Tour

Interview with Per Gessle about Gyllene Tider’s last album and tour – à la RoxBlog style

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The guys in Gyllene Tider are busy rehearsing, but I thought it would be worth doing an interview with Per now that they have just released their last album and are preparing for their last tour. I hoped Per would have the time in between adding songs to the setlist and matching red Ferraris to Ferrari red drumkits and could answer my questions. I asked him about the recording sessions, each song on the new album, then about the 40 years passed and of course the tour and rehearsals. As usual, he was faster than a thrown guitar pick reaches the front row and has already sent me his detailed answers. Much appreciated! Enjoy!

Patrícia Peres: – Hi Per! While listening to the new album, different Gyllene Tider eras and several branches of your songwriting tree came into my mind. It’s a great mix of the good old GT sound and fresh melodies, uptempo/midtempo hits and ballads, as well as fun and meaningful lyrics full of Gessleish rhymes. A bit more sentimental than what we are used to when it comes to GT, but it turned out to be a fab record! Congrats to you all, guys!

Per Gessle: – Danke. Merci. Wunderschön that you like the album. We love it as well. It came very easy to us for some reason.

PP: – Why the last album was the first one to be recorded outside Sweden? And why in France?

PG: – It’s always a good idea for a band to get abroad to concentrate a little bit more than you normally do on your home turf. Most musicians and other lower habitants of this earth tend to want to go home after the last note is recorded and skip all the socializing which is key if you’re in a band. You have to hang out together, get drunk and act silly, play music, talking about stupid things from the past, argue about movies and politics etc. People our age have families and kids and other things on their minds apart from making music. I wanted GT to avoid all those everyday issues and stay focused on making a fine record.

PP: – Anytime Gyllene Tider comes back, you record a new album. Why do you think it’s important?

PG: – GT ceased to exist in 1985. Since we don’t really meet each other that much in between the reunions it’s crucial to get the artistic and creative forces boiling. Otherwise we would very easily become just another boring vintage band that plays our vintage hits. We love to play the hits but I also think it’s important for us to stand on our toes a bit and find out what we’re capable of in real time.

PP: – You recorded very simple demos to let the band arrange the songs together. How was the process during the recording session? How the 5 of you could work out the best of sounds?

PG: – Christoffer played a very important part in the recording process. You need a neutral force in the room. You have to have someone who says yes or no and it can’t be me just because I wrote the songs. It has to be someone the other guys listen to and respect in a different manner. That’s just how it works. Everyone in this band is very good at specific things but they’re also very good at staying safe and sound and not taking that many risks. I’m the same. I certainly need someone like Christoffer to demand that I step out of my comfort zone once in a while. So many times he’s heard qualities in my work I didn’t know existed.

When you make an album it’s also crucial to be one step ahead all the time so you don’t wind up arranging and producing all the songs the same way. One of the things on the new album I’m most proud of is that it’s so diverse. It’s hard to do.

PP: – You recorded 15 songs of which 14 made it to the album. What happened to that one missing?

PG: –  Hahaha, it will probably come out before xmas. It’s an uptempo one, very catchy. But it didn’t fit the album. We’re old fashioned.

PP: – What is the reason for not using the very same title for the album and the first song?

PG: – For me it’s a big difference between „Samma skrot och korn” and „Skrot och korn”. The album title hints the connection within the band and where we come from. The song itself is more of love song between two friends who for some reason don’t or can’t connect anymore. I wanted the album and the song to be separate. I’m a fuzzy kind, you know that.

PP: – The second song, Det kändes inte som maj, a very GT-ish track, feels more like an opener. Do you consider this song to play live? Maybe even as an opener?

PG: –  Time will tell. It’s got a great beat. I wrote the verses in 2003 in Christoffer’s studio. I have a very simple recording of it with Clarence playing harmonica and Chris trying to follow my melody and chord progressions. It sounds really awful. But I loved the groove. I kept it and wrote the lyrics last year.

PP: – The first single became Jag drömde jag mötte Fluortanten. Who chose it as the lead single and why this song?

