever.
I wrote this after watching your video:
Gen X is passing by,
one by one we see them fly.
Influencers of, of their time
the world changed and passed them by.
Shades and bikes and arcade fights
Tokens were the price for a really good time.
Rock in the boombox filled the nights and the flux capacitor blew our minds.
But who would have known that Marty had it right,
trying to get back to ’85.
Yes! This song is bigger than its chart position. It is a #1 in its lifetime favorites position.
This is just one of those songs that always seems to make you feel better, it’s infectious
I never heard of Europe until I started dating a woman from Indonesia. She told me that Europe was popular in Indonesia. She loved the band and got me into their music. Whenever I hear The Final Countdown or Carrie, it reminds me of her.
Very cool!
Not the country, but the band!
After every video, I've got to go listen to the song you school is on in these videos!! I usually listen to the song or the band half the day because of you Professor!!! Sending love from Louisville Kentucky for all your hard work you do for us!!!
Glad I'm not the only one! I will sometimes pend hours going down a rabbit hole of music videos on YT or picking through my CD collection after POR vids.
I do the exact same thing.
I ❤❤❤❤ this song! Closing on 60 yrs here.
What an absolutely interesting case. I can't quite count how many times I have heard this classic. Definitely a pop culture anthem for a variety of ways!
So true! I heard it a couple weeks ago at a football game. Have a great weekend RC32!
@@ProfessorofRock Yeah! It definitely has that stage/arena rock presence!
It’s in the hundreds for me as well, RC32! 😝
I still listen to it now in 2023. It was an amazing song that you just can't get enough of. Wish they'd done better in the US, but it's great to know they blew it out of the water all over the world as a band.
@@ProfessorofRock Hey, Adam! My favourite memory of this song was when it was played live to coincide with the turn of the millennium in Stockholm, on the 31st of December, 1999. The solo was played the way it was made for the album, with two guitars, shared by John Norum and Kee Marcello. That was so memorable. It was a joy to see them playing together. It was the only time they ever performed together live for the band. By the way, before The Final Countdown they played "Rock The Night". Here is the link: ruclips.net/video/0j_LNqwjsY4/видео.html
Its the single greatest song of all time. Its not the best by any stretch, but its the greatest. Or that's the feeling you get when that keyboard intro hits
I gotta say I'm just thrilled to see you're soon going to pass 1 million subs! BRAVO! You're still just killing it, by giving us all the obscure info about all these historic songs from the greatest era of music that there will ever be. Thank you so, So, SO MUCH! ❤❤❤
I love this song. I remember hearing it over and over many times in the 80's. The nets on trampolines was because someone was injured so they sued the trampoline manufacturer. So now its mandatory on every one made. Thanks.
Love this song. It was the first cassette tape I had bought back in 1986 I believe. It was from a store called Musicland. Probably their biggest song for sure!
At the time I didn't care much for hair bands but getting closer to 70 I can now appreciate how truly awesome they were.
So happy you have given this often unappreciated band it's due...love Europe! 👍
This is one of my ALL-TIME FAVOURITE songs to do karaoke to. I love airing the keyboard riffs while i sing it, especially when I'm stopped at a red light and it's blasting out of my car stereo. This song is simply one of those tunes that is IMPOSSIBLE to listen to and NOT sing along!
Nowadays the online stations play an edited version that leaves out the beginning, which is one of the best parts of the song. And it's not the only song from the past that now that it's played, it's shorter than originally. Bands in the 80's and still some in the 90's, would include in their songs guitar solos and instrumental parts that showcased real musicianship. I think a real musician, band or artist and their song are best appreciated when fully played, no edition, no cuts. As little as I get to listen to today's "music", I notice it's the same in every current song: only autotuned "singing" and no solos or instrumental, like good music used to be.
Keep up the cool job, Prof!
One of the thousands who took part in that competition, Rock SM, was the band I played in. We got to record a single, which after a year ended up on a compilation album. However, the record was not distributed professionally, and by then our band was already disbanded. So every time I hear Europe, I think about what could have happened if we ended up with the right label. Probably the same, but we had a good name: Darkness… 😀
I am so sorry! What could have been!
