Anders Herrlin

Gyllene Tider – GT40 – Halmstad – 5th July 2019 – #2

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Last night Gyllene Tider played their 2nd Halmstad show on their GT40 tour and at the same time, it was the last ever concert in their hometown. While the first gig was defined by the rain, last nite we couldn’t complain about the weather. Sunshine, happiness! Per told the crowd that the first show was a little ”smygpremiär” (”secret gig”) for them.

Before GT entered the stage at 21:00, there were the same 2 support acts as on the first Halmstad night. When the Pink Panther theme started we already knew the time has come and soon the guys and girls appeared on stage. The crowd’s cheering was even louder than the day before and the whole mood stayed on a high from the audience’s side. Almost all songs were accompanied by loud sing-alongs and the clapping made much noise too.

All the guys and girls on stage were very energetic through the whole show. One could see they were over the premiere gig’s stress and more at ease. They could concentrate more on the fun part of the concert. We could see more smiles on their faces and more interactions between the band members. The lyrics to the new songs have to be practiced a bit more though, but since the biggest part of the audience has to learn it too, it was no issue.

In the setlist there was only 1 difference vs. the first Halmstad show. The guys changed Vandrar i ett sommarregn to Chrissie, hur mår du? It was a very good choice. I think this latter one worked much better. Now I start wondering if they change that one song on each gig. Would be cool!

Åsa was there at both concerts so far and recorded a lot. Hopefully, we will get to see some videos on Gyllene Tider’s social media sites soon. Anders Roos was taking photos also at both shows so far and probably will be there at most of the concerts.

There is not much time to take a rest. Next stop is Malmö without a day off!

Setlist

  1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
  2. Juni, juli, augusti
  3. Vanliga saker
  4. Det hjärta som brinner
  5. Chrissie, hur mår du?
  6. Flickorna på TV2
  7. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän
  8. Det kändes inte som maj
  9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
  10. Tuffa tider

BAND PRESENTATION

  1. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga!
  2. Kung av sand
  3. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
  4. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
  5. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
  6. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
  7. Tylö Sun

Encore 1

  1. Skrot och korn
  2. Det är över nu
  3. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

  1. När vi två blir en
  2. Sommartider
  3. När alla vännerna gått hem

 

All pics in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

 

Gyllene Tider after the show:

GT40 – GIG #2 BROTTET, HALMSTAD! Yep, så här fint väder kan det vara i Halmstad! Vi böjer våra nackar. Mot publiken också. Grym positiv energi strålade från er alla, tack för en helt underbar upplevelse. Detta var ju det sista GT-gigget någonsin i vår hemstad och det kändes verkligen som ett farväl med flaggan i topp. En oförglömlig afton vi kommer att bära med oss för alltid. Nu sticker vi till Skåne och kollar läget där ikväll. Häng med! /P&Co

Gyllene Tider – GT40 – Halmstad – 4th July 2019 – #1

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Gyllene Tider started their GT40 farewell tour yesterday in Halmstad. Still hard to believe that this is their very last tour, but well… there are 18 more gigs to enjoy their playing live. If you don’t have a ticket for any of their shows yet, do yourself a favour and get one! Try to find a concert that is not sold out yet and go see them live!

Weather God in Halmstad seemed not to be on our side. It was raining all day, sometimes only showers, sometimes heavy rain. No sun at all. I was thinking of past gigs in the rain and as I remembered, all of them turned out fab, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

The guys had their soundcheck in the afternoon and we heard they were rehearsing Vandrar i ett sommarregn among other songs. How stylish. Haha. The gates opened at 6 pm and a few hundred people were let in. The rest of the audience arrived continuously a bit later. When we entered we could see the stage. It looked wonderful! The old Gyllene Tider logo above the stage (that appeared in different colours during the gig), GT40 written on the backdrop screens and on the side screens. From this, one could think the backdrop would show different designs during the night and yes, the whole projection was of premium quality and each song got its own backdrop. Beautiful!

The crew was constantly wiping off the stage, because even if there was a roof above it, the rain didn’t let it stay dry.

