Cast of the Gyllene Tider movie

The feature film about Gyllene Tider tells the incredible story of the band from the countryside that, against all odds, managed to become the biggest in Sweden. And to this day, when Gyllene Tider tours, all tickets are sold out in no time. Now it is clear that the film will have its cinema premiere in distribution by Nordisk Film next summer. All five who got the coveted lead roles are also making their acting debut. Valdemar Wahlbeck portrays Per Gessle, Lancelot Hedman Graaf plays the role of Anders Herrlin, Phoenix Parnevik plays Micke Syd Andersson, Ville Löfgren plays Mats “MP” Persson and Xawier Kulas plays Göran Fritzon.

Per Gessle says:

I think it can be absolutely fantastic, because it really is an incredible and extremely unusual journey Gyllene Tider has made. Lots of laughter, lots of crying, lots of everything. Just like in a good pop song.

The film tells the absurd story behind the legendary Swedish band Gyllene Tider, which has become one of the biggest pop sensations of our time. Per is the school’s ambitious outsider in the high school in Halmstad who finds a community and friends for life through music with MP, Micke, Anders and Göran. Despite all setbacks, the band fights purposefully and in the early eighties has its big breakthrough with its effective choruses and passionate lyrics about life in a small town.

Ahead of Gyllene Tider’s big comeback tour this summer, it is now clear which five guys will get the honorable task of playing the main roles as Gyllene Tider.

Per says:

I was honestly hesitant at first. After all, most films like this are made only after you die and we are, as far as I know, still alive! But after talking long and often with everyone involved and reading the script, I’m super proud and happy about this project. The five guys chosen to play the five of us are all special in completely different ways. Exactly like us in the “original band”.

Valdemar Wahlbeck, 19, plays Per Gessle. He was born and raised in Halmstad as the son of comedian Peter Wahlbeck. Valdemar is a singer and dancer and studies at the Ballet Academy in Gothenburg. With his band Pipsvängen, he, like Per Gessle in the beginning, has played at various retirement homes. He has already recorded several songs with Per Gessle’s producers that acclaim Valdemar’s singing voice.

Valdemar says:

Imagine being born and raised in Halmstad and now getting to play one of this city’s biggest icons. Dad is from Halmstad, Per is from Halmstad, my teacher created the Gula Tidningen which is a Gyllene Tider parody. It feels like the circle is closed.

Phoenix Parnevik, 21, became known to all Swedish people through the reality series Parneviks on TV3. Now it’s his turn in the family to step into the limelight after studying acting in the US. Like his grandfather Bosse Parnevik, he is a good impersonator and is now practicing the Halland dialect for the role of Micke Syd Andersson.

Phoenix says:

It feels good to finally be able to show the Swedish people what I love and have been doing for so long in the USA. That my first role is a real person is really a dream.

Lancelot Hedman Graaf, 22, plays Anders Herrlin. Lancelot is already an established artist and has appeared in a number of television shows.

Lancelot says:

It feels great fun. Acting wasn’t something I thought I’d do but after the test shoot I related so much to the role and really just need to be myself. It’s fun to have new challenges.

The other two making their acting debut are Ville Löfgren, 17, from Karlshamn in the role of Mats “MP” Persson and Xawier Kulas, 16, from Halmstad plays Göran Fritzon. More roles will be presented later.

Nevis Productions is very happy to have gained the band’s trust and values their involvement in the film. The premiere takes place next summer in cinemas around the country through Nordisk Film.

Pia Norström, Nordisk Film marketing manager says:

We are extremely proud to present this film to cinema audiences. Gyllene Tider’s music means a lot to many Swedes and we want to give the audience a movie experience that will be just as strong.

The feature film about Gyllene Tider’s road to success is loosely based on the band’s history. It will be as much a feel-good film as a music party and an updated look at the early eighties.

Screenwriter and director is Per Simonsson (Svartsjön [Black Lake], Tjuvarnas jul [Christmas of Thieves], Selmas saga [Selma’s Saga]).

