EARLY YEARS

(click here for the previous part)

But John decided that he had had enough of the cute image, play-back, TV shows etc and he told the band he'd quit. He gave them enough time to find a replacement. Kee Marcello became the new Europe guitarist. Last John's performance live with Europe was in Amsterdam on October 31^st 1986. The show was broadcast live on Sky Channel. On November 1^st he was on his own. Immediately after leaving Europe John formed a new band. His bassist friend Marcel Jacob (ex Power and Yngwie Malmsteen, Talisman) joined it. The first single "LET ME LOVE YOU" was released on October 16^th 1987 (it reached the 2^nd place in the Swedish charts), and on the same month 29^th came out "TOTAL CONTROL". John showed his great affection for Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy by recording Lizzy songs as B-sides. The band was, besides John and Marcel, drummers Henrik "Hempo" Hildén (ex-Trash) and Peter Hermansson (220 Volt), vocalist Göran Edman (ex-Madison and Glory) and Mats Lindfors on rhythm guitar and keyboards. "TOTAL CONTROL" is dedicated to Tommy Östervik, one of John’s friends and heroes, who drowned the same night as Europe played the show that later was broadcast on Swedish TV. The tour started on February 2^nd 1988 and finished on March 19^th supporting Ace Frehley at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in March (part of that show has been released as Ace Frehley "12 PICKS"). Other two singles and videoclips were released to promote this album: “LOVE IS MEANT (TO LAST FOREVER)” and “BACK ON THE STREETS”.

Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) partnered with John Norum with the intention of a long term band project - Hughes/Norum - as reported in an interview with Swedish music magazine Okej with the journalist Anders Tegner, who introduced Glenn to John in London. John and Glenn started to rehearse with members of Norum's solo band. Glenn was a vocalist as well as bass player. John, Glenn, Mats and Hempo played only one live show at Rock SM on May 21^st 1988 which was broadcast on Swedish National TV. Songs played included "I Got Your Number", "Reach For The Sky" and "Still The Night". Glenn's first words when entering the stage were "...it's been a long time, but it's great to be back. Please let me present my new partner, John Norum - great don't you think?". Due to Glenn's still on-going battle with substance abuse, the partnership never flourished and this appearance marked the end of the planned project. Two months later, John played with Yngwie Malmsteen as guest musicians in Tone Norum’s album “THIS TIME”, which was produced by Joey Tempest again.

Marcel and Göran were brought in again for a late summer tour in the Northern Sweden and Norway.

In 1988 John got in touch with Don Dokken for the first time; in September 1989 John moved to Los Angeles and he was brought in as the new guitarist of Dokken. As things turned out though, Don Dokken wasn't allowed to use his family name as a band name again, instead it became to be a Don Dokken solo-album. The album with Don Dokken " UP FROM THE ASHES" was released in 1990, with a following tour in Japan. The line up included also former Accept bassist Peter Baltes. Two singles and videoclips were released to promote this album: “MIRROR MIRROR” and “STAY”. In the same year, CBS released "LIVE IN STOCKHOLM", with 3 tracks ("Eternal Flame", Don't Believe A World" and "Blind") recorded live in March 1988 and one track ("Free Birds In Flight") recorded in 1987.

John put also in a brief appearance with Don Dokken in the Tommy Chong's first solo production "FAR OUT MAN" (also known as "SOUL MAN II"). As a result of the work with Glenn Hughes "L.A. BLUES AUTHORITY" and "FACE THE TRUTH" were released in 1992. The main vocal parts on the “Face The Truth” album were handled by Glenn. Hempo Hildén once more supplied the drums, although Mothörhead man Mikkey Dee also guested. The album featured a faithful cover of Thin Lizzy's “Opium Trail” for good measure. On the "Face The Truth" European version, there's a duet with Joey Tempest: "WE WILL BE STRONG"  - with Peter Baltes on bass again - was released as a first single and a video was made for it. With the right promotion this could have been a hit all over the world... But someone put the lid on, hits never been his thing. Two singles more were released: “FACE THE TRUTH” and “IN YOUR EYES”. In 1992 Joey hung around John quite a lot, Europe had split up (or was taking a long break as they preferred to state) and Joey wanted to reform the original Europe's line-up. John had no plans in that direction, he enjoyed California far too much as well as the life as an independent solo artist; he pointed out the benefits of being on his own: to decide over his own material, the directions, the musicians and have it in his own pace. And so it happened, for both. In August John joined Joey Tempest on stage at the Waterfestival in Stockholm. One would be expected for to see them announced, but it was all in a moment of surprise so still today nobody seems to know about it. John didn't enter Swedish ground again until January 1994 when he teamed up with some Swedish rockers to do a "The Boys Are Back In Town" tour over 10 days, it began in Stockholm on 4^th and ended in Malmö on 14^th. They performed all sorts of rock classics including "The Sun Goes Down", "Don't Believe A Word" and "Bad Reputation" by Thin Lizzy. They also performed "People Get Ready" by Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart fame, to name but a few. In 1994 he played as guest guitarist in Phantom Blue’s album “BUILT TO PERFORM” (with his girlfriend Michelle Meldrum, lead guitarist, who in 1995 became his wife) and in the Deep Purple's tribute "SMOKE ON THE WATER - A TRIBUTE" in which he played "Stormbringer" with Glenn Hughes as singer. In July he recorded his 3^rd solo album, "ANOTHER DESTINATION", with Kelly Keeling (of Baton Rouge and Blue Murder fame), Fleetwood Mac bassist Tom Lilly and former Gary Moore drummer Gary Ferguson. It was released in Japan on July 1995. Only one promo single was released before this album, "STRANGE DAYS". It became also a videoclip. And it was time for Sweden again. The tour kicked off in Göteborg on March 31^st and took them around the Country. With John on this tour were Kelly Keeling and Michelle Meldrum. She teamed up with the boys on "Bad Reputation". John Levén from Europe played bass and Niclas Sigevall from Electric Boys played drums.

