Background

Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson was born on August 19, 1963, in Sweden, Stockholm.

As a child, he learned to play musical instruments. His sister taught him to play the piano, a friend of his father taught him to play the guitar, and Joakim himself learned to play the trumpet. Before becoming a musician Joey Tempest learned how to play the piano and the guitar. During his childhood, Joey lived with his parents Eva and Rolf Larsson, his sister Liselott and brother Thomas in Stockholm.

Education

In his early years, when Joey Tempest was just a kid, he played football, ice hockey and competed in go-cart racing. He even won fourth place in the Junior Cart Race, a Swedish championship.

At his teens, Joey Tempest dreamed about becoming a soccer player or a gym instructor. Sports were his biggest interest but music would soon take over completely.

In fifth grade at the Odenslunda school, Joakim and a couple of classmates formed the band "Made in Hong Kong." They played concerts for the rest of the school, but the only had one song, "Keep A-Knockin' (but You Can't Come In)," made famous by Little Richard. So their entire setlist was just that song being played over and over again. The drummer only had a snare drum, the guitarist didn't have a guitar amplifier and Joakim sang through an old transistor radio. The band was influenced by his new favorite bands, Sweet and Slade. "Made in Hong Kong" changed name twice: First to Jet, then to Blazer. At first, Joakim played the rhythm guitar, but he switched to the bass after a while. Later he formed the more serious band Roxanne, who became quite well-known in Upplands Väsby.

His biggest idols were Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin. During his teens, he played in a number of bands such as Jet, Blazer, Made in Hong Kong, and Roxanne. At that time he alternated between playing rhythm guitar and bass, in addition to the lead vocal.

He said about his years at school: "School was strange. I was always trying to find like-minded people. I remember when I was about 11 a teacher accused me of cheating on a test in music class. It appeared I had a perfect score and nobody else did. I had to go to the principal’s office and do it again - and again I got a perfect score. I guess they were shocked that I got full score since I was average at everything else."

Career

When Joey Tempest was a teenager, he participated in a number of bands such as Jet, Blazer, Made in Hong Kong, and Roxanne. At that time he was choosing between playing the rhythm guitar and bass, in addition to lead vocals.

In 1978 Joey Tempest went to see a concert with another local band, WC. He was particularly impressed by their guitarist. "When I was 15 years old, I discovered a guitar player, one year younger than myself, who played his instrument with heart and soul, and with a blues feeling that I'd never heard from a Swedish musician. His name was John Norum and after that day nothing would ever be the same again." Joakim and John soon became good friends, many thanks to their shared interest in music and mopeds. And one day in 1979, Joakim was asked to join John's band, WC. Joakim accepted, and suggested that the band could change their name to Force after the UFO album "Force It." In 1982 Force was entered into the national talent contest "Rock-SM," and once again Joakim suggested a name change, this time to Europe, inspired by the Deep Purple live album "Made in Europe." After some consideration, the other band members agreed. Europe won "Rock-SM," and the first prize was a recording contract with Hot Records. It was during "Rock-SM" that he decided to take the artist's name, Joey Tempest. Joey was inspired by a nickname he got when he was on vacation in the United States some years earlier. "It was difficult for Americans to pronounce Joakim, so they called me Joe." Tempest was taken from William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest." He spent many school lessons writing song lyrics and practicing on signing autographs.

In 1985 producer Dieter Dierks asked Joey to write a song for the German rock band Scorpions. He wrote the song "One of a Kind" and sent it to them, but he never heard from them again. In the same year, he also wrote the song "Give a Helpin' Hand" for the project "Swedish Metal Aid." He was one of the lead singers on that single, which was produced by Kee Marcello. The money from the sale of the single was donated to the starving people of Ethiopia. The song "One of a Kind" was eventually included on Tone Norum's debut album "One of a Kind." Joey produced the album in 1986, as well as writing the songs and playing most of the instruments. John Norum, Mic Michaeli, and Ian Haugland also played on the album, which was the first album that Joey produced all by himself.

In 1991 Joey got together with John Norum to collaborate on John's second solo album, "Face the Truth," which was released the following year. The two of them recorded the duet "We Will Be Strong" and Joey co-wrote the song "Counting on Your Love."