Per Simonsson says:

I listened to the first three records on constant repeat and thought that this is how the film should feel: the longing for love, community and daring to live life to the fullest.

The shooting of Gyllene Tider starts in August in Halmstad and the recording continues in Stockholm during autumn.

Producers at Nevis Productions are Moa Westeson, Cindy Hanson and Anni Faurbye Fernandez.

Photos by Fredrik Etoall

Our earlier article about the movie can be found HERE.

Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin about Gyllene Tider on Efter fem – TV4

Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin were guests on TV4’s Efter fem on 1st June. You can watch it HERE!

The program leader, Axel Pileby says 4 years ago Gyllene Tider was out on a farewell tour and said goodbye in packed venues around the country after 40 years. But if you are one of Sweden’s greatest bands, you can make a comeback as many times as you want and now a new tour awaits and also a new Gyllene Tider album. He says it’s great to have Anders and Per on the show and asks them if GT is still as much fun. The guys say it’s a lot of fun. PG adds it’s a wonderful little pop band of the type that isn’t formed anymore.

Axel says they will talk about the GT film later, but he heard on the radio that yesterday Anders was going to meet the guy who will play him. Anders says it felt a little strange, but it was nice. The guy studied him thoroughly and they talked a lot. The guy was staring at him to check Anders’ moves and behaviour and so he felt watched.

The program leader says they will talk about the film and many other things soon, but first comes a little nostalgia and his colleague will tell a bit about magical Gyllene Tider. So here comes a compact history of GT. After the introduction of the band’s career, Axel asks the guys if they sometimes stop and think, wow, what have we done. Anders says when they see such presentations, they do. Seeing the 2004 Ullevi picture there, it’s just fantastic. Axel says he wasn’t there, but just by looking at the picture he gets goosebumps. It must have been extraordinary. Per says the first time they played Ullevi was absolutely incredible. So it has been an awesome trip.

Axel asks the guys how often they think back to GT and such things as Ullevi. PG says he is reminded about Gyllene Tider all the time. You hear GT music all the time, e.g. now when it’s graduation time of secondary schools (studenten), the students still sing Sommartider.

Axel says the band is back again after their 2019 farewell tour and he is curious what happened, why they changed their minds. Anders says the pandemic happened after their decision. Everything became so sad, everything was shut down and it was boring. Then this idea was born that they should fix themselves and bring back some light. Anders remembers when he hit the last note at the last gig in Oslo, he thought, „shit, what have we done? This is really sad, we should continue”. Per says people have a different way of thinking because of the pandemic. You started to appreciate things that you have in a different way. Time passed and so they started talking about why not recording a new album and play a bit more together. All of a sudden it felt obvious in a way, so it wasn’t really planned, but Hux Flux just happened. Axel says they maybe somehow realized it even more how much they miss each other, how much they mean to each other, because they have been a part of each other’s lives for so long. Per says such thoughts popped up during the pandemic in different ways. PG thinks a lot of people can identify with it.

Axel asks if there is any fear related to Hux Flux. He means that they said goodbye in 2019 and there was a big hype around it, a lot of people went to see them. Now they come back again and they are Gyllene Tider, but Axel is curious if they are afraid that the interest will not be as great. PG says you never know. Every time you do a new project, you can’t take anything for granted at all. Per thinks they have such a huge song catalogue that it feels completely right to do this. PG also hopes that there will be more things, so that they won’t go on another farewell tour.

Axel asks the guys how it is touring these days compared to 40 years ago. Anders says it’s a little easier now. Back then they carried their own stuff themselves. Maybe not Per, but the rest of them carried Per’s guitars too. Haha. Now they just go along and stand on the stage playing. Per says the only fun thing about touring is being on stage. Everything else is waiting to be on stage. It is the communication and energy that you get from the audience and that you feel the love. You live for this in a way. The rest is just sleeping pills… waiting for the flight, long bus rides, all that and new hotel beds every night. As he said before, you can never take anything for granted and it’s very cool to be in this band and to play on these stages and meet the audience. Anders says when they went on tour in their little tour bus 40 years ago, it was also cool, this little gang going around. They stuck together and learned a lot during those times.