There were 2 support acts: Christof Jeppsson, a Halmstad troubadour who was on stage from 19:30 and then Chris Kläfford, known mostly from Swedish Idol. He entered the stage some minutes after 20:00. Both acts played for appr. 30 minutes.

We all couldn’t wait anymore for Gyllene Tider to come up on stage and guess what! It stopped raining 10 minutes before the show! But it’s Sweden and we thought it wouldn’t last until the end of the concert, so it came back after an hour, at Kung av sand. But no one really cared. The gig was so amazing! And sold out! Appr. 11000 people went to see GT on the first Halmstad night on this tour.

The intro was the theme song from Pink Panther. First we didn’t realize it would be the intro, but the guys suddenly appeared on stage and the crowd was cheering them loudly. Their stage clothes looked fab on them, I immediately saw that Per’s black nails are back too and hey, it wasn’t only the 5 guys performing this time, but 2 ladies joined them for doing backing vocals (and more): Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg. We know them well from previous Roxette and Per Gessle tours. Everyone on stage looked excited and maybe a bit nervous. It was a premiere gig after all. But they shouldn’t have been worried about anything, all turned out to be fantastic!

Setlist

  1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
  2. Juni, juli, augusti
  3. Vanliga saker
  4. Det hjärta som brinner
  5. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
  6. Flickorna på TV2
  7. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän
  8. Det kändes inte som maj
  9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
  10. Tuffa tider

BAND PRESENTATION

  1. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga!
  2. Kung av sand
  3. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
  4. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
  5. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
  6. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
  7. Tylö Sun

Encore 1

  1. Skrot och korn
  2. Det är över nu
  3. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

  1. När vi två blir en
  2. Sommartider
  3. När alla vännerna gått hem

It was a good choice to start with uptempo songs. Per first talked to the crowd after Juni, juli, augusti. He greeted the crowd, welcomed us on GT’s 40th anniversary tour and said it ’s nice to see so many people here despite the wonderful Swedish weather. He mentioned they are happy to start the tour at home in Halmstad and the audience was happy about it too. He asked us to sing along and dance if we can, but it might be tight for that. Haha. Then came Vanliga saker from the new album and it sounded cool live too. Det hjärta som brinner was quite obvious that it would appear on the setlist being one of the guys’ favourites. Then it slowed down a bit with Vandrar i ett sommarregn which is from the album Puls and GT never played it live before. Before they played this song, Per was kidding Anders with his 80’s title, Sweden’s most good-looking guy. A story that never gets old.

Flickorna på TV2 is still on of Gyllene Tider’s biggest hit, no matter what year we are in and what the lyrics contain. It was great to hear the song live again. Per also said it’s still fun to play. Another hit (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän came after that, a real party song. Then the (for me) most GT-ish song from the new album, Det kändes inte som maj was played. Another uptempo gem that made the crowd clap along heavily.

Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång was introduced by Per as a song that is about dreaming and was curious if we recognized it. We did, of course! Sing along guaranteed! Dubi dubi dam da!

Per’s beautiful colorful ukulele was brought to the stage and he said when he was listening to Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple in his room when he was a kid, he never thought one day he would be performing on an ukulele in front of 11000 people. It was Tuffa tider’s turn and after Micke Syd changed is shoes, he also came to the front. Göran also came and played melodika in the front next to Micke Syd.

Per first introduced the new members of the band and greeted Dea and Malin-My. Then one after another introduced the guys in GT. Halmstad’s own boogie king, MP and the pride of Oskartsröm, Göran. Referring to Sweden’s most good-looking guy, Per said, you know who it is on bass, Anders Herrlin! Micke Syd was sitting in front of his drum set and stood up when Per introduced him, last but least. Haha. They high-fived each other and then Micke introduced Per as the best from Simlångsdalen, Per Håkan Gessle. Then Micke Syd said now it would be him standing in the limelight and Per sat in front of Micke’s drum set, still holding the ukulele in his hands. Micke Syd told we probably think he would sing Min tjej och jag, but he wouldn’t do that again. He said we all grew up and Per anyway wrote a new song for him. He asked the crowd to hold up their hands if they could sing along. Many held up their hands, Per did that too. Haha. Micke Syd switched on the pre-recorded drumming on this song, put on a shiny jacket and he stayed in the front to sing Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga! Per was playing the ukulele during the song, the girls supported Micke too and it sounded cool! At the end of it Micke Syd sat next to Per and then Per jumped up and played the last chord on the ukulele in front of his mic and said it’s hard to top what Micke Syd did now.

