Tour Archives - Page 19 of 216

Hallandsposten interview with Per Gessle about Gyllene Tider’s new album and tour in 2023

October 21, 2022 by Patrícia Peres

Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per for Hallandsposten after the news about Gyllene Tider’s 2023 comeback came out. It all started with a newly purchased guitar, Mr. G says.

I bought a new guitar just over a year ago and when I do that, plug it into the amplifier and start playing, it usually automatically turns into a new song. And this one definitely screamed for Gyllene Tider.

In connection with the upcoming shooting of the Gyllene Tider movie, which is planned to be released in 2024, Per, MP, Göran, Anders and Micke Syd have also met more often than usual. Per told the guys he had written two damn good GT songs and wondered if they should record them. No one said no, so it spurred him on and he wrote ten more.

Almost a year ago, Per and MP went to the Tits & Ass Studio and recorded them. Then in spring the rest of the band joined the recording in Sweetspot Studio in Harplinge. The result is: twelve songs that Per is very proud of and satisfied with.

It’s catchy, uptempo, 2.30 and breathes vinyl and it’s the best GT record we’ve made. A completely different energy compared to “Samma skrot och korn”, which was made to play live.

The previous album was recorded in twelve days at Studios La Fabrique outside Saint-Rémy de Provence, down on the French Riviera. Now it was on home soil with the band themselves as producers.

The difference was that back then everything should be ready when we left. Here, we have been able to listen to and change and screw things up because we own the studio ourselves.

After all, everything is so easy with this band. No prestige, no egos but – magic. I can’t put my finger on it, but Anders and Micke play together in a different way than with other musicians, I sing in a different way in Gyllene Tider, MP’s guitar sounds a certain way, Göran’s organ… yes, everything becomes Gyllene Tider.

The record was ready in spring 2022 and it will be released in spring 2023. And yes, the title of it is Hux flux. Just like one of the songs’ title and the name of the upcoming summer tour.

While Per already during the recording of Samma skrot och korn in France felt that the band was too good to stop even then and the same feeling emerged during the tour in three of the other members, Micke Syd was adamant that this would be the dignified farewell. Per explains they respected and bought it and also thought it would be like that.

But while I never want to recklessly put myself in a hopeless or possibly fatal situation and I never say never, I understand how Micke thought. He is a good, spiritual guy who lives in the moment and then felt that we would finish on top when everyone was alive and in good health. At the same time, Micke is the one who is out the most and plays GT songs in various contexts, so when the record and tour came up, he was almost the first to say yes.

Per also believes that the corona pandemic probably affected everyone more than you think.

Yes, I can only speak for myself, but it gave you a different perspective on everything. You are more thoughtful, appreciate what you have and it became a different way of thinking, a different pace. Like, for example, my acoustic tour. I don’t think it would have come off otherwise. Not now anyway.

On 7th July next summer, Gyllene Tider will be at Brottet in Halmstad again for the premiere of the Hux flux tour. They booked the venues last summer because nowadays you have to be out in good time. Partly for the ticket sales vis-a-vis other artists, partly so that the venues are free.

If Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg will join the band like the last tour, Per doesn’t want to reveal.

And of course there might be more than one concert at home in Halmstad and maybe the grand finale won’t be in Ullevi in Gothenburg.

Of course, it depends on how big the interest is, and then the neighbouring countries will come into the picture as well. But we are heading towards a recession, so the goal is for the tickets to be as cheap as possible, even though the costs are triple. Rather that people can afford it and that it becomes a public celebration.

And this time the word farewell is not mentioned…

Gyllene Tider is back again!

October 21, 2022October 20, 2022 by Patrícia Peres

How many times is a band like Gyllene Tider allowed to come back? As many times as they want!!! Even after their so-called farewell tour with which they celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2019. Now 4 years later, GT will be back on stage with a big summer tour in 2023! The tour is called „Hux Flux”, which means „all of a sudden” in English. If a new album is to be recorded is not known yet.