Axel goes back to 1985 and asks about why the band split up. Anders says they kind of felt like they were not getting anywhere with their music. There was so much happening in music at the time with synths and more electronic stuff, but they were kind of stuck, so then Anders thought it’s better that they take a little break and they did.

Anders moved to Stockholm and started working in a music store and learned a lot about synth music, because he was very much interested in it. Then he started working with Per again for Roxette and added his knowledge to the music they made. And it was good.

Axel asks Per about 1994-1995 when they were on tour with Roxette and Per was writing music in Japanese ice hockey halls for GT again. PG says it was during the Crash! Boom! Bang! tour. They were to take a break with Roxette, because Marie wanted to have another child. So Per wrote songs for GT. Det är över nu he actually wrote in an ice hockey hall in Japan. All these songs, Kung av sand, Juni, juli, augusti, Gå & fiska! were written back then. It was a great time, PG says.

Axel mentions that Per often writes in unexpected places. PG says ideas can come anywhere, as long as you are motivated.

Axel asks the guys to tell a bit about the GT movie that premieres next year. Anders says it won’t be a documentary. It’s more about 5 guys from a small town who succeed against all odds. Per says it’s a film about 5 teenage guys who meet and start a band and suddenly end up in Stockholm in their clogs.

Axel wants to know how much the guys in GT are involved in the film. Anders says they get to read the script and think. Per says they have been there the whole time, because that script is their story, so it’s clear that they have to be there. They have told a lot of anecdotes and so it has become the script in a way. But it’s clear that the story is written in a way that it becomes an interesting and funny movie. It’s a very funny script with lots of laughs and cries, just like it was for real. Per thinks it will be a great movie. PG says most people who are in a film like this have already died, so it will be very strange to see this. Anders has already met mini Anders. Per has also met mini Per and he thinks that guy is amazing.

Axel says the movie will be exciting and he speaks for many people out there when he says it’s much fun that GT is back again. The new album is out soon and the tour starts on 7th July in Halmstad. Axel thanks the guys for coming to the show. Per says it’s their pleasure.

Stills are from the video.

Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin about Gyllene Tider on P4 Extra

P4 Extra on Swedish Radio had Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin as their guests on 31st May. Program leader Titti Schultz asked the guys about Gyllene Tider. You can listen to it HERE!

Titti welcomes 2/5 of Gyllene Tider and says they are back again. Per says that’s pretty accurate to say so, being back AGAIN. It’s 4 years since the last time. Titti says there are so many immortal songs of theirs, e.g. she can’t even say Juni, juli, augusti to anyone anymore without a melodic loop coming up with it. The same thing goes for Gå & fiska!, however, she doesn’t say that very often, but so do others. She says the guys have sort of penetrated our consciousnesses in a way. She is curious if that was well thought out. Anders says it’s a long-term plan to penetrate Swedish DNA. They already had that when they started. Per says that’s a seventies idea.

Titti wants to know what happened after the 2019 farewell tour. Anders says they regretted it. Per says the pandemic happened. It was Micke Syd who thought they should quit in 2019 with the flag on top and Per thought that was a pretty good idea. But then the pandemic came and then they all started to think differently. They started to appreciate other things, such as old friends and hangouts. The idea just popped up to maybe record some new songs and maybe maybe maybe go on tour sometime when it’s possible again. So it’s not a planned comeback, it just happened.

Titti is curious what the guys do together when they don’t make music and are not touring, but hang out together. Maybe BBQing together? Anders says it’s top secret. Haha. He says they are BBQing and drinking. Per says they don’t hang out very much in private. It mostly happens when they are recording and if you are going on a tour in a few months, it’s actually quite nice to start that journey with getting together for a few weeks and record some new music and eat lunch and BBQ together. It’s good to have that social activity. Titti asks if they go fishing together. That never happened, the guys say. It’s not their cup of tea.