Justin Hawkins rides in your name. 😆
That intro sounds exactly like something epic is about to happen! It never gets old I love that grap you and tells you pay attention something you should not miss because it is going to be earth shaking. An another example of an absolute classic being concerned a filler. I was a PISTONS fan in the bad boys years and they couldn't have selected a better song. Great episode professor never knew they won a battle of bands with 4000 contestants.
Thanks My Name! Always great to see you here!
The intro to a Battle Royale for sure! The blood starts pumping, endorphins go through the roof and every hair stands on end as soon as those first chords play!
It’s the perfect sound for high school seniors graduating. Sorry for using that metaphor too much lately since it will happen to me in less than a year!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 you're a senior now!! Keep 80s music alive for us Lilly!
@@MyName-pl7zn I sure am doing that!
The whole album was banger from start to finish. Their followup album was even better but didnt get as much limelight.
Marcello's guitar solo on "Superstitious" is absolute perfection. One of the greatest ever recorded.
Amen!
I agree about that solo, it is perfection and one of the best solos I have ever heard! Key's brother Rob is as good as him too! He is in a band called The Defiants, good stuff!
We also blasted JUMP from Van Halen while on the trampoline. Man I loved Europe. We saw them in concert at least 6 times, and my favorite guitarist of all time was actually Europe’s second guitarist, Kee Marcelo who I feel is a better player than Norum. He just has more chops, versatility, and technical skills. And man, their follow up albums are KILLER - Out of this World, and Prisoners in Paradise. Their is some amazing music on those records. Great video here man. Love to see Europe get some recognition. And those guys are still going strong - sold out shows all over Europe!
I miss the 80s too. I graduated from high school in 1985. It was also an amazing time to be a teenager. Mercy.
You either hate or love Final Countdown, but you can't deny that synthesizer riff is recognizable in just a couple bars.
Definitely hair metal's zenith, or close to it!
Thank you 🙏
For recollecting this iconic song.
It was my first album at 12 years old.together with Bon Jovi’s Slippery when wet and Iron Maiden’s Somewhere in time my inauguration into Hard Rock/Heavy Metal. And the incentive to grow my hair long 😂🥳🤘🤘
Golden years!!!
I think The final countdown is one of the greatest songs ever I love it from the keyboard ref introductions the vocals and also the amazing guitar solo which is great.
I’m glad that Europe released the song as a single and it has become very popular especially in sports stadiums and stuff like that which is very appropriate.
🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Europe. Along with Asia representing our continents. 😅😅
Final Countdown is played everywhere...... but you never get tired of it.
Thanks Professor. Have a great weekend.
Don't forget America, representing _two_ continents.
@@Whisper_292
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Don’t forget there was also America riding on horses with no name!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I agree... being a kid and teen during the 80's and early 90's was bliss...there will never be a decade like it again, feel blessed to have experienced it,
nothing brings back the memories and the feel of an era like music, listning to ZZ tops rough boy, Starships We built this city or Peter Cetera's Glory of Love just takes me right back to 1986...
MTV memories are resurfacing, Thanks Professor
Another great episode POR!! This is a really great step back to the eighties!!!
Whenever I hear the opening of the final countdown I am like oh my gosh that is Europe and the final countdown and I get goosebumps every time I hear it and also when I hear Carrie again I just can’t help but stop what I’m doing and just listen to the song final countdown such a great song and album from 1986 I love it
I grew up in the 60's and 70's I lived Europe still listen to them when I can. Love that album . I'm now in my middle 60's and if I hear them on the radio I damn near blow out my speakers.
My Mom screaming get the hell out of this house and don't be late for dinner. Oh the 80s. Those were the days. The best days! Excellent video Adam.
Whenever I need a boost in energy level I watch the music video for The Final Countdown at decent volume. Always great tonic!
I can't imagine 80's music without this song. It just couldn't be done.
My favorite memory of this song was being used in the build up to the final match between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat in 1989. Good times!
Perfect song for that moment.
Woooooooooo
Great video Adam.
They did a fantastic job on this album.
One of the few bands of this time period I bother to listen to.
Great songs at the right time.
TOP song that reached number 2 in the Summer 86/87 in March ; still widely played today here in Australia
I know it was a big hit down there!
I love how they wrote it as an opening walk out song. One of the best concerts I went to was Judas Priest during the Screaming for Vengeance tour. Halford riding his bike out during Hellion and leading into Electric Eye was epic. Not sure anyone does that anymore.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, that definitely sounds over the top!
