Speaking with Classic Rock, Europe frontman Joey Tempest reflected on his encounters with artists including Phil Lynott, Lemmy, Freddie Mercury, Jon Bon Jovi and more. Following is an excerpt from his rundown of memories.

Lemmy

Tempest: "A couple of us from the band met him at his second home, the Rainbow (Bar & Grill on Sunset Strip in LA). He was playing the pinball machine, as ever. Somebody said: 'Hi, we’re from the rock band Europe.' Lemmy didn’t even look up. He just replied: 'Europe’s not a rock band.' Such a cool reply. We were absolutely stunned. But we laughed about it and got on fine. A few weeks later we got our own back when Kerrang! famously reviewed one of our gigs and said that we were 'louder than Motorhead.'

Freddie Mercury

Tempest: "I’m afraid we pissed Freddie off. We were at Townhouse Studios (in London), sound-checking Ian Haugland’s drums with producer Ron Nevison for the Out Of This World album (1988). All of a sudden this face, a bit red, appeared and announced: 'You must be joking.' Freddie was in the room next to us, trying to record some opera music, and we hadn’t closed the door properly. He said: 'Your drums are going straight into our mixing console. Would you please keep it down.' Very posh, very eloquent, but quite annoyed."

Jon Bon Jovi

Tenpest: "Jon and I have had a few encounters over the years. The first time was at Top Of The Pops. 'The Final Countdown' was #1 and I think 'Livin’ On A Prayer' was in the Top 10. Although the media probably perceives there to be a bit of a rivalry, we always get along great. On one occasion in Japan we sang a song together – 'Get Back' by The Beatles – at a Tokyo band competition. 

There’s a lot of mutual respect, and we grew up listening to most of the same bands; people like Thin Lizzy. The press always put us on the same page. And I have been mistaken for Jon Bon Jovi, but not so much these days. It used to happen on the street quite a lot. Someone screams: 'Hey! Jon Bon Jovi!' I just smile. It’s kinda funny."

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The organizers of the annual Rock Meets Classic tour through Germany recently checked in with the following announcement:

"It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce today that unfortunately we have to move the planned tour in April 2021 to 2022 The current situation due to the ongoing pandemic does not allow the concerts to be performed regularly. And here's the good news - almost all of our guests 2021 will also be on the RMC Tour 2022.

The whole Rock Meets Classic team would like to thank all of their fans for understanding in this absolute exceptional situation and hope they continue to stay loyal. More dates are in the making and will be announced shortly! Tickets already purchased remain valid."

For updates and ticket information go to the official Rock Meets Classic website here.