Interview: Ian Haugland, Europe

Europe make their Itunes Festival debut supporting Foreigner. The band are also in town to play at Sonisphere in Knebworth. EF catches up with Europe's drummer Ian Haugland to share his thoughts on festivals and funny tour anecdotes.

Welcome back to London Ian Haughland.

Thank. Its great to be back. We just flew in today (Sunday) at 1pm.

The last time you guys played here was at Shepherds Bush Empire back in February ?
Yes thats right.

What can we expect from your show tonight and at Sonisphere ?

Well we mix things up a lot from show to show. We’ll be playing a mix of old and new stuff.

You guys have played a lot of festivals. Which has been the best festival and one you’ve enjoyed the most ?

It's hard to say. I think all different countries have a certain kind of charm. Its always something special to play in England because all the bands we grew up listening to were British Hard rock bands  from the 70s - Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and UFO, those bands. So it’s always great to play in Britain. This is like the cradle of rock. The UK. This is where all the influential bands for us came from. It’s like an extra honour to play in England.

Do you find fans here are more vocal and they sing out the songs to you a lot more ?

If you were to go for the noisiest audience, I would say Italy or maybe Spain cause they are totally crazy (the audience). In South America we played last year in Santiago. The crowd were so loud that I couldn’t actually hear myself playing. 

Really ?

Yeah. I don’t know I can’t really say that I like this or that country better. It seems like Europe is a global universal band.  So it’s great just being able to do it.

And obviously when you’re playing back home, you feel more at home ?

That’s right When we play in Sweden its also  a certain feeling. That’s our home ground so its special in that way.

Have you had any funny Spinal Tap moments on Tour ?

Oh yeah there’s stuff happening all the time. People getting lost. I remember on the last tour. Mic (Michaeli - kyeboards) forgot his passport. We were in Spain playing in Madrid and we were going to play in Zurich. And on the way from the hotel to the airport, Mic discovered that he left his passport in his touring gear in the truck. So he couldn’t get a hold of his passport. And so he couldn’t get on the plane. We got on the plane but Mic had to stay in Madrid to try and get another passport and it took some time for him. He tried to get hold of a hotel  because he didn’t have anywhere to sleep and when he tried to check in he wasn’t allowed to do it because he didn’t have a passport so he ended up sleeping with the druggies out in the park. (laughs).

That’s very rock and roll!

Yeah! And then after that once he got hold of his passport he had to take a bus from Madrid to another city in order to catch a plane to Zurich and that was a bus ride of 12 hour. So he had a real nightmare journey. And when we were actually on the way to Zurich. We were thinking how can we play these songs without keyboards.  Joey can you play the Final Countdown (laughs) ?

You’re supporting Foreigner tonight. Are there any favourite bands you’ve toured with in the past that you enjoyed touring with ?

We opened up for Kiss earlier this Summer  and that was great.

Did you get to meet Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley ?

We didn’t have time to meet them or rather they didn’t get a chance to meet us as they were busy doing promo work all the time.  But we got to play in front of that crowd and it was the first time we’ve played at Stockholm Stadium and its like Sweden’s outdoor Olympic Stadium. It was amazing! 30,000-33,000 people. We also played with Whitesnake and also with Deep Purple a few years ago so we get to play with a lot of..

Your idols ?

Yeah our idols, our favourite bands from the past which was great and it was nice to meet all these people because it gives you a lot of inspiration when you talk to other musicians.

Do you find its changed the way you play, your playing style ?

I think so. Some small things I’ve picked up but it’s not so much about the actual playing. I think I’ve found my sole way of playing but sometimes you try different things and different equipment. It’s more tricks and tips that you swap with other musicians. And I think it’s great fun and its a great job to be able to meet so many inspiring people.

Last Question. You had a big break between 1992-2002. Do you think that it has prolonged the band’s longevity ? Do you think you can now go for another 10-20 years ?

Absolutely! Absolutely! I think we needed that break. At the end of the 80s we were really burnt out. We’d been touring a lot. We had some problems with management and the record company and we felt really fed up and we didn’t want to do it anymore. We needed a break. And the good thing, during that break we had time to play with different artists and release solo albums. We had time to start missing each other. Then when we got together for the Millennium Eve celebrations in Stockholm, we found out we still had that vibe.We still had that magic touch within the band.

And John Norum returned.

John Norum was back. The tension was there. It felt right. So then it took another two years before we actually started playing but we definitely felt that this is where we are at home. So the way I see it, we don’t see the end of our career. We’re going to go on doing this as long as we’re having fun.

Like Aerosmith ?

Exactly. Just like Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. Those guys.

Thank you very much Ian Haugland for sharing your time with us.

Thank you!