PG: –  It very quickly became the band’s favourite song down in France. Probably because we managed to nail that groove we’ve never been able to nail before. It’s got a Van Morrison „Bright Side Of The Road”-feel to it which is very attractive. Light and fresh. Young and curious.

PP: – You mentioned earlier that the song was inspired by Anders Herrlin’s dream. How should we imagine the process of an Anders dream becoming a GT song written by PG?

PG: – I was just joking. Anders’ psychedelic Salvador Dalí-inspired dreams had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, I just made that up. I’ve had the title forever and I just tried to write some interesting lyrics to those chords and the melody lines in the verse. It took six months but it was worth it. I think it’s a wonderful little song. Very few people write music like that these days. I’m of a dying breed, hahaha.

PP: – What is your most vivid Fluortant experience? Did you always follow her advices?

PG: – Not really but I liked it when she entered the classroom. Suddenly all went quiet and you could concentrate on the current Monkees single or something important.

PP: – Någon att hålla i hand is a cover of Sven-Ingvars’ 1965 single (Brad Newman’s ”Somebody to Love”). Why did you want to make a cover on the last album and why did you choose this song?

PG: – I’ve always loved that song. I always thought it was a Sven-Ingvars original but then I heard Brad Newman’s version which is a knock-out as well. I made a live acoustic demo in MP’s studio two years ago and it was really rewarding to sing. So when the GT-album popped up I suggested this song to the band and they loved it.

PP: – Like in other songs on Samma skrot och korn, there is a little female addition in Vid hennes sida too. How did Helena and Malin-My came into sight for providing backing vocals on the last GT album?

PG: – It’s hard for me to make recordings without female voices these days. I’m totally addicted. Probably because they blend so well with my own voice.

Helena and Malin-My spent twelve hours in the studio in Skåne singing on most of the tracks. They sound really beautiful both apart and together. I could sit there and just listen to them forever. But then, while mixing, some guys in the band thought they changed the classic GT-sound too much so we skipped most of their backing vocals. Not that much was left. However, I’ve kept the alternative mixes with bigger vocal arrangements. Some rarities for the Ultimate GT-box in 2029, maybe?

PP: – Haha. Note to myself to ask you about that box in 2029. Aftonstjärna to me sounds a bit like it could have been a Mazarin-song. Close to Gungar in my ears. The little references in the lyrics paint me a lovely picture of Åsa and you. What does she think about this song and the album itself?

PG: – Oh I don’t really know. She probably thinks the album is a bit too serious. She likes it when I’m doing more „immediate” stuff, more uptempo and jolly.

„Aftonstjärna” is actually my favourite track on the album together with „Vid hennes sida”. They are both important songs for me personally. I managed to create the lyrics and the music exactly the way I was feeling at the time. It’s very rare I’m able to do that.

PP: – Vanliga saker is the most rocky song on the album. Fun to see a Gessleish reference to Swish and Bitcoin in the lyrics, the word connections you use there. Do you use such payment methods at all?

PG: – No, never did. I don’t know how it works.

PP: – Your lead vocals, then the whispering style and the choir, the instruments, everything fits in a great mix in Bjud till! How tricky was it to record this song?

PG: – It was a throwaway for me until Anders came in and did some amazing programming on it. He and Christoffer just went crazy with it and suddenly it all made sense. It reminds me a bit of „Våldsamt stillsamt” from „En händig man” back in 2007. Same energy. All aboard for funtime.

PP: – Våldsamt stillsamt indeed! I was thinking so hard which song it reminds me of! When I first listened to Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga!, the movie Dirty Dancing came into my mind. Probably because the melody reminds me of some DD soundtrack songs. And then I thought, hey, nobody puts Micke Syd in a corner! Beautiful vocals! Where has he been ”hiding” since Min tjej och jag?

PG: – Things you can do with computers these days, hahahaha…. no… just joking. He did a great job. I thought it was a nice gesture to write him a song to sing on our last album. He always wants to be in the limelight and now the stage is his. For four minutes! How generous of me.

PP: – Surprising to see Mannen med gitarr on the tracklist. You wrote it for Mazarin and on The Per Gessle Archives you said that Christoffer and Clarence hated it. How this song ended up here and what does Chris think about it now?

