Universe was founded in 1982, the heyday of hard rock, in Upplands Väsby, Sweden. The members of the band had previously been active in various other groups, for example guitarist Michael Kling was once a member of Moon and founded the group WC together with John Norum in the late 70s. Bassist Hasse Hagman was previously active in Joey Tempest's first band; drummer Anders Wetterström and guitarist Per Nilsson both previously played in Twilight. Universe completed the line-up with keyboardist Fredrik Kriström and singer Kjell Wallen. Numerous concerts in Sweden and a tour as opener for Nazareth followed over the next few years. In 1985, the group released their self-titled debut album on the major label CBS.