Never reallly could tell what kind of bike he was using.
@@marksample6230 I don't know how many different bikes he used, but I've always seen him on a Shovelhead-era Harley Lowrider or Superglide.
How great it was to grow up during the 80's. Only those who did can know what it was like. The groups in that time were amazing. They had to be we didn't settle for less. The things we could do we can't do now, the concert back then will never be matched. We had a higher standard when it came to our music. And anytime we want to go back we just play something and instantly be back in that time.
It was a golden age of experimentation that started in the 60s...went through the excesses of prog rock in the 70s and was fine tuned for the new wave of the 80s.
I was a teenager in the 70's and a young adult in the 80's. So I understand what you mean, so sorry you missed the 70's though because the music from that decade was simply awesome! 👍💯✌🇨🇦🤟🤟
I envy you! Someone take me back.
@@sueparras6028 ELP! Forever!
What really separates the 60s through the 90s musically, was the prevalence of *bands* - and music that originated from a group of artists each contributing their own specialty into a song. Today's pop music is nearly all solo vocalists, playing songs put together in a studio with computers. Individual vocalists are so much easier for a record label to manage and promote. But band music is much more anthemic. There is something inherent in multiple instruments played together, that calls out for an arena.
I love this song tremendously, but I tend to forget about it till I hear it. Maybe this will keep it forward in my mind for a while.
There is no way I can forget about this one, personally.
So nice to see their original guitarist....John Norum. His solo album, Total Control, with the track "Back on the Streets" was fantastic! ☮❤🎶
Killer guitarist.
Ultimate Anthem!! Haha love it ❤️🤘🏼 thanks for sharing Adam!
One of the first albums I bought was 'The Final Countdown'.. Oh the rush one feels when taking an album to the cashier, hardly containing one's excitement at the thought of getting home, taking the wrapping off the cassette, checking the lyrics on the folded sheet that's in the case to see if you mis-heard any of the lyrics on the radio... We're so lucky to have had such precious experiences ❤
As a lifelong fan of the Cleveland Indians/Guardians. Hearing the intro for this song when we are 3 outs from winning a game has special meaning!!! I have always loved it. So much so that it is my ringtone!!! Thanks Adam!!! I needed something special today!!! Great video!!!
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I'll say this again. I do not understand how this channel isn't one of the biggest on RUclips. Adam, you have done an amazing job with this channel. Thank you. Makes me wonder if there's a channel like this for Country music as well.
I'm impressed, either my mind's opening up to appreciate other forms of music, or you're doing a good job of finding gold! I could use a guy like you Professor, in this no horse mountain abode I'm living in.
Ha ha! Very cool!
I was living in Germany in the mid 1980s. The Final Countdown was huge. We heard it everywhere we went. It always reminds me of that time.
Anyone remember when they had a funny Geico commercial? Always liked that one
Yes Very Cool!
That one played all the time in my house.
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Nice! :) Good memory
And they chart number one gaico comersial
@@TheRockworld HaHa!
Had to check out that Geiko commercial to remember where I first heard the song The Final Countdown. It not only introduced me to the band, but boy... was it ever a funny commercial. 😅😅.
This is just GLORIOUS. Thank you, Professor!
Yet again you impress the hell out of us with your synth knowledge!! I had a JX8P when this came out and yes, I did in fact play it. LOL! The preset was called Polybrass I if I remember correctly! 😅
As an old guy who remembers the pre internet decades. I truly do appreciate channels like this that show why the value of platforms like RUclips, X, Truth Social cannot be underestimated and should be protected from ANY and ALL Censorship.
On average how many hours do you put into research also for an episode? Just to show all the ignorant that think guys like you don’t “work” for a living.
One of my favorite bands ever!
Great timing! Europe just dropped a new single within the past week (titled “Hold Your Head Up,” no relation to the old Argent tune) ahead of a new album planned to go out next year. If the new album is as good as their last few have been, then I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
About 20 years ago, my brother gave me a birthday card that played that intro when you opened it. Lol! I used to open it all the time! I still have it somewhere. Hard to believe the song was already about 20 years then!
