Per Gessle

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

Per Gessle’s Sommartider – interview in Hallandsposten

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Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per Gessle in Mr. G’s home in Halmstad and it was published in Hallandsposten on June 20th online and on June 30th in print. The guys were talking about Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour and Per’s summer feelings.

Per says first they, the guys in GT didn’t think about this tour to be the last, but when they started talking about it, it made sense. Now that all 5 of them are healthy and in good shape and want to end Gyllene Tider at a high level, it doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. They don’t know what will come in 6, 7 or 10 years and they don’t want to go on tour when any of the band members is not there. Then it wouldn’t be Gyllene Tider anymore.

From the article it turns out that besides the 5 Golden Guys, there will be 2 backing vocalists on tour with them: Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg. Per explains that Tom Petty also had backing vocalists on his last tour and The Rolling Stones also have them. It feels a bit new, but also it saves Per’s voice and widens the sound partly at the choirs and partly because Malin-My can also play the violin and other instruments.

That the guys would go on a tour and celebrate their 40th anniversary was clear already after the last show in 2013. Since GT was formed in 1978 they wanted to do a tour in 2018, but as Per went on a solo tour in 2017 (130,000 people saw him) and he played several Gyllene Tider songs, then he toured with Per Gessle’s Roxette in 2018, also some shows in Sweden and it’s a small country, they postponed it to 2019.

Even if they knew that 80-90% of the setlist will consist of their old songs, they wanted to make a new album. They recorded it in France. Per says the idea was to create an album that shows the band members have all grown up and they are either close to or already turned 60. They are older, more matured and more experienced. They wanted the album to sound like GT today, not like they sounded back in the days. It can be a little embarrassing when a band tries to sound like 1980 while it’s already 2019.

Jan-Owe mentions an article that was published on 25th July 1985 about GT’s break-up, but he says it was rather a longer break. The the guys came back in 1995, 2004, 2013 and now in 2019. Per says 1995 was the first time they realized how big they became in Sweden. Their hits survived and he had the power via his international success with Roxette.

Now it’s time for another tour that will take the band from Malmö in the South to Piteå in the North with Stockholm and Gothenburg in between, where the concerts were moved to bigger venues (Stockholm Stadion and Ullevi). The 51 songs the guys took on the rehearsals have to be narrowed down to 25-30, including 18 must-play songs.

Jan-Owe asks Per what he thinks makes GT attractive through all generations. Per says the only way to survive as a band for 40 years is never to be trendy. Then they can come back time after time, as they did.

Jan-Owe also asks Mr. G about how it will feel to play the last song on the last concert. Per says he doesn’t know, they won’t die or stop playing.

 

Per’s summer feelings

Childhood summers: ”Far too short. Always.”

Teenage summers: ”I spontaneously think about Fammarps Mushroom Cultivation. I was biking there from Villshärad and weighed mushrooms during some summers. We were 2 guys and more than 300 girls. Good enough.”

Adult life summers: ”Tour. And more tours. And even more tours.”

An unforgettable summer: ”The GT-25 tour in 2004. Awesome. That summer we had more than 25000 people in the audiences per night. How did it really happen?”

The summer I absolutely want to forget: ”There weren’t any bad summers. Or if so then I blanked them out.”

Being on a summer tour: ”Intense.”

The best summer song: ”Summertime by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. A masterpiece.”

The best own summer song: ”Juni, juli, augusti, På promenad genom stan and Min plats. They are OK.”

The best summer concert in Halland county: ”My memory is short, but Wilmer X was awesome the last time they played in Solgården at Hotel Tylösand. I wish I could say Sex Pistols in Östra stranden in Halmstad 1977, but I wasn’t there. MP and I were sitting outside in his Amazon. We didn’t dare to go in.”

The best own concert in Halland county: ”Gyllene Tider on Stora torg in Halmstad 1995 was special. That was the first time we realized how big we became in Sweden. Our hits survived and I had the power via the international success with Roxette.”

Professional expectations before summer 2019: ”To be able to say hi to the crowd.”

Private expectations before summer 2019: ” To be able to say hi to family and friends.”

Why to choose Halland in the summer: ”It’s Sweden’s front side.” (”Sveriges framsida.” -> it’s a Swedish idiom and is associated with the West Coast and Gothenburg. The reason is the geographical situation, which allows direct connections to the international shipping routes via the port. /PP)

This is how summer smells: ”Chips och grill. Näst intill.” (Part of the lyrics of (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet meaning ”Chips and grill. Almost.” /PP)

Pic of Per Gessle is taken in the studio in France by Anders Roos.

 

Thanx for your support with the printed version of the interview, Anne Rosvall!

CONTEST: Win a Per Gessle’s Roxette tour photo book!

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Anders Roos, photographer and publisher of the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour photo book was kind enough to offer us 1 copy for a contest. As you know, the book contains quotes + pics around Europe in 2018 on 144 pages and a DVD of the last show of the tour. The copy you can win is signed by Mr. G! So here is your great chance to get hold of it if you don’t have it yet!

In order to participate, answer the following questions correctly:

  1. How many gigs were there on the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour? – 20
  2. Name the opening and closing songs on the setlist one could hear at each concert on tour! – The Look; The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
  3. Name the female members of the band on tour! – Helena Josefsson, Malin-My Wall
  4. Which gig was recorded for the DVD? – Gothenburg, Sweden, 16th November 2018

Send an e-mail with your name, address and the correct answers to the questions to rxbcontests@gmail.com until 23:59 CET, 7th July 2019. The lucky winner will be announced shortly after. Answers to all questions can be found on RoxetteBlog. 😉 Good luck!

Contest terms and conditions:
– In order to participate, you have to send an e-mail to rxbcontests@gmail.com with name, address and correct answers to the 4 questions. We will consider all e-mails we receive until 23:59 CET on 7th July 2019.
– 1 winner will be picked randomly among those who have participated and sent the correct answers.
– You can only participate once, any attempt to participate twice or more times will lead to your disqualification.
– Prizes won’t be paid out in cash. Prizes will be sent by registered mail only once.
– The winner will be announced on this website, on our Facebook page and will also be notified per e-mail. You’ll be required to answer the e-mail confirming your address.
– RoxetteBlog.com will not enter into any correspondence regarding the result of the contest and is not liable for any damages, loss or expenses that may result in connection to the prizes.
– By taking part in the contest, personal data (first name, surname, e-mail address and address) will be collected. These data are needed in order to run the contest, particularly in order to match participation applications to their entries as well as to identify and notify the winners. This method of processing data is therefore required pursuant to Article 6 Paragraph 1 lit b of the GDPR to fulfil contractual obligations. The personal data collected will be processed and used by RoxetteBlog.com only to the extent that is required in order to run the contest. The personal data will be stored for the duration of the contest and – in order to process any claims relating to winnings and damages – for a maximum of 6 months afterwards and they will then be deleted. By participating you agree to all above mentioned and your name being published on this website as well as on social media channels in case you win the contest.

 

UPDATE on 8th July 2019: since we got hold of another book too, we picked 2 winners instead of 1. The winners are: Alejandro Molina, Argentina and Marcela Molcakova, Slovakia. The winners are informed via e-mail too.