Titti picked a song from GT that she thinks is among the best the guys have done. It’s Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång. She asks if it will be on the setlist in summer. Per confirms they will play it, so Titti promises to come to a concert then. It’s such a good song, Titti thinks and she asks the guys to admit  it themselves that they are incredibly happy with this song. Anders says it’s a fantastic song. Per laughs. Titti says she isn’t sure if Anders is ironic now. Anders says he is mostly serious. He thinks this song turned out great.

Gyllene Tider becomes a feature film. Titti asks the guys to tell more about it. Per says it won’t be a documentary. It’s not about Gyllene Tider’s 40 years, but about 5 teenage boys who come from a small town and against all odds start a band and end up in big Stockholm and break through and become one of Sweden’s biggest bands in the early ’80s. So it’s a feel-good movie.

Titti asks Per if he knows who will play him. PG knows it, but can’t tell more about it yet. Anders says that later today he is going to meet the guy who plays him. Anders will talk about his life. Titti says it feels like Anders is looking forward to it. Anders confirms it. Titti says Anders should tell the guy that he was named Sweden’s most handsome guy in 1981 in Veckorevyn. Titti says Anders is probably not completely happy with that himself, but it’s fun.

Titti asks if it really feels like the band could make it against all odds, if it was such an uphill battle. Per says the fact that they became so successful was really a tall order. They had actually done only 6 gigs in front of an audience before they became No. 1 with Flickorna på TV2. So they didn’t know anything and in that way it’s incredibly rare to happen.

Anders says he quit his regular job when they got a gig. They were quite ambitious. Titti is thinking what Anders’ parents could have said then, but realizes that Anders is an electrician anyway, so he always has something to fall back on. Titti asks Per if he has a real job. PG says he doesn’t have any. He worked at Fammarps Mushroom Cultivation and weighed mushrooms. He was there with another guy and there were 350 girls, so it was a great job. He remembers that while waiting for the mushrooms, he was sitting in a small truck they had and wrote songs. Among others, he wrote (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän, back then. Titti says she had no idea about this.

Titti mentions that recently she heard Per wrote the official song for the Table Tennis EC in Malmö. The Craziest Thing is coming this autumn. Anders writes music for various series, Titti shares. Per says Anders is very good and handsome. Titti laughs and says he even has a paper about it. Anders says he is dealing with film music and GT music. He doesn’t do much else.

Titti asks Anders if he writes the music for the GT feature film. Anders says no, it would be too close and it gets too goofy, so they let someone else do it.

After Titti asks Anders what he is dreaming about, Anders shares that last night he dreamed that he found a huge amount of money in the forest in a large suitcase and it was euro notes. Titti asks if Per Gessle was written on the suitcase. Haha. Anders says he was so damn afraid to take it. He looked around all the time, not that he was being chased by someone. Titti laughs and says she thought about a dream music project or TV series, so a dream in that context. Haha. Anders says he dreams of just continuing with what he is doing, to make fun projects all the time. He works together with his wife and it seems to be a successful concept. They have been together for 23 years and work and have a child together. It works very well.

Here they listen to a new GT song, Chans. Titti asks the guys if they want to say something about it. Per says it’s a song that sums up pretty much how they sound right now.

Titti says the fun thing is, what the listeners can’t hear now is that she gets practically involved in planning the tour. During the song being played the guys were discussing how to perform the songs live and stuff like that. It’s fun for Titti who is tone deaf (she says it about herself).

Titti mentions that it wasn’t obvious at the beginning who was going to play the bass in the band. She asks if they decided it with playing rock paper scissors. Andrs says it’s just that Micke Syd had a bass in his lap and so he got it. Anders was so damn bad at drums, so they changed. Titti asks whether Micke could play the drums at all or he was a talent. He was damn good and he still is, Anders says.

Titti shares that Per became the frontman, because no one else was interested. PG says it was because nobody else wanted to sing. He likes to sing and stand in the front and that impression you get there. PG remembers when he was 7 or 8 years old, he forced his friends to play and act like a band and he mimed to I’m A Believer by The Monkees. Titti asks what his friends really wanted to do. Per says they probably wanted to play hockey games.