PG: – Well, it didn’t fit into the Mazarin project at all, did it? I found the demo in my computer last summer and I really liked the lyrics and thought maybe GT can give it a shot. It’s got a typical GT-vibe to it and the arrangement came very easily when we recorded it. Great guitar-riff by MP and a very catchy chorus. It was just gathering dust anyway. Christoffer had forgotten all about it. He’s getting old.

PP: – Bara i en dröm is just as much of an ukulele song as Tuffa tider. How about performing this song live and bringing your 2004 ukulele up on stage 15 years later? Does it still exist?

PG: – Oh yes, my two ukuleles are still very good friends of mine.

My idea for „Bara i en dröm” was not to make it acoustic at all. I thought of a full band with an accordion in the centre of attention. It didn’t really work out that well, maybe because that style is not really GT’s cup of tea. So we tried it as an acoustic song instead and it gave the album yet another musical spice. My guitar and vocals are recorded live on this one. Take number three.

PP: – What happened to Henry over all these years? Is he over his disco era? Did he realize that he has to start a band to get rock ’n’ roll freak Hanna back?

PG: – Henry is alive and well and still working on that plan of his.

PP: – Allt det andra could have also been part of your En vacker… solo project. Curious how it sounded as a demo with an acoustic guitar only. And that makes me ask if you plan to release the demos to this album.

PG: – Well, as you know I make acoustic demos of almost everything I write (except for Mono Mind!) so yes, eventually I will release the demos. If you’re interested in songwriting I think it’s very cool to be able to follow the path of a song from square one to the final version that gets released.

„Allt det andra” was quite hard for GT to get into. It’s got pretty unusual chord progressions coming from me. But it turned out fine in the end.

PP: – Final is a beautiful, but sad closing track. Why did you decide for an instrumental ending?

PG: – I had a few instrumentals with me to France and everyone thought it was a splendid idea to close the album with some sort of an instrumental finale. The plan was that everyone should play one instrument each and see where it lead us. In the end we edited the track down from 5 minutes to what it is now. It was the last day in France. We did „Final” and „Någon att hålla i hand” in a couple of hours. It all went very fast.

PP: – Except for Mannen med gitarr and the Sven-Ingvars cover, is there any other song you didn’t write exactly for this album?

PG: – No, it’s all custom made for Gyllene Tider. „Vanliga saker” was the last one I wrote. I didn’t even have the time to make a proper acoustic demo for that one.

PP: – Will there be a second single? Several songs sound radio compatible I would say.

PG: – Oh, radio doesn’t really play our kind of stuff anymore. I think we will go with „Vid hennes sida” or „Skrot och korn”. Maybe both. It’s not important.

PP: – What can you tell us about the cooperation with Petter Lindgård and Peter Zimny?

PG: – Wonderful guys. Shit, it looks so hard to play those instruments!! They did an amazing job on every song they played on.

PP: – After 40 years of success, how do you look back today at the times when Gyllene Tider got refusal letters and no airplay? In what way do you think it shaped the band’s future?

PG: – I think it was good. When we eventually got a recording deal we were (almost) ripe. We had a few great songs, some really talented musicians in the band (not me!) and we were very focused. Timing is everything. We were lucky.

PP: – You said in an earlier interview that you know it since 2013 that you would be out on a 40th anniversary tour this year. Did you sense it already then that it would be the last GT tour?

PG: –  Did I? Can’t remember that. We started talking about a new GT reunion in 2015 or 2016. The plan was to do it 2018 but I wanted to do the Roxette tour in Europe first. Also I’ve toured Sweden in the summer of 2017 so I didn’t want it to be too close timewise.

We decided on a GT40 tour in 2019. I started writing songs for the project in the winter 2017-18. It wasn’t supposed to be the last tour but Micke wanted it that way. He felt like he preferred us to stop while we are still on top of our game, still alive all of us, still kickin’. It all made sense to the rest of the band so… here we are! Nighty nighty.

PP: – Asking you as a fan of 3-chord, 3-minute songs: if you should summarize GT’s 40 years in only 3 words, what would you say?

