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| Length = | Label = Epic | Writer = Joey Tempest | Producer = Kevin Elson | Certification = | Last single = "Rock the Night" (1985) | This single = "The Final Countdown" (1986) | Next single = "Love Chaser" (1986) | Misc = }} "The Final Countdown" is a song by Swedish rock 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, including the United Kingdom, and was certified gold in the United Kingdom in 1986.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Certificatied Award )〕 In the United States the song peaked at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at No. 18 on the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart. ==Origin and recording== The song was based on a keyboard riff which Joey Tempest had written, as early as 1981 or 1982, on a Korg Polysix keyboard which he had borrowed from keyboardist Mic Michaeli. In 1985, bassist John Levén suggested that Tempest should write a song based on that riff.〔 Tempest recorded a demo version of the song and played it for the other band members. At first the members expressed mixed reactions to it, including guitarist John Norum: "When I first heard the synth intro to 'The Final Countdown', my reaction was: 'No, this is nuts. We just can't use this.' Thank God they didn't listen to me." Tempest described their uncertainty: "Some of the guys in the band thought it was too different for a rock band. But in the end I fought hard to make sure it got used."〔 The song's lyrics were inspired by David Bowie's song "Space Oddity".〔 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,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url= http://www.musicplayers.com/features/bands_general/2006/1206_Europe.php )〕 as described by Michaeli: "I made a brassy sound from the JX-8P and used a factory sound from the Yamaha, and just layered them together."〔 When it was time to choose the first single from the album ''The Final Countdown'', Tempest suggested the song "The Final Countdown".〔 The band had not originally planned to release the song as a single, and some members wanted "Rock the Night" to be the first single.〔〔 "The Final Countdown" was written to be an opening song for concerts, and they never thought it would be a hit.〔 When their record company Epic Records suggested, however, that it should be the first single, the band decided to release it. 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." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Final Countdown (song)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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