Titti asks PG if he had any other strong interest besides music. These days she knows it’s cars, but if there was anything else back then. Per says when he thinks back on his life, there was a lot of pop music, so he spent all his time sitting with his headphones on and listening to Herman’s Hermits singles, The Kinks and stuff like that.

Titti is curious how Anders and Per found each other. It was actually via MP. Per says that first they had another bassist in Gyllene Tider, but that didn’t go too well and so PG left the band on New Year’s Eve. It was dramatic. Instead of the bassist being fired, Per quit. He was going to start a new band with Anders and then MP also wanted to join this new band and then Micke too, so in the end only the old bass player stayed in the old band. Titti says so he could say he is the only original member of Gyllene Tider. Per laughs and says there is some truth in it, actually.

Titti wants to know when the guys realized that their success is for real. Maybe when they started having fans and people started stealing stuff from their parents’ garden? Anders says it was after they appeared on Måndagsbörsen on TV and they played Flickorna på TV2. Then it all exploded. They were on tour and when they played in Rottneros there were so many people, thousands of them. Then the guys realized that wow, there was something going on here.

Regarding stuff being stolen from their surroundings, Anders says people stole underpants from their garden. But those were his father’s. Haha. Everything that was loose disappeared, Per says. E.g. number plate on the car, antennas and stuff like that. PG remembers when he turned 21 he still lived at home with his mother. Then 3 large sacks of mail arrived. 2800 birthday cards. Titti asks if Per read them all. PG says he even replied to them all. Haha. And it still happens these days, Titti guesses.

Here they start talking about the new album, Hux Flux and that they go on tour this summer. It’s a little huxflux for them, because they decided they would finish in 2019, but all of a sudden they changed their minds. Per wrote a song called Hux Flux and thought that this is not a bad title for this whole project.

Titti asks the guys if they have any plans for how long they will be up and running this time before they call it quits. Per says they shouldn’t put themselves in such a situation again. Titti says she is already looking forward to the next comeback.

Titti asks what the guys are looking the most forward to in summer. Anders says to play in front of people, because it’s so much fun. Per says touring is actually pretty tough, except for the hours you play for people. That’s why you do it. The rest is waiting and changing hotel rooms and changing cities all the time. You get tired of it quite quickly.

Titti says there will be a sixth member on tour, Uno. PG says, yes, Uno Svenningsson is the support act on this tour. He is a lovely guy and very talented. He is going to be a great opener both for the band and for the audience.

Titti thanks the guys for joining her on the show and lets Anders go and meet his younger self in film form. The guys thank Titti for the invitation.

Photo from P4 Extra’s story by Helen Ling

Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin about Gyllene Tider on Gry Forssell med vänner, Mix Megapol

Per Gessle and Anders Herrlin were guests of Gry Forssell med vänner on Swedish radio Mix Megapol on 31st May. You can listen to the morning show podcast HERE and listen to the 25-minute-long chat from 30:47 into the recording.

Gry welcomes Per and Anders in the studio after introducing Gyllene Tider’s history in short. Gry asks the guys how they are doing. Per says, all good, it’s Wednesday. Gry asks Per what it means to him. PG says it means that it’s the middle of the week. Gry suggests they should celebrate Wednesday just because it’s the middle of the week. Mr. G says it’s hump day (lillördag). Gry says weekend is getting closer. Per says he is the kind of guy who likes Mondays and Tuesdays, when everyone is back, you can reach anyone and get things started. Anders thinks the same, he says Mondays are the best. The program leaders are laughing. Per says they are from Halmstad. One of the program leader guys says it’s nice to hear that Per states Wednesday is hump day, because they had a long debate in the studio. Gry thinks Thursday is the new hump day. Per says „but you are from Gothenburg”. Haha. Gry says she lived there, but she is from Luleå.