On August 1995 at a Tribute concert held in Los Angeles at The Palace he teamed up with Carmine Appice (former King Cobra, Blue Murder etc). John recorded "Massacre" for a Thin Lizzy tribute album called "THE LIZZY SONGS - A TRIBUTE TO PHIL LYNOTT" (then released in 1997). In the same year, John recorded also "Right To Respect" for Joey Tempest's solo album and single "A PLACE TO CALL HOME".

Surprisingly, John would then team up with UFO lynch-pins Phil Mogg and Pete Way in late 1995 following Michael Schenker's disappearance. The liaison was brief due to Schenker's enforcement of a contract stipulating the band could only be titled UFO with his involvement. And the "Walk On Water" tour went belly-up.

In 1996 he recorded "Cold Gin" for the tribute album "SPACEWALK - A SALUTE TO ACE FREHLEY". The same year, on December 21^st, "WORLDS AWAY" (with Kelly Keeling and Peter Baltes back on board) was released in Japan; the album was released in Sweden through Svensk Musik Distribution (M-D) on May 16^th 1997 and "WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN" was released as a single to support the album. John Norum kicked off a pre-tour in Karlskrona Sweden on April 24^th 1997. One of the four dates took place in Upplands Väsby. In the end of 1997 John did some more work briefly with Don Dokken, after George Lynch had left the band: he went to the States for just over a month to finish the tour. John put together a live band for a Japanese tour, these shows being recorded for the “FACE IT LIVE '97” album. Joining him onstage were Michael Schenker Group and Great King Rat vocalist Leif Sundin and his Great King Rat colleague Anders Fästader (previously known as Anders Nilsson). "FACE IT LIVE '97" was released by Zero in Japan. The album was released later in Sweden too, but once again a wrong promotion killed it. Shrapnel took off four tracks and released it in the US. In the same year, on October was released "CHANNEL MIND RADIO - GUITAR ZEUS 2" by Carmine Appice, in which John played "Nothing".
In 1998 John toured in Sweden with his John Norum Group (JNG). He almost got to tour with UFO under the name Lights Out, but as Michael Schenker heard the rumours he returned to the band. JNG were: Hempo Hildén on drums, Leif Sundin as vocalist, Anders Fästader on bass and John on guitars. On June 5^th JNG performed at Sweden Rock Festival in Karlshamn. On the same month and only for a single date, Ian Haugland was the drummer and Stefan Rodin the bass player. In the same year, John recorded 2 tracks for "ABOVE & BEYOND" by Midnight Sun, a Swedish metal band. In March 1999, during the Italian tour, the drummer Thomas Broman and the bass player John Léven joined the JNG. In August he performed as guest guitar player with Brian "Robbo" Robertson (Thin Lizzy, Mothörhead, Wild Horses) in the last Lotus' gig in Sala (Sweden). In the  same month, with his wife Michelle, Robbo, Leif Sundin and Marcel Jacob, John played in a magnificent jam session at Anchor Pub in Stockholm. Between 1999 and 2000 the line up changed again, with Thomas Broman and Leif Sundin as confirmed members and the guitarist Fredrik Åkesson as guest and Marcel Jacob alternated to John Levén on bass. In June 1999 John performed live with Motörhead as special guest at Sweden Rock Festival in Norje, he played the last song of the set, "Killed By Death".

In August he toured in Finland and Sweden with Five Fifteen and Lotus. John was the guest artist on the last gig in Sala, Sweden. Actually Lotus was technically a trio but for this latest outing, the seven years old band recruited former Thin Lizzy guitar specialist Brian Robertson and the Swedish guitar hero John Norum does a brief guest spot here as well in "Peace in Mind". In October, during the release party at Valand in Gothenburg for Lotus CD "A Taster For The Big One", Lizzy's "Gonna Creep Up On You" was one of the highlights from the gig and once again John played guitar on the encores. In the meantime, John's album "SLIPPED INTO TOMORROW" was released in Japan. John recorded also "Eighteen" for the tribute album "HUMANARY STEW - A TRIBUTE TO ALICE COOPER".

(click here for the following part)

* let’s pass over… J

Biography written by the webmistress. Infos taken from checked music sites.