Dad comment of the year "What's with this netting around all the tramps....I think having a net is pretty dumb. (Back when I was a kid) If you got body slammed off the tramp you probably broke your arm."🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
Very good true story you created! I'm one of the biggest fan on the band Europe. I know everything and much more good and amazing story about them, unfortunately they stay behaind doors, because tv and media repeat only the same question about TFC. By The way TFC sold 16 million copies. Great job, Thank you.! Fan from far Bulgaria❤
Europe are so much more than the final countdown their early albums and even their recent stuff is powerful and anthemic with my favorite being the 1988 Ron nevison produced out of this world and Joey Tempest what a vocalist and also props to John norum as well
Greetings Profesor Rock 🎸🥁 Europe is excelent 🎸🥁🎼🎵 The Final Contaun 🕛🇸🇪👍
Thanks Juan! Any big plans for the weekend?
@@ProfessorofRock 🍀🍀👍
While listening to this episode I started to mimic the opening chords of this song, and my school-age sons started singing, "the final COUNTDOWN!" Truly, this one turned out to be a song for the ages!
The whole albumn is really good. Well worth a play all the way through!
Yes, I, too, used to think the opening synth riff was inspired by ASIA's "Only Time Will Tell."
Sounds so similar! Thanks Lewis. Have a great weekend! Any big plans?
This exactly.
I have that tape, still works, and the CD
I totally fell in love with Joey T
Ah Professor of Rock - nice misdirect in the record stack there. You had me thinking it was going to be Jump by VH. Nicely played.
The Final Countdown has its well deserved spot in my vinyl collection, both the album and the maxi-single are standing side by side in that record cabinet.
We learned how to play final countdown in band to play during football season, what a fun song to play on clarinet!
Europe are our national heroes in Sweden. They put Sweden firmly on the global heavy metal map, where it has remained ever since - it is one of, if not the, most prevalent hotbed of hard rock and heavy metal talent in the world today. And the band Europe keeps making big selling albums with new fan favorite anthems to this day. With their classic "The final countdown" lineup still firmly in place, I might add.
I feel like Final Countdown is a separate song from all of Europe’s other music. It’s such a universal song and so distinctive from their other work (which are incredibly fantastic also).
I think that's why they weren't appreciated in the USA. They are touring most everywhere overseas for their 40th anniversary and not here. Basically, the same line-up.
@@missjoshemmettbasically?
@@ZappaSheik Sorry, don't understand the question. Probably doesn't matter anyway.
*Love "The Final Countdown," but "Rock the Night" will always be my favorite Europe song. Gets me energized each time I hear it.*
It is my favorite too!
I have to relisten!
AC DC's Thunderstruck.. and their If You Dare... and the double shot of Europe's The Final Countdown and Rock The Night.. man, 4 songs to get you riled up!
I was stationed onboard the USS Nimitz in the mid to late 80's when the movie Final Count Down came out. The Nimitz was the carrier used in the movie as was Europe's song. The Captain of the Nimitz would play Final Countdown when we broke away from the Underway replenishment. So cool!
I love this song and this band. It was one of the first albums I ever bought and I wore it out! The Final Countdown was also one of the first songs I learned to play on my keyboard. I had a small Yamaha that I had bought at a Shop-Ko - LOL. I spent hours trying to perfect that song. Some great memories from a great era in music. :)
Cool! Thanks for sharing!
I can play the basic melody on piano!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 - awesome!!
@@ProfessorofRock - you bet!
The keyboard intro Subdivisions is iconic as well..But Countdown is another level
LOVED LOVED these guys as a teen
TFC was a game changer for me as it started my journey towards hard rock/heavy metal.
Anything in the Billboard Hot 100's Top 10 is a megahit. It didn't have to reach #1 to have longevity. I can think of a ton of hits that charter near the same position and are still staples today while some #1 songs don't hold up today.
I love how Adam uses the word “tasty “ as slang, not as an adjective. It’s an 80’s vocabulary that brings me back to those “gnarly” times 😂 I wasn’t a huge fan of Europe, but they were the artists who were my gateway drug into the glam metal scene, lol! The songs that get me hyped up and energized are Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard, Canned Heat by Jamiroquai, ZZ Top’s Gimme All Your Lovin’ and You Really Got Me by Van Halen ( or The Kinks😉). I know that there are many many more, but I can’t think of them off the top of my head.