Gry asks the guys how it feels that summer is approaching. Per says it feels amazing. It’s always a pleasure to play with this great little pop band that doesn’t grow on trees anymore. They stand for some rather old-fashioned kind of pop music. Gry says they kickstart every morning at 6 and Leva livet is a kind of kickstart song to get the day going. It’s a song where Per sings he is 21. That’s a completely different period of life. She is curious how GT as a band still manage to get that feeling so many years later. Per thinks life goes on and you become a different person over the years. He wrote Leva livet on his 21st birthday. What a damn birthday party it could have been, the guys are kidding him. They ask Anders if he was there too. Anders says he wasn’t invited. Haha.

Gry plays a little mash-up of Gyllene Tider song snippets here, a little look back on GT hits. Per says they will also play new songs on tour. They start rehearsing next weekend. PG thinks it’s going to be a lot of fun and like he said earlier, it’s a great band and it’s always fun to hang out and play together. The new album, Hux Flux is very upbeat and very energetic, so it will be fun to sink their teeth into some of those songs.

During the whole morning show different GT songs are played. Here Gry plays Dagar att dansa, the latest single. Per says it’s a nice song and Anders plays the bass damn well. Anders adds that Per sings very well. Haha.

After the song is played, Gry asks Anders how it feels. Anders says it feels fantastic. One of the program leaders asks the guys where the band name, Gyllene Tider comes from. Anders says it was from an article Mats Olsson wrote back then for Expressen. Per says they were already called Gyllene Tider when Mats wrote that article. They gave the name after an instrumental song with that title. Anders says he changed his mind. They are laughing. PG says Anders wasn’t even in the band at the time. Gry says there is another song now also called Gyllene Tider that came out a couple of weeks ago. Per corrects her that the title is Gyllene Tider igen.

Here comes the dilemma of the day (a part of the show). It’s about a 23-year-old girl, Sofia who has been dating a man for a year now. The relationship is kept secret from her family, but she feels that she should talk about it. The real dilemma is that the man is her mother’s friend. He is 50 years old. Her mother guessed that she met someone, but not that it is her friend. It’s strange when the man is visiting them, because they have to pretend that everything is as usual. The girl is afraid that her mother will be angry and disappointed because it is him. This man and her mother also have a past, they were together before the girl was born. The guys are thinking and say maybe it’s the girl’s father. Gry says it can’t be. At least she shopes so. She asks what Sofia should do. Jakob, one of the program leaders thinks it’s nothing to build on in this relationship. The man is 50, the girl is 23. He would advise to say goodbye to each other, but later if love conquers, he wishes good luck in that case. Gry says she read that Ulf Lundell’s girlfriend is 33 years old. Jakob says it’s a different case here, since the man was together with Sofia’s mother too. Per says he thinks she should sell her story to Netflix. Haha. It could be a good movie. Or a song. Anders says he has never heard such a story before, but if you meet and fall in love with someone like this, then it must mean something. So in the end the guys think Sofia should follow her heart. Later in this discussion Per throws in one of GT’s song titles, Kärleken är inte blind (Men ganska närsynt) (Love is not blind, but quite nearsighted). Haha.

Gry comes up with the idea of reading a tale about Gyllene Tider, hux flux (all of a sudden). She starts and when she stops, the guys have to finish the sentences. According to Wikipedia, Gyllene Tider is a band that was originally active between 1978 and 1985, but after that, they had several reunions and hux flux when per Gessle reads it, he thinks… PG says „that’s pretty much true”. Gry goes on. The last time Anders Herrlin put his bass on the shelf it was… Anders says „yesterday”. Haha. Gry goes on. But all of a sudden he felt… Anders says „I play a little more”. Gry goes on. The last time Per Gessle was in this studio, he revealed that he has never bathed in Tylösand and he is a man of principles. But the last time he surprised himself, it was when he… PG says „got here on time to the studio this morning”. Gry goes on. Karolina Widerström has seen a lot of films, but maybe she didn’t know that Anders Herrlin produces a lot of music for films. Anders never thought he would write film music, but… Anders says „he did it”. Gry goes on. Yesterday, the storyteller here in the studio drew attention to the mystery of actually owning ugly panties and the most uncomfortable that Per Gessle ever wore was… PG says „probably MP’s old slippers”. Anders laughs it’s good that it wasn’t his underpants. Gry goes on. Singer Dea Norberg, who was on tour with Roxette, but will also be on this summer’s GT tour, says that she wants to go on a horse ride with Per and Anders this summer. Per feels… PG says „Good God! Is that true?” Gry goes on. She is looking forward to it and she is going to make it happen. Gyllene Tider had a big farewell tour, there would be no more tours, but all of a sudden… Anders says „they are back again”. PG says „Micke Syd changed his mind”. With this, the short and intense GT tale ends.

