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The Final Countdown (song)

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"The Final Countdown"
Song
B-side"On Broken Wings"

"The Final Countdown" is a song by the Swedish band Europe, released in 1986. Written by Joey Tempest, it was the first single from the band's third studio album which was also named The Final Countdown. The song reached No. 1 in 25 countries,[2] including the United Kingdom, and was certified gold in the United Kingdom in 1986.[3] In the United States the song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Composition

The song is played in the key of F-sharp minor while the guitar solo is in the key of B minor.

Origin and recording

The song was based on a keyboard riff that Joey Tempest had written as early as 1981–82,[4] on a Korg Polysix keyboard he borrowed from keyboardist Mic Michaeli.[5][6] In 1985, bassist John Levén suggested that Tempest should write a song based on that riff.[4] Tempest recorded a demo version of the song and played it for the other band members.[7] At first the members expressed mixed reactions to it. "When I first heard the synth intro to 'The Final Countdown', my reaction was: 'No, this is nuts. We just can't use this,'" guitarist John Norum said, "Thank God they didn't listen to me."[8] "Some of the guys in the band thought it was too different for a rock band," Tempest said, "But in the end I fought hard to make sure it got used."[8]

The song's lyrics were inspired by David Bowie's song "Space Oddity".[8] The sound of the keyboard riff used in the recording was achieved by using a Yamaha TX-816 rack unit and a Roland JX-8P synthesizer.[9] "I made a brassy sound from the JX-8P and used a factory sound from the Yamaha, and just layered them together," Michaeli said.[9]

When it was time to choose the first single from the album The Final Countdown, Tempest suggested the song "The Final Countdown".[7] Originally the band had never planned to release the song as a single, and some members wanted "Rock the Night" to be the first single.[7][8] "The Final Countdown" was written to be an opening song for concerts, and they never thought it would be a hit.[7] But when their record company Epic Records suggested that it should be the first single, the band decided to release it.[10]

As Tempest stated:

"It’s always a nice feeling. Sometimes you hear it on the streets or someone has it on their mobile phone or something… it’s a nice feeling! Actually, I did an interview about a year ago with a newspaper from America and they talked about how much it’s been used in sports in America… which I didn’t know so much about. Apparently it has been used a lot and it was nice to hear. The ironic thing, though, is that the song was actually written for the fans. It was over six minutes long and was never meant to be a hit or anything like that. It was meant to be an opening for the “live” show. We were putting out our third album and we wanted a really “grand” opening for the show. So, I had that “riff” tucked away in a drawer since my college years and I took it out, found a tempo for it, wrote lyrics and it turned out to be a great opening for that album and for the show as well. Nowadays, we don’t rehearse it but when we play it live, it is still just so amazing! It does communicate so well with the audience and we really love playing it."[11]

Release and reception

"The Final Countdown" was released in the spring of 1986 and became the most successful song from The Final Countdown on the American rock charts as well as the band's most recognizable and popular song.[12] It appeared on Billboard magazine's Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching the top 10. The following week it debuted on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, where it peaked at number 18 in its eighth week and remained on the chart until its 20th week. The band's next hit was "Superstitious," which achieved a higher chart position on the Mainstream Rock Tracks.

In Canada, the song reached the top ten on the Canadian Singles Chart, peaking at number five and becoming the band's highest charting song in that country. "The Final Countdown" reached number three in the UK, eventually spending two weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in December, and was the only single from the album that charted in the UK top 20. "The Final Countdown" reached number 1 in 25 countries,[2] including France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Italy.

Trivia

The song enjoys notable popularity in many sports arenas, stadiums, and venues; public address booths have often played the opening keyboard riff to rally the home crowd; it has also become a staple of high school and college pep bands for this same purpose.[11]

The song was named the 66th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[13] Blender included it as the 27th worst song ever,[14] and both VH1 and Blender included it at 16 on the list of the "Most Awesomely Bad Songs...Ever".[15]

Swedish metal band Sabaton has The Final Countdown playing to the crowd just before they enter the stage at their concerts.[16]

In the American television sitcom Arrested Development, the character of GOB Bluth uses The Final Countdown frequently as an intro to his magic shows.

Music video

File:Europe The Final Countdown music video.jpg
A still from the music video for "The Final Countdown".

The video, directed by Nick Morris, contains footage from two concerts the band did at Solnahallen in Solna, Sweden on 26 and 27 May 1986, as well as some extra footage filmed at the sound checks for those concerts.[7]

Live performances

The song has been a regular in Europe concerts ever since its live debut on the premiere of their Final Countdown Tour in April 1986. One of the most memorable performances of the song took place in Stockholm, Sweden on 31 December 1999, as part of the Millennium celebrations, as it was the first, and to date only, Europe performance with both of the band's lead guitarists, the original guitarist John Norum and his replacement, Kee Marcello.[17][18]

Cover versions

The song has been covered by various artists; including Affiance, After Forever, Crazy Frog, Dannii Minogue, Dispatched, Freezepop, Furillo, Geoff Downes, Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Immolation, Leif Garrett, London Symphony Orchestra, Melo-M, Norther, Gigi D'Agostino, Stone, The Delegates, The Protomen, Toy Dolls, and Vision Divine. Slovenian avant-garde group Laibach made a rework of the song for their NATO album, they also recorded a promo clip.[citation needed]

A cover by a band called Deep Sunshine has brought an additional notoriety to the song. Deep Sunshine's live performance was captured on video and later became a variation of a Rickroll on Fark.com, receiving over 1 million views on YouTube. The video has been entitled "Worst cover ever" on YouTube, its success stemming for its lack of artistic value.[19][20]

Sales certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21] Gold 50,000^
France (SNEP)[22] Platinum 1,000,000*
Sweden (GLF)[23] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

"The Final Countdown 2000"

"The Final Countdown"
Song
B-side"The Final Countdown" (Original Radio Edit)

In 1999, the dance remix "The Final Countdown 2000" was released. It was produced by Brian Rawling, who had previously had success with "Believe" by Cher. The single release caused minor controversy as the first pressing had a misprint that left out the first "o" in "Countdown," spelling the word "Cuntdown." The band's reaction to the remix was less than enthusiastic. "That remix was a disaster," drummer Ian Haugland said, "I wouldn't pass water on it if it was on fire!"[25]

Personnel

Chart positions

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