Kung av sand brought the rain back, but it really didn’t matter. We enjoyed the concert regardless, hearing such a beautiful ballad. Then came 5 good old uptempo songs one after another, real party again. It wasn’t a medley, actually, to my surprise, there was no medley at all during the whole show. We got complete songs only, which is a plus! There was no pause between these 5 songs, only a guitar change before Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly.

After Tylö Sun, Per thanked the crowd and they all went off stage. But the concert didn’t end here of course. The crowd wanted them back and after a few minutes, giving the chance for Per to change clothes they came back and played their first encore of 3 songs, starting with Skrot och korn from the new album. Per thanked for the crowd for staying there despite the weather, he said we are fantastic. Skrot och korn was a cool addition to the setlist too. It was nice to hear a fourth song from the new album. Then 2 uptempo hits from the 90’s and they went off stage again.

Many of us wondered if the second encore would contain Billy or Puls and if the guys finish the set with Sommartider, but the last 3 songs started with När vi två blir en, another must-play-live GT hit. The guys and girls then performed Sommartider with crowd sing along, but it wasn’t the last song. They kept När alla vännerna gått hem to say goodbye to all. Before the last song the girls went off stage. Per told the crowd they are wonderful and thanked for coming. Micke Syd came to the front, only Göran stayed in the back, at his Farfisa. At the end of the show both Micke Syd and Per thanked the crowd again, Per told to take care of each other. The girls came back, Göran came to the front and they took a bow and waved goodbye. The girls went off again and the Golden Guys stayed there for some more time to take a bow again and off they went.

Gosh! It was such an amazing tour start! I liked everything about it. The setlist (maybe adding at least 1 song from DATPR would have been nice though), the stage, the stage clothes, the energy of these guys being almost or over 60, but still rocking big time, the addition of the girls who were partying throught the whole concert. Is it tonight yet??? Let’s see how the second Halmstad show will be. The sun is out, just saying! 😉

All pics in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

 

Per & Co. after the gig:

Lägesrapport 5 juli 2019. Oj, klockan är redan 3 på eftermiddagen. Dags för nytt kaffe. Solen lyser! Det gjorde den minsann inte igår. Tack alla som pallade med höstrusket på Brottet i Halmstad och gjorde vår premiärspelning till en enda lång fanfar! Vilken underbar publik vi har!!!! Ofattbart bra!!! Svårjobbat rent tekniskt för oss såklart, många instrument stämde ur sig blixtsnabbt i fukten, golvet ute mot publiken var glashalt men vad gjorde det när man bara såg glada miner överallt. Nya tag ikväll. Vilken turne’ det här kommer att bli!!!! Love from the GT camp via P.

 

Gyllene Tider interview in Hallandsposten

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Sara Öster from Hallandsposten did an interview with Gyllene Tider at Hotel Tylösand after the guys finished their rehearsals for the tour that starts with 2 concerts in Halmstad on 4th and 5th July. This will be the last thing that legends Per Gessle, Micke Syd, Göran Fritzon, Mats ”MP” Persson and Anders Herrlin do together, ever.

Per says one should never take the audience for granted and they feel extremely grateful to be able to do such a tour at this age. Their big break-up was in 1985, and after that, GT did only comebacks. Per says he doesn’t feel sad, not right now anyway. It would have been different if they had been a band that had run year in and year out, but it wasn’t the case. He just wants to get this summer going now.

Anders says he actually feels a little lump in his stomach sometimes and he is kidding that he is going to cry. Then he says, no, he won’t, but this tour will be the last thing they do together. At the same time he feels happy and says they are all very excited about this summer and thinks it’s going to be much fun.