Gry mentions that there will be a GT movie. She asks what the guys can tell about it. The shooting starts in August this year. It won’t be like a documentary, but a feature film about 5 small town teenage guys who, against all odds, succeed in making it. It’s about GT, but it’s not like a documentary about the success story, but it’s about when they started the band and when they broke through. The program leaders ask who will play the roles of the band members. Per says they can’t share the info. Anders says they are not allowed to say anything, but today he is going to meet the guy who plays him.

It’s much fun. Mr. G says the script is very cool, full of laughs and cries. Gry is curious how much the guys are involved in the project. Per says they are very much involved. It actually starts with Per and the time he met MP and they formed a band and then everything else happened. The movie should be out in summer 2024.

Gry gets back to Anders and film music. Anders says he has always been interested in that. It’s very difficult to enter this world, but he had worked with Anders Bagge and he got a foot in. Then he asked Anders and his partner with whom he worked together if they want to help him. So that’s the way it is. So now Anders is making film music every day. It’s his job. Per says: „What a guy!” Haha. Gry says PG also has quite a few side projects besides Gyllene Tider. She asks how it is going with Roxette. Per asks if Gry means PG Roxette. He says they released a new EP a couple of weeks ago. Gry says they talked about it earlier this morning. They have a program point where they try to guess what the most googled term in the last 24 hours is. Jakob guessed that it was Marie Fredriksson, who would have turned 65 yesterday. She was number one on the list of what people have googled the most. It was actually over 20,000 searches. Gry also mentions that SVT broadcast the 2020 tribute concert yesterday and asks if the guys watched it and how it felt. Anders says it was a terrible experience doing that, because there was so much pressure. Seeing all the pictures of Marie when she was young and in her peak. Then they were unprepared seeing all these films that were shown in the background. It came as a shock. You are used to being on stage and conveying energy of joy and all that. But this was like hell. It was very strange, they sat and cried. It was tough. Per adds that it was pretty close after she had passed away. That was a very tough day.

Talking about icons and singers who are unfortunately no longer with us, Gry mentions Tina Turner and she says both Anders and Per met her. She asks the guys to talk about this. Anders says he has a story about Tina. „Tina as I call her.” It was probably somewhere in Germany with Roxette, maybe in Hamburg. Tina would come and see them at the concert. Everyone was very excited. They were up on stage playing and all of a sudden Tina was standing by Anders side. And then she disappeared. After they finished playing, everyone went backstage and asked „what did she say? What did she say?” The organizer said she only said one thing, „I like the bass player”. Haha.

Per also met Tina, but he says he doesn’t have such a lovely story as Anders. He was in her home and had a dinner there. Tina invited them for dinner once in Cologne. She lived there back then. They were 12-14 people there. It was in connection with Roxette’s Crash! Boom! Bang! album. Per remembers that Tina had tons of golden records up on the walls. He thought that was a bit cheesy. Haha. Gry asks Per where he keeps his golden records. PG says not at home. They have a small Roxette and Gyllene Tider museum at Hotel Tylösand, where you can see those records.

Here they play Gyllene Tider igen. Gry asks what the guys could tell about the song. Per says it’s short, but it’s nice.