As announced in a press release on 19th October, Gyllene Tider returns next year to add a golden edge to the Swedish summer once again. The extensive summer tour is called Hux Flux and consists of 15 concerts. Tickets go on sale at 9.00 am CET on Tuesday, 25th October via LiveNation.se.

Some relationships are too precious to give up. Like the seemingly stainless love affair between Gyllene Tider and their devoted audience. For more than 40 years, the Halmstad band has continued to attract listeners – new and old – with its vast song catalogue and its acclaimed concerts. A feat that is unparalleled in Swedish pop history.

Sommartider, Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång, Leva livet, När vi två blir en, Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, Kung av sand – the list of beloved songs is of course much longer and there is no doubt that Gyllene Tider’s music is inscribed in the Swedes’ DNA. Now the time has come to create new memories together with the original members Per Gessle, Mats “MP” Persson, Anders Herrlin, Göran Fritzon and Micke Syd Andersson who together illustrate that life, just like music, only gets better with age.

In 2019 Gyllene Tider celebrated their 40th anniversary as a band. An anniversary that was honored with a rarely seen celebration when the band played in front of a total of a quarter million people around Sweden and Norway. What was intended as a kind of thank you and goodbye became a long break instead.

Per says:

The pandemic changed us all. Those were tough and empty years. I felt a strong longing to play together with my ’70s buddies again. The brotherly relationship we have and the love we receive from our audience is magical and in times like these the decision to continue the Gyllene Tider saga feels right. So it is with great pleasure that I can announce that the history of the Gyllene Tider didn’t end a few years ago as we all thought at the time. All of a sudden, the band is back again. See you next summer!

The 15-show summer tour starts on 7th July in Halmstad and ends at Ullevi in Gothenburg on 5th August.

Tour dates

7th July 2023 (Friday) – Halmstad, Brottet
10th July 2023 (Monday) – Helsingborg, Sofiero Slott
12th July 2023 (Wednesday) – Malmö, Mölleplatsen
14th July 2023 (Friday) – Linköping, Stångebrofältet
15th July 2023 (Saturday) – Eskilstuna, Sundbyholms Slott
17th July 2023 (Monday) – Lysekil, Pinneviken
19th July 2023 (Wednesday) – Skövde, Boulognerskogen
21st July 2023 (Friday) – Kalmar, Fredriksskans
22nd July 2023 (Saturday) – Ronneby, Brunnsparken
26th July 2023 (Wednesday) – Piteå, Pite Havsbad
28th July 2023 (Friday) – Stockholm, Stockholms Stadion
29th July 2023 (Saturday) – Rättvik, Dalhalla
2nd August 2023 (Wedneday) – Karlstad, Mariebergsskogen
3rd August 2023 (Thursday) – Uppsala, Botaniska Trädgården
5th August 2023 (Saturday) – Göteborg, Ullevi

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, 25th October at 9.00 am CET via Livenation.se. Pre-sale starts for registered Live Nation members on Friday, 21st October at 9.00 am CET.

Update on 21st October: 12th August (Saturday) – Fredrikstad (Norway), FMV Vest is added. Pre-sale for Fredrikstad, Norway starts on Monday, 24th October at 10.00 am CET via livenation.no.

GT 1982 photo by Anders Andersson

En akustisk konsert med Per Gessle – PG Unplugged concert film on SVT

August 27, 2022 by Patrícia Peres

SVT broadcast a 1-hour-long cut of Per Gessle’s unplugged show recorded in Karlskrona on a beautiful Thursday evening, 5th May 2022. You can watch it HERE until 23rd Feb 2023 (rights valid for Sweden only, but works with VPN outside Sweden).

