EUROPE: IAN HAUGLAND
Questions asked by Jon Wilde, added to Rock Realms 17th November 2009.
You've got to love the band Europe. They were on top of the world in the 1980's, producing one of the biggest rock songs ever. Then, for most people, they disappeared without trace. Of course...they didn't, they had a brief break in the 1990's but have since recorded and released another 3 albums. Their live shows are still the stuff of legend and they even topped the charts in their home country of Sweden with their latest album, Last Look At Eden. Not bad for a band who normally generate the response, 'Are they still going?'!
Drummer Ian Haugland answers questions.
Photo Credit: Fredrik Etoall
Hi Ian, thanks for taking a moment to answer these questions. Hope you are well?
Ian: Hi. Yes I´m just great, feels wonderful to be back on tour again.
How does it feel still playing to sold-out venues and hitting the top of the charts 25 years after joining Europe?
Ian: I think it´s amazing that we still can do this at this respectable level after all these years. Many of the bands from the 80´s have never gotten a chance to do this again. I guess we must have done something right!
How did you start playing drums? Are you any good on any other instruments?
Ian: I was always interested in hitting things, like my mothers pots and pans when I was around 5 - 6 years old. When I was around 8 I heard Paranoid with Black Sabbath for the first time on the radio and it was something about that kind of music that spellbound me. Since that moment I started listening to the more heavy rock of the time. When I heard Deep purple, Budgie & Led Zeppelin i was sure that this music was going to play an important role in my life.
I can play some keyboards and guitar, but not good enough to let other people listen.
Who were your early heroes/inspirations?
Ian: When I heard Cozy Powell playing double bass drums on the song "A Light in the Black" on the album Rainbow Rising I decided that I also wanted to become a hard rock drummer. Other drummers that influenced me are Ian Paice from Deep Purple, John Bonham from Led Zeppelin & Carmine Appice from Cactus.
How did you end up joining Europe?
Ian: I used to play in a band called Trilogy before Europe, and we were playing the same local music festivals around Stockholm. The guys in Europe got to see me at some point and liked my drumming. When Tony Reno, Europe´s first drummer left the band, I was the first drummer they called.
Am I right in thinking your first album with them was The Final Countdown? You must have felt like you’d landed on your feet with the success the album had?!
Ian: That´s right. TFC was my first album with Europe. I was chocked that it took off to become such a mega success for us. It was amazing!
Photo Credit: Fredrik Etoall
Was there one moment that made you think, “We’re actually kind of famous now!”?
Ian: Yes... When I heard that my brother picked up girls by saying that he was the brother of Ian Haugland from Europe!
What was it like in the heyday of rock and metal scene in the late 80’s? Were you living in a dream?
Ian: The 80´s were totally outrageous, the hair, the clothes, the sound on the albums, the excesses. I guess you could say it was a bit like living in a dream.
Do you have any favourite memories from back then?
Ian: Becoming no 1. in UK with The Final Countdown. That was very prestigious and cool.
You certainly kept yourself busy during Europe’s hiatus in the 1990s. How did you get involved with artists like Glenn Hughes, Brazen Abbot etc.?
Ian: I joined Glenn Hughes after his record company called me and asked me if I was interested. The first thing i did with Glenn was to record two Deep Purple songs Burn and You Keep on Moving. That was really cool. Brazen Abbot i got in touch with through a friend who knew Nikolo Kotzev. I also helped Nikolo get in touch with Glenn Hughes.
Is there anyone else you’d still like to work with, and are you planning any more side projects?
Ian: I feel very happy with being a member of Europe, but I have been thinking about doing a solo album at some point.
Have you always been a hard working chap, or do you manage to find time to relax?
Ian: I like staying busy but I don´t really think of playing music as a job, it´s simply a part of my life.
Do you have any interesting hobbies?
Ian: Nothing really interesting, but I like doing some reading, watching movies and collecting records.
Do you still find time to host your radio show in Sweden?
Ian: I still have my own afternoon show at Rockklassiker, but right now I have a stand in guy doing the show while I´m on tour.
Onto the new album... How would you compare it to Start From The Dark and Secret Society – and how does it compare to Europe’s older work?
Ian: I think Last Look at Eden is a lot more "straight from the heart" than Secret Society and Start from the Dark. We didn't analyse the song writing so much on the new album. We just let the song take on it´s own life.
How did you find the writing and recording process?
Ian: This album we did a lot more jamming on the different ideas, sending sound files between us on the web that allowed us to add our ideas to the songs at an early stage. The recording went very fast as well. I put down the drum tracks in 2 days. The rest of the time was "beer time" for me. I think Joey and Mic did an amazing job producing much of the album.
The new songs seem to go down really well live. Are you surprised that people have taken to them so quickly or did you always have a sneaky feeling they would?
Ian: It´s always hard to tell before how the new songs are gonna be received by the crowd. But this time we actually felt extra confident about the songs. They seem to have gone down great so far.
It was great to hear Europe playing some of the tracks with really heavy beats and double kick drums. Do you have any favourite live songs?
Ian: Right now it´s No Stone Unturned & The Beast from the new album, but it varies from day to day.
My only criticism of Europe’s live show is that you have too many good songs and therefore are never going to be able to play all of them. Is it a struggle putting together a set list and having to miss off really amazing songs?
Ian: It sure is a bit of a bitch to try and squeeze all the songs we want to play into the set, but I think it´s a rather positive problem though.
Photo Credit: Patric Ullaeus
I’ve already asked Joey this, so it’s your turn now... What is the thing on the front of the new album?
Ian: An apple with spikes... What else?
What was the last album you bought, and what are your top 5 albums of all time?
Ian: The last album that i bought was Joe Perry's new solo album "Have Guitar Will Travel"
My top 5 albums are: 1. Rainbow Rising - Rainbow 2. Relayer - Yes 3. Brain Salad Surgery - Emerson Lake & Palmer 4. Burn - Deep Purple 5. Black Rose - Thin Lizzy
What question do you hate being asked? Have I avoided it?
Ian: I don´t try to avoid any questions really.
Any question you love being asked that I’ve missed? If so, what’s the answer?
Ian: Not really, I think you done a great job!
What are you up to once you’ve finished answering these questions?
Ian: Playing a show here in Osnabruck, Germany.
Anything else you would like to mention?
Ian: Last Look at Eden kicks ass!
Thanks for your time :)
See Europe on tour in the UK during February 2010. Very special guest is Diamond Head.
Leeds 02 Academy (Feb 18)
Birmingham O2 Academy (Feb 19)
02 London Shepherd’s Bush Empire (Feb 20)
Oxford O2 Academy (Feb 22)
Bournemouth O2 Academy (Feb 23)
Bristol O2 Academy (Feb 24)
Manchester Academy 2 (Feb 26)
Newcastle O2 Academy (Feb 27)
Glasgow O2 ABC (Feb 28)
Ticket Hotline: 0844 477 2000, http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/
The new Europe album, Last Look At Eden, is out now. Check out the Rock Realms review here. Thanks again to Ian for his time.
Photo Credit: Christie Goodwin
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