Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson (born 19 August 1963), known professionally as Joey Tempest, is a Swedish singer best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Europe. He has written the band's great hits such as "The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night", "Cherokee", and "Carrie". He started performing in 1979. Early life Rolf Magnus Joakim Larsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden on 19 August 1963. When he was eight years old, he would sit in front of the television or radio with a tape recorder and try to capture songs from the UK or US that he liked and listen to them over and over again. He learned how to play the piano and a friend of his father's taught him three chords (A, D, and E) on his sister's acoustic guitar. Larsson played football and ice hockey and competed in go-cart racing; he once came in fourth place in the Junior Cart Race, a Swedish championship. Like many of the other Europe members, Larsson grew up in Stockholm suburb Upplands Väsby. His biggest influences were Thin Lizzy and Led Zeppelin. During his teens, Larsson played in a number of bands such as Jet, Blazer, Made in Hong Kong, and Roxanne. At that time, Larsson alternated between playing rhythm guitar and bass, in addition to lead vocals. Career Europe In 1979, Larsson settled in with a self-created stage name, "Joey Tempest", inspired by William Shakespeare's tragicomedy The Tempest as well as the song "Sparks of the Tempest" by US prog rock band Kansas. He formed the band Force with guitarist John Norum, bassist Peter Olsson, and drummer Tony Reno. Force immediately began building a reputation and a fanbase in the suburbs of Stockholm. In 1982, they changed their name to Europe and won the music competition Rock-SM. The first prize was a record deal with Hot Records. With Tempest as the frontman, Europe released its self-titled debut studio album in 1983 and Wings of Tomorrow in 1984. During the years with Europe, Tempest wrote numerous international big hits. "The Final Countdown" was the biggest; it topped the sales chart in 26 countries, sold 15 million copies, was played at the closing ceremony of the 1987 EuroBasket and 1988 Summer Olympics, became the musical theme of the millennium celebrations and a ringtone in hundreds of thousands of mobile phones across the world. After The Final Countdown, Europe released two more