From 21 songs on the original setlist, 13 have been picked by Per to be in the TV cut. As he says, he didn’t want too many “obvious” ones. Only Swedish songs are there, 9 from Gyllene Tider, 4 PG solo, no Roxette. Marie is mentioned though in one of the stories and this way the O’boy joke – that was present during the whole tour – is also included. There is a nice balance between the songs and Per (and the band) talking in between. It reflects the real feeling of how the concerts were with all the fab hits in their acoustic arrangement, the anecdotes, the crowd reactions, the connection among gang members on stage. Wonderful people, excellent musicians all of them! At one point, when Per thanks MP for the amazing sound, the camera spots Mats – woohoo! – and Åsa is standing there behind him, so this way the stage set designer also shows up in the film. Well-deserved! The crew also pops up here and there, changing instruments or doing their stuff in their tech spots.

Right at the first moment, when the band and Per entered the stage I felt like I was sitting there in the front row again. This time in my living room, but the intimate atmosphere really comes through the TV screen as well. The complete recording is pure professionalism. The close-ups are just as awesome as the parts recorded from far behind to show the whole stage and the audience in front of it. The sound is fantastic too, both Per’s and Helena’s vocals are magical and Clarence, Christoffer and Magnus also sound fab on their instruments.

If you’ve been listening to the Helsingborg gig on streaming 24/7, now you can switch to the Karlskrona show and watch this amazing audiovisual delight all day and night. I’m extremely happy that Ljudet av ett annat hjärta is saved forever in this set.

Setlist in the TV cut

1. Kung av sand
2. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
3. Tycker om när du tar på mej
4. Det hjärta som brinner
5. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
6. Varmt igen
7. Juni, juli, augusti
8. Min hälsning
9. Födelsedag
10. När vi två blir en
11. Vid hennes sida
12. Sommartider
13. När alla vännerna gått hem

Skipped songs from the original setlist: På promenad genom stan, Småstadsprat, Min plats, Tuffa tider, It Must Have Been Love, Vilket håll du än går, Här kommer alla känslorna, Listen To Your Heart.

It could be a full-length show, yes. It’s compact instead, but feels absolutely complete thanks to all the professional cuts and the flow of the songs Per has picked for this film.

Stills are from the video.

Per Gessle Unplugged Tour – #21 – 11th May 2022 – Luleå

May 12, 2022May 12, 2022 by Patrícia Peres

No rest for the wicked! Without a break, the third show in a row in the North was the last gig on the Per Gessle Unplugged tour. What an amazing acoustic joyride it was, starting out in Tylösand, Halmstad with 10 summer sessions, then 9 shows in autumn 2021 and 12 in the spring of 2022!

As Per said after Skellefteå, it takes at least 30 gigs to get a band really together. For the 31st gig they were as tight as hell and enjoyed their last show very much. All we could hear from them on stage was pure perfection musically, performance-wise and regarding story-telling and jokes as well.

Up in the North the crowds seem to like the GT and Mazarin songs the most. The audience in Luleå was the most active during these tracks, but still they were quite reserved during the whole concert. Maybe because it was Wednesday. Or because on Thursday there will be the ice hockey championship final and they save their voices for that occasion. Haha.

After PG greeted the crowd, he asked if everyone had a good meal and drink. The crowd replied „yes” and Mr. G said they did too. While Christoffer here usually says he didn’t, now he said he had the dinner of his life. Per explained that Chris is vegetarian and he just ate a pork chop. Chris informed it was the first in 10 years. PG said the whole band is still in a state of schock. After that, Per mentioned that tomorrow is the hockey final, to which the crowd reacted with a loud cheering. Per said in Halmstad they only have handball and football. He thinks they have a hockey team too, but he doesn’t really know. He said „good luck, anyway, for tomorrow”.

The low-budget-tour capo-fixing joke worked fine last night too and this time when Per managed to fix it and said he finally learned it for the last show, Micke N-S was laughing so loud we could well hear it in the audience – at least in the front. Haha.