Joey released his first solo album, "A Place to Call Home," on April 20, 1995. John Norum made a guest appearance on the song "Right to Respect." The album was influenced by singer-songwriters like Jackson Browne and Van Morrison, marking quite a change in style compared to Europe. "I needed a change from the Europe sound. I guess you could say that I had a reaction against the whole thing. I wanted to prove myself as a singer-songwriter for sure, but for me, it was more of a journey to learn about making music. I went to see a lot of new young artists, got into stuff like Van Morrison and Bob Dylan, so I went completely the other way. I wanted to know where everything came from and how things started, and so that’s what I did." The album was a success in Sweden, peaking at number 7 on the Swedish album chart.

Joey's second solo album, "Azalea Place," was released on April 25, 1997, and it also peaked at number 7 on the Swedish album chart. It was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. "After my first solo album, I went out to the States to work with Richard Dodd - who's this English guy living out in Nashville - on the second one, which kept me away from home for a long time. But it was something that I needed to do, I had to get it out of my system." The style of "Azalea Place" was more experimental than the first one, using influences from Irish and Spanish folk music. Joey played most of the instruments himself on the album. In the same year, he recorded the duet "Running With a Dream" with Canadian opera singer Anna Maria Kaufmann. It was written by Mike Batt and was the official anthem for Germany's national team in the Soccer World Cup in France 1998. Joey also sang on four other songs on Anna Maria's album "Blame It on the Moon," and "Running With a Dream" was included as a bonus track on the German edition of "Azalea Place." In 1998 Joey recorded a cover version of the Bruce Springsteen song "Born to Run," which was included on the album "Philharmania," a collection of classic rock songs performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under conduction by Mike Batt.

In 2001 Joey, Patrick Isaksson, and Anders Glenmark recorded a cover of the Pugh Rogefeldt song "Här Kommer Natten" (Here comes the night). It was the first time Joey officially recorded a song in Swedish, and the song was included on the compilation "Osannolikt Svenskt." In 2002 he co-wrote the song "Change" for the British duo Bowes & Morley, both former members of the band Thunder. The song was included on their album "Moving Swiftly Along."

The release date for Joey's third solo album, "Joey Tempest," was postponed many times, but it was finally released on October 21, 2002. This time Joey had gone back to the rock, marking a heavier sound compared to his previous albums. "I've discovered the feeling of playing in a rock band again. The energy feels a bit like Europe. I've also found my way back to the songwriting that I did during the Europe time. Several of the songs have a Tempest-spirit. Melodies, the heavy guitars..." Mic Michaeli co-wrote three songs on the album. The album peaked at number 12 on the Swedish album chart but received mixed reviews from the music press.

Several songs on the third album, "Joey Tempest," were co-written by Mic Michaeli. 2004 saw the release of Europe's comeback album, "Start from the Dark," featuring the band's classic Final Countdown line-up with John Norum on guitar. The following album, "Secret Society," was released in 2006, "Last Look at Eden" in 2009, "Bag of Bones" in 2012, "War of Kings" in 2015, and "Walk the Earth" in 2017.

Achievements

• 

  Joey Tempest has written hits like "The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night" and "Superstitious." Tempest and the band achieved nationwide success in Sweden in 1982 by recording the first album which was given the same name Europe. The 1984 album "Wings Of Tomorrow" was so successful, that it gave the possibility to Europe to tour the whole Scandinavia. Joey wrote numerous international hits. "The Final Countdown" was the most popular; it topped the sales chart in 26 countries, sold 8 million copies, was played at the closing ceremony at the 1988 Summer Olympics, and became the musical theme of the millennium celebrations.
  
  Europe released five albums between 1983 and 1991, with Joey Tempest as the singer, frontman and songwriter.

Works

More photos

• music

  • Europe 1983
  • Wings Of Tomorrow 1984
  • The Final Countdown 1986
  • Out Of This World 1988
  • Prisoners In Paradise 1991
  • Start from the Dark 2004
  • Secret Society 2006
  • Last Look at Eden 2009
  • Bag of Bones 2012
  • War Of Kings 2015
  • Walk The Earth 2017
  • A Place To Call Home 1995
  • Azalea Place 1997
  • Joey Tempest 2002

Religion

When Joey Tempest was asked if he believed in God, he said: "The jury is still out on that one for me. I’ve been on a long, amazing journey. I’m out there all the time and something has saved me and pulled me through all these years. I’d like to give myself some credit for that, but maybe I’ve had some help along the way."