The last program point while the guys are still in the studio is 5 seconds. It’s a game. Per and Anders have to say 3 things in 5 seconds, replying to a question. Round 1, question to Per: Say 3 things in 5 seconds you do on hump day! PG says „sleep, wake up and eat breakfast”. Round 1, question to Anders: Say 3 things you would like to gild! Anders says „my body, my wife’s body, my son’s body”. Round 2, question to Per: 3 things that are punk. PG says „Anders Herrlin, MP Persson, Göran Fritzon”. Round 2, question to Anders: 3 things that happen on the subway. Anders says „dirt, dirt, dirt”. The program leaders say it’s only one thing, unfortunately. Anders says no, it’s not at all. These are different dirts. Round 3, question to Per: Say 3 Ferrari sounds! Mr. G says „bass, mid-range, treble”. Round 3, question to Anders: Say 3 things that sound like German! Here they start laughing and the 5 seconds are over. So Per wins, but he says Anders got much tougher questions.

The conversation ends with info about the summer tour that premieres on 7th July in Halmstad. Gry says to search in google where to buy tickets. Per says there will be 17 shows in Sweden, 2 in Finland an 1 in Norway. One of the program leader guys asks if there is any gig in Denmark. Per says no, they can come to Skåne. Haha.

Gry thanks the guys for joining. Per says it’s always a pleasure.

   

   

Still’s are from Gry Forssells stories.

Gyllene Tider’s story becomes a film!

Nordic drama production company Nevis Productions has secured a deal with Sweden’s great music treasure, Gyllene Tider to make a feature film and a TV-series based on the band’s incredible journey to success.

Per Gessle and Mats Persson formed Gyllene Tider with Micke Andersson, Anders Herrlin and Göran Fritzon in the late 70’s. After taking Sweden by storm, they broke up in 1984. Per Gessle then formed Roxette with Marie Fredriksson and became successful all around the world.

The feature film about Gyllene Tider is developed in full collaboration with the band and will be a warm feelgood story about friendship and growing up in the spotlight. The script is written by Pernilla Oljelund (Miss Friman’s War, Wallander, The Restaurant) and the shooting will start in 2022. Producers at Nevis are Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Moa Westeson and Cindy Hanson.

The film tells the story of Per, an ambitious outsider who dreams of pop stardom and finds a brotherhood through music with MP, Micke, Anders and Göran. They experience the highs and lows, but despite all setbacks, being ridiculed and rejected, the band works hard and purposefully – and breaks through with their power pop, their effective choruses and joyous and affectionate lyrics about life in a small town.

The movie is a story about dreaming big and achieving something even bigger. Success is not only accompanied by joy and happiness, but also pressure, conflicts and tragic events that challenge the band and force them to grow up in unexpected ways. In the end, it’s the friendship and music that lead forward. The gang not only survives, but also becomes bigger than ever.

After their breakup, Gyllene Tider reunions and tours have taken them to heights that no one, least of all themselves, could have imagined. When the band celebrated their 25th anniversary with their first new album in 20 years, the tour in 2004 became the largest in Scandinavia ever and the third largest in Europe. For over 40 years, GT has maintained its popularity and been loved by generation after generation, who have grown up with their songs. Gyllene Tider reunited several times, most recently in 2019. At that time, they celebrated their 40th anniversary as a band and also released a studio album, Samma skrot och korn.

Per Gessle says:

The story of the guys in Gyllene Tider could be the story of any young small town person. The shaky possibilities after finishing school, the uncertain prospects of the future. However, inspired by the new wave and power pop scene of the era, bonding in our tiny rehearsal shack, we found a very unusual way to grow up. The early and crazy Gyllene Tider years changed our lives forever. And it seems we might have changed some other people’s lives as well along the way. The lads and I are all excited to be part of this production.

Producer Moa Westeson adds:

We have long dreamed of dramatizing the exceptional, inspirational story behind legendary Swedish pop band Gyllene Tider and are excited to bring the audience along on this fun, uplifting whirlwind celebration of music, friendship and coming of age that captures the zeitgeist of a bygone era.

Nevis is an independent production company with offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm and London. Nevis Productions was founded in 2020 by Anni Faurbye Fernandez, Cindy Hanson and Moa Westeson and is backed by London based production company NEVISION. Their mission is to create high quality storytelling that appeals to both the local Nordic market and to a wider, global audience. With passion and dedication, they aim to entertain, inspire and move audiences with a variety of creatively ambitious TV dramas.

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