Before Det hjärta som brinner Chris said Göran Fritzon is not there. PG said it’s regrettable, but they try to play it without him. After the song, Magnus, Christoffer and Helena left the stage and Per told the Parkliv! story before Ljudet av ett annat hjärta. He again mentioned that it’s a pity that Christoffer went off stage, because he would admit that his favourite film is Parkliv! At this point Chris came back with his special moves for some seconds to confirm.

Magnus had his bass solo session during Tuffa tider, which was very cool in Luleå too. After he got back to his seat, he jumped up again, came to the front and threw his guitar pick towards the audience.

Per talked a bit longer before Min hälsning, saying that this is the last show, the 31st unplugged concert. He thanked the band for coming along and Chris and Helena thanked Per too. Mr. G then turned to the crew and thanked them for their fantastic job. He said they are also working with him since many years. PG also thanked MP for the sound and the audience for coming and gilding the evening.

The crowd stood up before the first encore and was clapping until the gang came back on stage. Before När vi två blir en, we could listen to Per’s anecdote that one can write certain songs when he is very young. He mentioned Flickorna på TV2 as an example, but he said they wouldn’t play that one. Christoffer tried to play it last night again, but after playing only for 5 seconds he said „that’s it”. Haha. Later someone shouted Flickorna på TV2 in the audience, so that the band plays it, but Per said – referring to Christoffer’s trial – „we already played that”. Haha.

After the first encore the audience stood up again and PG came back with the band for the tour’s last encore. Sommartider was a highlight as usual. The crowd didn’t stop clapping after the song and so Christoffer played a little Ljudet av ett annat hjärta (the fast version).

Before performing the last song on this tour, Per said „what a closing of this tour!” and turned to the international fans in the front row. He said „an extra special thank you goes to all our international friends here up front. Thank you for coming to the shows! We appreciate it, of course!” Isn’t he the most attentive artist on earth?

Most people stayed standing for När alla vännerna gått hem and so the very last show also ended with standing ovation!

Before the band took a bow, we showed our banners to the guys and girl and they appreciated it. TACK notes prepared by Basia Konarzewska and a big banner we created with Sandra Knospe, not wanting to miss out on the O’boy jokes during this leg of the tour. Our banner said: ”O’boy! Vilken turné! Vi tror det aldrig kan bli bättre än så här! Tusen tack!” (”O’boy! What a tour! We think it can never get better than this! Thanx a thousand!”) And it’s true! It was a very special tour and we enjoyed this setting so much it’s gonna be hard to beat. But we know Per will try it, of course! Lucky us! Haha.

Unbelievable that these 10 + 21 shows are over now, but that makes us already looking forward to a next tour that seems to be PG Roxette! Are the dates out yet?

Setlist

1. Kung av sand
2. På promenad genom stan
3. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
4. Småstadsprat
5. Min plats
6. Tycker om när du tar på mej
7. Det hjärta som brinner
8. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
9. Varmt igen
10. Tuffa tider
11. Juni, juli, augusti
12. It Must Have Been Love
13. Vilket håll du än går

Band introduction

14. Här kommer alla känslorna
15. Min hälsning

Encore 1
16. Födelsedag
17. Listen To Your Heart (dedicated to Marie Fredriksson & Pelle Alsing)
18. När vi två blir en

Encore 2
19. Vid hennes sida
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Per after the gig on Facebook:

THANK YOU/TACK! Först ett stort tack till den fantastiska publiken i Luleå. Vilken härlig avslutning vi fick. Otroligt roligt att få vara här i er vackra stad och att få spela för er. Vilken kväll det blev!!!

Och sen tack till alla som kommit från när och fjärran för att förgylla våra konserter. Det här har varit en av de häftigaste turnéerna jag varit med om. Ett helt nytt kapitel för mig och mitt fina lilla band och crew. Jag hoppas verkligen jag får möjligheten att göra en fortsättning på dessa akustiska spelningar, det känns som att vi kan dra detta framåt några snäpp ytterligare framöver. Time will tell!