The 80s was my decade as well. What a time! I thought they'd never end. I came to age then. I had my first heartbreak, got my license, me and my friends just being silly. Oh, how I wish we could go back, but alas. Still have those great moments though.
What a time!
My mom graduated high school in 1987. She was so lucky!
@@xxlilly_playsxxkiz9980 Yep! I graduated in '88 myself.
Watched them open for Def Leppard back in the day. Every so often, Cherokee will come on as I am driving on the Trail of Tears.
Cool reference to UFO, and the Michael Schenker era, no less. Kudos!!
Great video! I and Joey Tempest were born on the same day. I have always been a Europe fan. I wish I could make a hit song in my spare time. Me and my friends jumped ramps on our bikes and played around with boxing gloves for a time. We seemed to have fun getting hurt! Yes we also had music to go along with it. But I'm not superstitious about it ;-)
"The American Dragon" : Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE) played this song to the ring throughout his indie scene career and kept this song relevant to young fans ... even recently in AEW ... He should be credited for that as well ......
I deeply appreciate him for that , I truly wish EUROPE plays the song LIVE at a Wrestlemania when he returns to WWE ......
Thank you Professor for this episode ... I once made a top 10 best keyboard intros of all time and this is the undisputed No. 1 song ......
Cheers and hailz from Seoul !!!!!!
|m|_ //-_- _|m/
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It's always great to hear The Final Countdown. I am happy to be alive. We had dangerous sledding runs and rode my bike down the biggest hill with no helmet. I had no fear as a kid.
None of us did. We were _supposed_ to get some hard knocks. Parents these days are too overprotective. I kind of understand, because it was very hard for me not to be, but sometimes a kid has to learn the hard way.
@@Whisper_292 I still learn things the hard way. Lol.😊
@@catherine6653 Same!
Awesome track. Saw them live at Solnahallen about 3 months after releasing this single and the roof lifted! First two albums are the best ofc but quality outfit overall!
I walked into Metal for Melbourne one day as a 14yo and they were playing this song and I thought that it sounded ok. Went back the next day and the song was playing again so I bought the album. Made sense at the time.
One of my brothers was in Spain some years back and there were these long haired guys on the beach where he was that he struck up a conversation with. Turns out it was some of the members of Europe a band my brother had never heard of. He was always more into new wave and electronic/dance music. Still counts as a Europe memory though for him at least. I was in the Army and had no idea about anything happening in the world. at that time.
Europe, and the video for "Cherokee", was actually one of the big inspirations for the aesthetic of one of my characters for a D&D game in the Ravnica setting. She's a bard who is a slam poet and keytar player with a very goth aesthetic. But whenever she gets to perform, I think of that video.
You missed mentioning the remade bagpipe version of The Final Countdown done by The Snake Charmer (and friends) on RUclips. A worthy addition to the history of this song.
Aaah, one of Swedens proud exports!! I turned 7 in 1986 and at that age you basically like whatever is playing on the radio, which most often weren't any kind of "heavy" rock at the time. Sure, I knew about KISS and Twisted Sister (and I thought Dee Snider was the ugliest woman ever. what? they had to be a girl band when it had Sister in it's name, right? xD) and such, but that was the kind of music that dangerous teen guys listened to. So Final Countdown was probably the first song I liked in that genre. It was epic at the time! A friend of mine had successfully recorded it on to tape from the radio, and I don't know how many times we raaaaaan to his place after school just to listen to it. xD
And about netted trampolines.... Back in the day we played at our own risk. It was a different time. I'm not gonna say us kids were smarter back then, but I do feel like we were more aware than kids seem to be today. We knew we had to be at least a bit careful when jumping a trampoline, we could envision getting hurt otherwise, something that kids today seem to be completely unaware of. But maybe I'm just glorifying my younger self here, remembering it the way I want to? After all, I was that kid who fell of a house roof once. Oh well....
Thanks for uploading! Greetings from Sweden
It's hard to imagine how anyone could hear The Final Countdown and not realize it would be a monster hit.
I am extremely happy for their success. I was finishing high school when they came out. Them and the outfield got a little of airplay in my car and home
Love the Outfield. Good times! 1986! Where you go to school?
@ProfessorofRock Outside of Washington DC, next to Joint Base Andrew's in Maryland. Military family. Far cry from Idaho I believe you said. My apologies if I misremembered
Did you graduate in 1987?