PG: – Oh my God!

PP: – I think it’s always hard to put an end to something. How difficult was it for you all in the band to make the decision on your farewell?

PG: – I’m not very sentimental when it comes to GT since the group broke up such a long time ago. Everything we’ve done ever since have been reunions and various special projects. It’s a wonderful band, quite unique and definitely something we will never see or hear again in our lifetimes but still… life goes on.

I write my songs, I make my recordings, I make my concerts, I have so many other things I want to do with my music. It’s no big deal. I think the rest of the guys basically feel the same. I will still make my demos with MP. I will still be Anders biggest fan when it comes to his bass-playing and his amazing crazy brain. This is not the end of the world.

PP: – Announcing a last album and a last tour. Does it put you under pressure in any way?

PG: – I’m sure we’re gonna have a blast. Like Roxette, GT have an amazing following who’s been so supportive over the years. We owe it to them to enjoy ourselves and be at our best. It’s gonna be a wonderful tour, I will cherish every minute of it.

PP: – We are talking about the last GT happenings and I tried not to ask this question, because everyone else already asked it, but: is it really the last one? I mean, look at The Rolling Stones!

PG: – Hahaha, yes I actually think it is.

PP: – Concert tickets are selling extremely well. How does it feel that so many want to see you guys on stage?

PG: – Amazing. It’s very hard to sell these amounts of tickets we do on a national basis. We’re blessed. And it’s the fourth time we do it. Crazy.

PP: – Still hard to believe that such an iconic Swedish band would end their 40-year-long career in Norway. Can we expect one real last show in Sweden still?

PG: – No, looks like Oslo will be it. La det swinge, la det rock’n roll.

PP: – Do you plan to record the shows for a future DVD?

PG: – Yes, we do. We’ll record every show. No stone unturned.

PP: – Gyllene Tider’s name is forever written in Swedish pop history and there won’t be any Swedish summer parties where Sommartider is not played. How does it feel being part of a nation’s life in this manner?

PG: – Well, we all love hit records. They’re hard to make and hard to get and I’m the proud father of a few of them. I’ve been very lucky. Good feelings all around.

PP: – You are at the rehearsals now since a few days. How is it going?

PG: – It’s going great. We’re trying so many songs we’re all pretty dizzy right now. But it’s gonna be a killer concert, promise!

PP: – So, happy rehearsing to you all! Make the setlist as long as possible! Haha. Thank you so much for taking your time during these busy days, Per. See you on tour!

PG: – My pleasure.

All pics in the article are taken from Gyllene Tider’s Facebook page. They were taken during the recordings of Samma skrot och korn.

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!

 

Where to end the Gyllene Tider farewell tour?

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Most fans are wondering why Gyllene Tider would finish their farewell tour in Norway. It makes no sense at all. I honestly think the last gig won’t happen in Norway and of course I’m not the only one having such thoughts. Göteborgs-Posten published an article today written by Johan Lindqvist. Johan writes in details about why Gyllene Tider should end their last tour in Sweden and he points out where exactly that last show should happen. He asks the tour to be re-planned. Haha. If you ask me, it’s surely already planned, it’s just not known to us. Yet. 😉

Johan highlights Per Gessle is a man who likes good planning and order. He appreciates a great dramaturgy when it comes to writing the story of his bands. He has also read enough rock biographies in order to know how a nice finish should be directed. Therefore, it’s completely incomprehensible that he put his name on a tour plan where Gyllene Tider will celebrate his long career with a gig in Fredrikstad, Norway. I have to agree with Johan.

Johan says he has nothing against Norway, the country has good skiing places, but when Sommartider is played for the last time, it should happen in Sweden.

Public release of tickets for the tour is 9 am on 5th February. Johan doesn’t think the tour will sell out immediately, but the premiere gig in Halmstad and the last Swedish show planned for 3rd August in Gothenburg have a high chance to sell out faster than Per can say ”allsångsfest”. Haha. I have to agree with Mr. Lindqvist again. It would be quite reasonable to change the date of the concert and add it after Norway. But it’s not only the date, the venue should be changed too. To Ullevi, of course. GT made success there before and will do it again. Although many will see the band during summer, there will still be many who want to join in and fill Ullevi to pay tribute to Gyllene Tider during their last night.

