A group of four talented young band members from Barry recently received a special personal message from Joey Tempest, the frontman of Swedish rock band Europe just before their debut concert performance.
In a pre-recorded message to The 8:48, he sent his good wishes to Kyle Bellamy (16), Dylan Hooper (17), Harrison Ollier (14) and Dylan Clarke (14) as they prepared for their very first concert – since held at Whitmore High School in Barry on Thursday, 28th April.
Swedish rock band Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s after the release of their third album The Final Countdown and have sold over 10 million albums worldwide.
Joey Tempest said: “Hi Joey here, sending some good wishes to Dylan, Kyle, Dylan and Harrison in the band 8:48.
“Your first gig guys, and you’re raising some money for Ukraine as well. Have a good one. It’s going to be great! See ya.”
The concert was a fundraising event in aid of the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and raised over £500.
After the concert, Dylan Clarke, the drummer of The 8:48 made comment to the Glamorgan Star: “It was such a shock but an amazing gesture to receive the message from Joey. It was so much fun to perform in front of an audience and we raised money for Ukraine along the way.”
Lead guitarist, Harrison Ollier added: “We are incredibly fortunate to get that kind of recognition from Joey as a young and upcoming band. The gig was great! We were met with enormous applause after every song.”
Bassist, pianist and songwriter, Dylan Hooper, said: “I am a Europe fan myself so it’s even more awesome. Joey wrote ‘The Final Countdown’ when he was a teenager so it would be mind-blowing for us to have that kind of success as well.
“At the end of the gig we received huge amounts of praise, including for our own songs which felt very gratifying.”
Lead singer and songwriter, Kyle Bellamy concluded: “It was such a nice thing for Joey to do and it really pumped us up for the gig.
“We’re so excited about the future of the band. We can’t wait to grow our audience, release music, and play even bigger and better gigs!”
The 8:48 would like to give special thanks to teachers Mr Hilbourne and Mr Piekielniak for their huge help with the stage, sound, lighting and for support throughout the organisation of the concert. Also, to Elliot Piekielniak and Lacey Williams for their help with lighting, and Jack Ollier for doing the photography.
The full clip from Joey Tempest and coverage of the concert can be viewed on The 8:48’s social media links: Twitter – @the8_48; Instagram – @the8_48; Facebook – @the8.48.
🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star 05.05.22
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