Sunday 15 February 2009

Sunday night rock 'n' roll covers

"The Final Countdown" is a rock song written by Joey Tempest for the Swedish rock band Europe. It was the first single released from the band's third studio album, The Final Countdown, in 1986. It is one of Europe's most recognizable and popular songs. The song reached No. 1 in 25 countries, including the United Kingdom. In the United States the song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 18 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single was certified Gold in the United Kingdom in 1986.

I've never understood why The Final Countdown has been so derided; it seems a pretty good song to me even if it does represent the height of European Pomp Rock. When I said I was doing cover versions on Sunday night I never said they'd be good covers and this one is so bad as to be a classic in its own right, which is demonstrated by the fact it's had over a million views on YouTube...!

The Original - Europe (Live)



The Cover - Some School Band (also live, unfortunately)



(Nothing Follows)