Johan checked and Ullevi is booked only for Metallica and Summerburst this summer. So there is surely a chance to add GT in August. He asks Live Nation at the end of his article to make sure Gyllene Tider and the fans get a finale they deserve. At Ullevi.

Oh well. Fredrikstad is on Friday, 9th August. The distance to Gothenburg is only 210 km. So why not a finale at Ullevi on Saturday, 10th August? Or if not 3 gigs in a row, then OK, it can also be Sunday, 11th August. Who else is in for that? Or… Can 60,000 people fit in anywhere in Halmstad? 😉

Pic by Patrícia Peres taken at Ullevi, Gothenburg on 12th July 2013 

Per Gessle and Micke Syd Andersson on TV4 about the GT farewell tour

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Per and Micke Syd appeared as guests on TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon and were interviewed by Jenny Strömstedt about the upcoming Gyllene Tider farewell tour. Watch it HERE!

When Jenny welcomed the guys, she noticed that they were wearing black clothes and asked if it is kind of grieving the ending of the band. Per and Micke Syd said nah, they are tough. Haha. Micke Syd said they were Sweden’s kindest pop band in the 80’s, so they are working on becoming tough.

Jenny asked what the fans think about the fact that it’s going to be Gyllene Tider’s last tour. Per replied that there are a lot of reactions. Micke Syd started singing Här kommer alla känslorna, but Per told him it’s not a GT song. Micke Syd said but it fits. Mr. G continued answering that GT means so much to a lot of people and it’s awesome. Micke Syd joined in and said fans say for example that their songs are the soundtrack to their lives. They grew up with Gyllene Tider. Per said it’s mainly their 80’s songs that he wrote when he was 19-22 years old. Back then he wouldn’t have thought they would be on a 40th anniversary farewell tour.

Then a short part of Parkliv tour film was shown and after that Micke Syd told the story that even if they beeped out the sound when Per told the phone number of Micke Syd’s mum’s hairdresser salon in the film, fans could read Mr. G’s lips and Micke’s mum got angry by constantly getting tons of calls after that. Jenny asked what the fans wanted. Micke Syd said ”talking to me” and Per joked ”having their hair cut”. Haha. Jenny asked how it worked with the fans back then. Both Micke and Per said they all lived with their parents and it was quite strange when fans were hanging around their houses. They were stealing washed clothes for example. Per said when he turned 21 he got 3400 mails, so his mum’s house was full of them. They also mentioned they had to check in at hotels on different names,picking different names each time. But of course, over the years it got calmer and the guys in GT also grew up and could handle it better. Jenny said that everyone tells about GT that they are like everyday people and so nice. The guys agree that they are nice.

Jenny mentioned that back in the days there were 2 big bands, Gyllene Tider and Noice in Sweden. They talked about the differences and Per said Noice was a big town band, while GT was a small town band. Micke Syd said this fact also determined that they had different mentality.

Per told that the band broke up in 1985 and since then they have always been doing something together on project basis. Like in 1996 or 2004 or 2013. The guys said they have a unique sound and when they play together it’s fantastic. They can’t put their finger on what it is about that uniqueness, but it’s like them 5 become 1 then. Per said when he plays GT songs with other musicians, they don’t sound like Gyllene Tider at all. There is a special style they have in GT and it shows up only when they 5 are playing together.

Jenny asked what the roles are in the band and if Per is the boss. Per said nah, he comes always as the last. Micke Syd told things are changing, but there are of course things that haven’t changed in the band. They also talked about how they play a song from 1980 these days. Micke Syd said they become young again on the inside despite the fact that he will soon turn 60. Per’s reaction to that was ”60?! Shit!” Haha. Jenny asked if it is the same feeling to sing about love now, when they are a little bit older. Per said when you sing a song you also act. Of course, when there is a song you wrote when you were 19 and sing it when you are suddenly not 19 anymore the song becomes different, it gets another meaning.