Sara also can’t believe the guys wouldn’t finish their last tour in Halmstad, so she asks them when they would announce that they have a last concert there. Per says there won’t be a last gig in Halmstad at the end of the tour. They were thinking about either starting or finishing the tour there and decided for the start. Sara asks if they think Halmstad people will be disappointed if GT won’t finish the tour in Halmstad. Per says he doesn’t think people care. Maybe real hardcore fans, but not others. The whole summer will be a great adventure, and it’s very unique and amazing that they are doing this after so many years. Wherever they go in Sweden it will be a great party, for one evening they will take over the city that they go to.

Anders says the setlist will be a mix of good old songs and new ones from their new album, ”Samma skrot och korn”.

Before the tour premiere the band is in Stockholm. There they test the stage and everything else and have a major rehearsal on 2nd July.

Sara asks the guys if they are nervous. Anders says he is, a little. Or rather excited. But one should feel so before such a happening. And he turns to Per to ask what he thinks. Mr. G says he is not nervous, but he will get an adrenaline rush.

Sara asks how fired up the guys are. Per says he is of course incredibly fired up. He thinks it’s going to be so damn fun and the rest of the band agrees.

To the question if they might reunite again one day they reply a definite no. Göran says they decided that this will be the last one and that’s the way it is. He laughs and says he thought he would blow up his Farfisa at Ullevi, so then they really can’t play more together. The band members join in and tell some other ideas about how they could finish their last gig in Sweden. But these are impossible to publish in Hallandsposten. Haha.

GT has a 20 sec greeting video in the online version of the article where Micke Syd talks and the other  4 Golden Guys agree on the fact that they are so excited about the tour start.

Photo by Anders Roos

New Gyllene Tider book in the making

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As Hallandsposten informs, there will be a new book about Gyllene Tider. It will be written by Jan-Owe Wikström (Wicke) and photographed by Anders Roos. Both names guarantee a wonderful end result. Title of the book is said to be Gyllene Tider 2.019 – en sista refräng.

6 years ago, Jan-Owe and Anders created the book, Alla tiders Gyllene Tider. Anders says it was like being a fly on the wall while he was around taking photos of the band on tour and in the studio and he thinks it’s awesome to have the guys’ confidence so that he can do his job calmly.

Wicke is the person who actually wrote the very first Hallandsposten article about a young band, Gyllene Tider more than 40 years ago, on 8th July 1978. He has been following the guys ever since and wrote books, as well as a lot of articles about them.

Jan-Owe and Anders spent some time with GT in France this year while they were recording their last album and will be there with Per, Micke Syd, MP, Anders and Göran on tour. They will accompany the Golden Guys on several shows, especially in key locations like the premiere gig in Halmstad, then Ullevi in Gothenburg and they go to Stockholm as well. They of course won’t miss Fredrikstad, Norway, the last concert either.

Wicke says the book will be a time travel, about all the years passed and since a big part of GT’s history is about others’ experiences related to Gyllene Tider’s songs and concerts, they will also ask other artists to share their memories.

It’s not only artists who will be asked to tell what GT means to them. Fans can also contribute to the book by sharing their personal memories. Anders says they already got appr. 70 mails. They will choose some stories to be published in the book, but it’s important that those picked anecdotes represent various events and happenings. As a fan, you can send your stories to: minnen@gyllenetider.com. Per says any craziness is encouraged! 😉

It’s going to be an intense summer not only for Gyllene Tider and their fans, but also for Wicke and Anders who have GT’s full support in this project. Per says it feels safe and great to have exactly this duo writing about the band. He looks very much forward to the book and hopes he can get a signed copy. Haha.

 

Gyllene Tider interview in Aftonbladet – Scensommar magazine

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Aftonbladet’s Scensommar magazine did an interview with Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin about Gyllene Tider’s last album and tour.

The reporter, Jens Peterson asks Per and Anders how it feels to come back to Ullevi with Gyllene Tider. Per says it’s grandiose and if there is something in music industry you have to learn it’s that you can’t take anything – e.g. success – for granted. Anders also thinks it’s fantastic and they feel honoured.