Politics

Joey Tempest hasn't spoken clearly about his political views. Nevertheless, when he was asked about Brexit, he said: "I was born in Sweden but I consider London and the United Kingdom my home. I married an English girl and I’ve paid taxes for many many years. I’m a domicile but I don’t have a British passport. If I’d had the vote I’d be a Remainer. I’m in the music business, I’m an entertainer. Musicians all over the world, we write for each other and it doesn’t matter what country you’re from. Music is a free place and therefore we don’t want to fence anybody in."

He said about his song "The Final Countdown:" "The song took a life of its own. It has been used by political parties - both Hillary and Trump used it. The song has started to be played more around the new year, for new beginnings, but the ironic thing is it’s not really that positive. It’s melancholy, in a minor key. In the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties a big fat chunk of the money was record sales but that’s not happening anymore. I’ve noted that commercials, TV, and movies bring in more these days. I suppose if it gets played more on radio and TV that brings in more royalties. The name Europe wasn’t anything political, but it’s funny how everything comes together. We’re called Europe and we have "The Final Countdown" song, it’s crazy."

Views

Quotations: "Nothing is constant, except change."

"When you look for independence and you get what you want, how come you look back thinking what have I done?"

"A good song and good musicians can really move mountains."

"I have a theory - if the music is good and you have good musicians, the name doesn't matter that much. There are a lot of examples of that. The name is just a calling card."

Personality

Joey Tempest has a pet cat, horses Dutchess and Duko, dog Prince.

His favorite actor is Christopher Walke and his favorite actress is Ingrid Bergman. Favorite films are Back to Future, The Dead Zone.

Favorite colors - black, blue.

Favorite dish - meatballs and chicken wings.

He enjoys sports, such as football, ice hockey, and competed in go-cart; he once came in fourth place in the Junior Cart Race, a Swedish championship.

He wrote "Roll With You" for his friend, who is seriously ill and had been in a dark state of mind.

Physical Characteristics: Joey Tempest's height is 6' 1" or 1,85 m.

Interests

• drawing, horse riding, photography, cookery

• Writers

  Stephen King, George Orwell "1984," Keith Richards "Life"

• Sport & Clubs

  fotball, hockey, tennis, yoga

• Music & Bands

  Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Elton John, Elvis Presley

Connections

In 1992, the year that Europe went on hiatus, Joey met an English girl at the Piccadilly Circus in London. Her name was Lisa Worthington. She'd lost her wallet and Joey helped her find it. Half a year later she became his girlfriend.

On September 29, 2000, Joey and Lisa got married in Richmond, London. All the Europe members were invited, but John Levén couldn't come. "It was a beautiful wedding," John Norum said, "They had an orchestra there, playing Joey's songs. Joey laughed and was impressively calm the whole time. He made a cool speech." Eventually, Joey and Lisa moved to London.

On October 12, 2007, Lisa gave birth to Joey's son, James Joakim, at a hospital in London. The couple also has another son Jack Johnston.

He said about parenting: "After you become a father, you prioritize a lot more. I think it’s the same for a lot of dads. All the bullshit goes out the window and you only do the important stuff. For me, that’s writing for Europe and looking after my family. We’ve since changed the pattern of touring, and we never go away for longer than three weeks at a time anymore, because we don’t like to be away from home for too long. You become more humble as well, and you start realizing how lucky you are with your job. You want to be more careful and take better care of yourself, and you want to provide for your family too. So all of those things get in your head and you want to do the right things. It’s a good thing, I think. For me, it was amazing - a really emotional and spiritual experience."

Father:

Rolf Larsson

Mother:

Eva Larsson

Spouse:

Lisa Worthington

Son:

James Joakim Larsson

Son:

Jack Johnston Larsson

Sister:

Liselott Larsson

Brother:

Thomas Larsson

colleague:

John Norum

lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1979-1986, 1999, 2003-present)

colleague:

John Levén

bass (1981-1992, 1999, 2003-present)

colleague:

Mic Michaeli

keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1984-1992, 1999, 2003-present)

colleague:

Ian Haugland

drums, percussion, backing vocals (1984-1992, 1999, 2003-present)

colleague:

Tony Reno

drums, percussion (1979-1984)

colleague:

Peter Olsson

bass (1979-1981)

colleague:

Marcel Jacob

bass (1981; died 2009)

colleague:

Kee Marcello

lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (1986-1992, 1999)

References

• Europe official website
• Joey Tempest - Twitter
• Joey Tempest - Instagram photos and videos
• Joey Tempest - Facebook