Nu är det paus i två dagar. Nästa vecka sätter jag igång promotion-arbetet med PG ROXETTE-äventyret. Första singlen kommer ut 3 juni. Den är grym! Och videon är badabam. Jag har världens bästa jobb. Tack alla!

PS. I won’t translate this cos I know you’ve all learned Swedish by now hahaha. Impressive!

On Twitter:

Thx everyone for some beautiful weeks on the road. Superb finish in Luleå last nite. This is one of the most rewarding tours I’ve ever done. I’m so proud of this band+crew. The love+feedback I’m getting from you guys are truly unbelievable. More to come!! Badabam from PG.

And on Instagram:

Tack för en av de finaste turnéerna jag varit med om. Fantastiskt att få spela för er alla. Grym avslutning i Luleå igår. Vi syns igen. Promise.

Per Gessle Unplugged Tour – #20 – 10th May 2022 – Skellefteå

May 11, 2022 by Patrícia Peres

The second to last show on the Per Gessle Unplugged tour happened in Skellefteå last night. The band was in top shape and enjoyed being on stage a lot. Towards the end of the tour they have more and more fun and we like it!

Last night the GT and Mazarin songs worked the best on the audience in Skellefteå and even if they were in a reserved party mood on a Tuesday night, they were clapping along and also singing along much more than the people in Umeå. Maybe we go further up to the north tomorrow and the party animals are there in Luleå. Haha.

O’boy should start sponsoring the band, they mention the brand so many times. The kidding around was cool this time too. Mr. G’s capo adventures continued. Per said „sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, so it’s fifty-fifty”. Later he said he has to practice more for the next tour. Christoffer’s reaction was „1 hour a day at the gym”.

Christoffer already started counting in for Det hjärta som brinner when Per asked him to count, so they started laughing and Chris started counting in again. After the song, Per said it wasn’t bad, Chris added despite the fact that Göran Fritzon wasn’t there. PG said he is always missed. Then Magnus, Christoffer and Helena left the stage and Per asked Clarence if he was still there. Clarence said it’s Göran Fritzon. Mr. G reacted „Göran Fritzon is not here”. They played the most beautiful version of Ljudet av ett annat hjärta. When Per asked if anyone saw Parkliv!, several people replied „yes”, one of them said „many times”. Per was shocked. Then he mentioned that it’s a pity that Christoffer went off stage, because he would admit that his favourite film is Parkliv! At this point Chris came up the stage for a little while to confirm. When the 3 band members came back, Per welcomed them, but said „not that we missed you”. Haha. Chris said he saw Parkliv! when it came out, he was 11 back then and thought it was magical. Per said „and the truth turns out at the second to last gig…”.

Before Vilket håll du än går, PG said they thought to play something uptempo, not that Christoffer falls asleep. Haha.

The crowd stood up before the first encore and waited for the gang to come back on stage while clapping hard. And the band appeared on stage again. Per came after Chris and lifted Christoffer’s hat and put it back again.

Before När vi två blir en, Per told that one can write certain songs when he is very young. He mentioned Flickorna på TV2 as an example, but he said they wouldn’t play that one. Christoffer said he can play it, so PG told him to go ahead. Chris tried, but after two sounds he said he can’t. Argh… Christoffer!!! Practice for the last show! Haha.

Before the second encore the audience stood up again, but the clapping was less loud this time. People already started leaving the concert hall. It was Tuesday after all… Haha. Nevermind! PG & Co. came back on stage for the third time and played their last three songs. Sommartider is always hard to beat! This time Per – just like at an earlier concert – lifted up Christoffer’s hat at one point singing „hej hej”. Everyone was standing and no one sat down for the closing song, När alla vännerna gått hem either. Standing ovation guaranteed at each gig!

Last stop is Luleå on 11th May!