Per gets the question what is more fun and what is harder when he tours with Gyllene Tider vs. when he is out there as a solo artist. Mr. G says the most fun is that when they meet, it feels like time stood still. Everyone takes their own roles in the band. They come up with the same jargon and same type of jokes. Besides that, they play together in a very special way. If anyone of them would be changed in the band, the sound would be totally different. There isn’t anything worth to be mentioned as a harder thing, but Per is basically not a team player. He likes to work with his own compositions under his own terms. When there are 5 people in a band, it’s obvious that there will be compromises, but it didn’t affect the end result this time. Sometimes it’s good that someone puts Per in place, because he thinks he isn’t always right, even if it’s hard to believe. Haha.

Scensommar asks the guys if it is hard to pick songs for the setlist. Anders says not really, because they play together so seldom that it’s clear the concerts will be based on their old hits. There are a lot of songs tons of people expect to hear, then there will be new songs and they also dig deep in their catalogue. To the question how many songs they feel is obligatory to play, Anders replies appr. 20.

The reporter asks if they are tired of playing Sommartider. Per says he is not tired of it at all, but he can’t rehearse it anymore. Once they play it in front of an audience it’s fantastic. Anders’ advise is ”never underestimate hits!” It’s good to have an ace up their sleeve.

The new album is out on June 14th and the journalist asks how many new songs will appear on the setlist. Anders says they will run through the entire album on the rehearsals so that they can see what fits and how it feels. He says this album might be the best they have done. Per agrees with Anders and thinks the new album is fantastic. Their ambition was to get the feel of a band where everyone matured a bit while the years have passed, but without losing the pop nerve. It’s difficult, but Per thinks they succeeded.

The reporter asks why they recorded the album in France. Per says it’s perfect for bands to go away, live together, have breakfast, hang out, fool around, drink wine and create music together. He saw a documentary with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and liked the studio they played in a lot, so he researched a bit and it turned out the studio is in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, north of Marseille. First they sent Anders there last autumn to check it. He filmed there a bit and he was all positive about the studio, so they decided to go there in the spring of 2019. They started to work there the same day Morrissey left the studio. They found his vegan cookbooks in the guest toilet, Per says.

The reporter says when GT started touring, concerts were very different. He asks how the guys remember those days. Per says he remembers they were quite blonde. Haha. They were so young and lived in a colorful pop star bubble for years. They learned how to run a street race, they learned that they can’t live on the first floor at a hotel and that anything they leave outside their houses will be stolen (clothes, mails, number plates, etc.). Such things belonged to their everyday life in the early years. Concerts were short, but intense and folkparks were amazing. Anders adds the audience knew the lyrics already then. Better than they did.

To the question if this is really the last chance to see Gyllene Tider live, Anders replies that it feels so. They are all around 60 and life goes on. It feels good to end GT when they are still alive and everything feels to be on top and that they can do a phenomenal farewell tour.

Referring to Mick Jagger’s operation and that The Rolling Stones had to postpone their tour Jens asks if the guys have any health check before such a tour. Anders says they filled in a lot of papers about their state of health and went on medical checking. Even Göran was alive. Per ’s reaction to that is that it’s exciting.

The reporter is wondering why there are more veteran artists who attract audiences than younger artists. He mentions Bob Dylan, Sting, Rod Stewart, Elton John, Patti Smith among others. Per says it has to do with various things. On one hand, it takes time to come up with a song catalogue like what Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan have. On the other hand, there are hardly any stars of the same dignity these days. Music industry works differently now. Anders says it will be a problem at festivals in a few years, because: who will be the headliner?

Jens asks the guys who they think have been good at cherishing their own catalogue. Per says it’s those who have the opportunity to tour a lot and have active publishing companies that put music in movies and TV series. It’s important to always try to make the songs actual. Either in their original version or in another context.

Jens asks what kind of relationship GT have with other big artists who tour this summer. Per says they are of course all awesome in different ways. The touchpoint with Gyllene Tider is that earlier they did a Swedish version of Patti Smith’s ”Ain’t It Strange” from her ”Radio Ethiopia” album. Odd choice, one could think today, but it was obvious for 5 teenagers from Halmstad in the ’70s.

Thanks a lot for sharing the magazine with us, Pontus Ljungsten!