Per said GT is loved by so many people and one can’t take that for granted. It’s awesome to look back on their 40 years history. Micke Syd said there are so many memories related to their songs one can also see that on fans’ faces on the concerts.

At the end of the interview Jenny asked the most important question, if the guys can guarantee that this will really be a last time they go on tour again. Micke Syd nodded and Per replied ”it feels like that”. Jenny said it was quite a diplomatic answer.

 

Gyllene Tider go on a farewell tour and release new album

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We all expected Gyllene Tider to go on a 40th anniversary tour this year and now the announcement is out! It will not only be an anniversary tour, but four decades, four million sold records and several record tours later, at the same time it will be a farewell tour. The word farewell sounds a bit sad, but also promises one last summer full of joy and fun on the road! And hey, the band will live on forever through their music and their name is forever written in Swedish pop history and in fans’ beating hearts. 😉

There will be 17 concerts with the premiere in GT’s hometown, Halmstad and the last show in Fredrikstad, Norway. 15 gigs in Sweden, 2 in Norway. All tickets go on sale at 9 am on 5th February on livenation.se and livenation.no, but if you check Gyllene Tider’s Facebook page, you’ll be able to buy your tickets in a presale. See Live Nation’s promo video HERE!

Tour dates

4th July (Thursday) – Halmstad, Brottet
6th July (Saturday) – Malmö, Mölleplatsen
10th July (Wednesday) – Helsingborg, Sofiero Slott
12th July (Friday) – Skövde, Boulognerskogen
13th July (Saturday) – Linköping, Stångebrofältet
15th July (Monday) – Uppsala, Botaniska Trädgården
17th July (Wednesday) – Lysekil, Pinneviken
19th July (Friday) – Ronneby, Brunnsparken
20th July (Saturday) – Kalmar, Fredriksskans
24th July (Wednesday) – Piteå, Pite Havsbad
26th July (Friday) – Rättvik, Dalhalla
27th July (Saturday) – Stockholm, Sjöhistoriska
31st July (Wednesday) – Karlstad, Mariebergsskogen
2nd August (Friday) – Eskilstuna, Sundbyholms Slott
3rd August (Saturday) – Göteborg, Slottsskogsvallen
8th August (Thursday) – Trondheim (NO), Sverresborg Museum
9th August (Friday) – Fredrikstad (NO), Dampskipsbrygga

 

Per Gessle:

40 years is a long time and it’s absolutely fantastic that we as a band and our music have managed to touch several generations of Scandinavians. I’m fortunate to have been playing with Sweden’s best pop band. Anders’, Micke’s, Göran’s and MP’s expertise has given me endless opportunities to write powerpop just the way I longed for as a teenager.

Anders Herrlin:

I think it’s a perfect opportunity to end now. Everyone in the band is still active musicians and is in many ways better than ever. All of that we can bring in the new album and the summer tour – and say goodbye with all flags still flying.

Micke Syd Andersson:

This tour feels like our thanks to the amazing audience we have had a love story with for so many years. It will feel like a single long birthday party you share with friends and family – the end of an incredible journey you can only be grateful for having been part of.

Göran Fritzon:

It will certainly feel a little sad to go on Gyllene Tider’s last tour, but everything has an end. It’s just so hard to believe that it has been 40 years since everything started. But I have my Farfisa organ close at hand in the music room, so I feel I’m ready.

 

New album in spring

The band chose to record their seventh and last studio album in France.

Mats ”MP” Persson:

This is the first time we go abroad and record, so it will be incredibly fun. Per has recorded fairly simple demos to leave all the doors open for the band to arrange the songs together. Since we all come in with different ideas, quite unexpected things can happen, such as when we tested reggae arrangement for an ukulele song – which became ”Tuffa tider”.

Per Gessle:

We are like five brothers who don’t hang out on a daily basis, but when we meet, something happens that one can’t put a finger on. Personal chemistry? 1 + 1 = 3 theory? I don’t know, but we have always agreed on our love for pop music. With the summer tour we say thank you and farewell and I bend my neck and smile. Thank you all.