"Hero" is a 2004 single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 released by the Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Europe

Europe (band)

Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...

. It was released on September 20, 2004, as the second single from the band's album Start from the Dark

Start from the Dark

Start from the Dark is the sixth studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. It was released on September 22, 2004, by Sanctuary Records...

. The song was written by vocalist Joey Tempest

Joey Tempest

Joey Tempest is the vocalist and main songwriter in the Swedish heavy metal band Europe. He has written hits like "The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night" and "Superstitious".-Early life:...

 as a tribute to Phil Lynott

Phil Lynott

Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....

, the frontman of the Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 hard rock band Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...

, and was inspired by a meeting between Tempest and Lynott.

The song's music video tells a story of aspiring young rock musicians, interspersed with clips of the band on tour. The video is a tribute to Phil Lynott.

Personnel

• Joey Tempest
  Joey Tempest
  Joey Tempest is the vocalist and main songwriter in the Swedish heavy metal band Europe. He has written hits like "The Final Countdown", "Rock the Night" and "Superstitious".-Early life:...
  
   − vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• John Norum
  John Norum
  John Norum is a rock music guitarist and founder of the Swedish band Europe . Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a side solo project...
  
   − guitars
  Electric guitar
  An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
  
  
• John Levén
  John Levén
  John Gunnar Levén is the bassist in the Swedish rock band Europe. Levén and vocalist Joey Tempest are the only band members who have performed on all of Europe's studio albums....
  
   − bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  
• Mic Michaeli
  Mic Michaeli
  Gunnar Mathias "Mic" Michaeli is the keyboardist in the Swedish rock band Europe. Like many of the other Europe members he grew up in Stockholm suburb Upplands Väsby...
  
   − keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  
• Ian Haugland
  Ian Haugland
  Håkan Jan "Ian" Haugland is the drummer in the Swedish rock band Europe. When he was eight months old, he and his family moved to the Swedish suburb Märsta. He joined Europe in the summer of 1984, replacing Tony Reno. Previously Haugland had played in a number of bands, including Trilogy, where...
  
   − drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....