“She’s just a small town girl, living in a lonely world. She took the midnight train going anywhere…” Whether you like it or not, you’ll have recognised, and are probably currently humming, the tune to this most infectious of anthems: Don’t Stop Believing, by 35-year-old American rock band Journey.

The single, released for the first time in 1981 on the band’s nine times platinum album Escape, is the top selling catalog track in iTunes history, being the first song ever to surpass two million in digital sales. The aging rockers are clearly still going strong

Since small beginnings as a backup group in 1973, Journey boast eight multiplatinum albums, 18 top 40 singles, and a band member history that reads like a who’s who of the ‘80s pop-rock scene (among the 14 former musicians for Journey are drummers Larry Londin and Mike Baird, and vocalist Steve Perry).

This year’s Revelation tour kicked off in Tokyo on March 9, and is promoting their latest album of the same name. The first record to feature the band’s newest front man, Filipino singer Arnel Pineda, Revelation debuted in June 2008 at an impressive number five in the US Billboard charts, and took just six months to go platinum.

“I felt very strongly about moving forward and writing new material [for this album],” says lead guitarist Neil Schon on www.journeymusic.com, “It was time.” He and keyboardist Jonathan Cain penned all 11 of the album’s new songs. “I write mostly rock and Jonathan writes most of the ballads, but when you combine our chemistry, you find the sound of what is and has been Journey.”

If their stats are anything to go by, these guys are more pop music than hardcore rock. Indeed, their Wikipedia page brags that they are “often credited as being one of the first bands to invent the power ballad” and that “[Journey] made it acceptable for male rock singers to sing slow love songs.” Not exactly the makings of a head banging night out, but if you’re into rock ballads then this concert is a must see.

Samantha Leese