John Gunnar Levén (born 25 October 1963) is a Swedish bassist in the rock band
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Levén and vocalist
Joey Tempest are the only band members who have performed on all of Europe's studio albums.
Career
Levén was born in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. When he was seven years old, he and his family moved to the suburb
Upplands Väsby
Upplands Väsby () is a locality and the seat of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 48,907 inhabitants in 2020.
History
The municipality has a long history with clear traces of settlements from the pre-Christian time ...
, where several members of Europe grew up. He joined the band in 1981, replacing
Peter Olsson. In 1985 Levén was the one who suggested that Tempest should write a song based on an old keyboard riff that the vocalist had written around 1981-82. The result was the song "
The Final Countdown".
After Europe went on hiatus in 1992, Levén recorded and toured with bands like
Brazen Abbot,
Clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...
,
Last Autumn's Dream, Southpaw, Europe colleague
John Norum
John Terry Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-born Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Biography
As an infant, Norum moved ...
and former
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
/
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
vocalist
Glenn Hughes.
Europe reunited in 2003, and Levén co-wrote the single "
Always the Pretenders" from the 2006 album ''
Secret Society
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
'', with Tempest. He also co-wrote the song "The Beast" on the 2009 album ''
Last Look at Eden''.
Personal life
Levén has three sons, Daniel, Alex and Adrian.
John Levén's official Facebook page
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Discography
Europe
*''Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
'' (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
A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ag ...
'' (2006)
*'' Last Look at Eden'' (2009)
*'' Bag of Bones'' (2012)
*'' War of Kings'' (2015)
*'' Walk the Earth'' (2017)
Other artists
* Glenn Hughes - '' From Now On...'' (1994)
* Glenn Hughes - '' Burning Japan Live'' (1994)
* Thin Lizzy Tribute - ''The Lizzy Songs'' (1995)
* Johansson Brothers - ''Sonic Winter'' (1996)
* Brazen Abbot - ''Eye of the Storm'' (1996)
* Clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...
- ''Nostalgia'' (1996)
* Brazen Abbot - ''Bad Religion'' (1997)
* Clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions or senses of rotation. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands relative to the observer: from the top to the right, then down and then to ...
- ''Naïve'' (1998)
* Southpaw - ''Southpaw'' (1998)
* Thore Skogman - ''Än Är Det Drag'' (1998)
* Nikolo Kotzev - '' Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus'' (2001)
* Brazen Abbot - ''Guilty as Sin'' (2003)
* Last Autumn's Dream - ''Last Autumn's Dream'' (2003)
* Jayce Landberg
''Good Sleepless Night''
(2010)
* Crowne - Kings in the North (2021)
References
External links
*
Europe's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leven, John
1963 births
Living people
Musicians from Stockholm
Europe (band) members
Swedish bass guitarists
Swedish heavy metal bass guitarists
Swedish male musicians
Brazen Abbot members
Last Autumn's Dream members
Clockwise (band) members