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.

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.

PRESS RELEASE

Gyllene Tider’s GT40 Live Ullevi 2019 show is out!

8 months after Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour is over, the Golden Guys surprised us with a live show release. The concert film is the complete Ullevi show, recorded on 3rd August 2019 in Gothenburg. The concert was originally planned to be held at Slottskogsvallen, but right after the tickets went on sale it turned out to be too small, so it had to be moved to Ullevi, of course. The number of visitors at the show was 54340! Pure awesomeness! And the chance to relive the best gig on the GT40 tour is just amazing!

Since I usually stand in the very front of the crowd, I love watching the DVD recordings later, because then I can see how the stage and the crowd looked from the back and how the band saw the audience and the venue itself. The camera angles used for the GT40 shooting are fabulous. You can see so many details and you can feel yourself standing and dancing and singing along right in the middle of the crowd, in front of those 5 guys and 2 ladies in top shape, giving their 120% of energy up on stage.

I want last summer back! Watching this concert on my 24th day of quarantine I’m just grateful for it and I appreciate it even more (if possible at all) how this band could unite so many people via their music. Hopefully, the good times are back again soon and ojojoj… still can’t believe it was Gyllene Tider’s last tour. Was it? I didn’t want this Ullevi gig to end… But the good thing is that from now on I can watch it anytime!

Streaming is available . If you want to rent the film, you get a 48-hour streaming period for 4,99 USD. You will be able to stream it on supported browsers or the Vimeo mobile app and watch it on TV, mobile and tablet. While if you buy it for 9,99 USD, you can stream it anytime, download it and watch it on TV, mobile and tablet.

If streaming is not your thing and you haven’t ordered your physical copy yet, you can buy the DVD or Blu-ray at or .

Setlist

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

BAND PRESENTATION

11. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga!
12. Kung av sand
13. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
17. Tylö Sun

Encore 1

18. Billy
19. Det är över nu
20. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

21. När vi två blir en
22. Sommartider
23. När alla vännerna gått hem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stills are from the concert recording.

 

Gyllene Tider – avskedsturnén documentary on TV4

During the tour we could already sense there would be a GT40 documentary later because of the filmings at each concert and with more cameras out at Ullevi and in Kalmar. Gyllene Tider – avskedsturnén (Gyllene Tider – the farewell tour) premiered on TV4 on 26th December. The story about a pop band that conquered Sweden. Again. And again. And again… 1979-2019. Unfortunately, as usual, it is available only in Sweden, but here you can read an English translation of it and see some screenshots.

The documentary is of premium quality both recordings and soundwise, as well as in terms of content. There is a lot of footage from the GT40 tour, interviews with the Golden Guys done by the mighty Sven Lindström, footage from the rehearsals before the tour and the studio in France, old interviews, photos and private videos, Pappa and Mamma Syd, as well as Micke Syd’s then girlfriend talking about the old days, Niklas Strömstedt, Lasse Lindbom, Kjell Andersson, Marie Dimberg also talking about Gyllene Tider’s greatness. Grumpy Productions did a fantastic job once again.

The documentary starts with Per telling it was Micke Syd who came up with the idea to finish GT with this latest tour, because with their habit of doing a tour every 6-7-8 years, who knows how they would be next time when they are 67-68 years old.

 

It’s amazing to see cuts from the 1981 Parkliv version of songs and the 2019 tour next to each other. It’s the same energetic band as ever.

Right at the beginning when Per talks on stage about Harplinge and Micke Syd’s mom who had a hairdresser salon, a part of the Mamma Syd interview is cut in where she says when Per was there for the first time, he had a long coat and a hat on. He looked a little special. And she laughs. Sven asks Per about the period when he became a teenager. Mr. G says he was a music and pop nerd. He never thought he could play anything, but he just started writing lyrics or rather poems. MP says when he first heard about Per was in the first grade at high school.

Anders says the first time he met Micke was when they started playing football together. Micke Syd says those who lived in Harplinge went to school in Halmstad. Göran says he asked his music teacher if he knew anyone who played in a band and got the phone number to Anders. He called him and asked what they were up to.

 

Mr. G’s classmate, Peter played the bass in MP’s band. They met more and more times and Per and MP became best friends. Micke and Anders were best friends too, Mamma Syd says. They listened to albums together and went to the record store every day. Anders and Micke decided to get more involved in music and left football. Their trainer told them they would never succeed.

 

Per describes his experience of hearing MP’s band, 4 guys playing at the rehearsal studio in Harplinge as a fantastic noise. He felt he also wanted to play in a band.

Pappa Syd visits the old Tits & Ass studio in Styrdal. Someone else is living there now, but he lets Ingemar in and he shows which room the recording studio was. It has changed a lot, but the the studio window is still there. Per says he spent a lot of time on sending out cassettes to all possible places: local radio, journalists, newspapers, etc. When they recorded their yellow EP, it went out to all record labels. Kjell Andersson (EMI) says when he heard Billy, he got stuck to it, because the singer reminded him of a young John Holm who was his favourite those times. Lasse Lindbom says he and Kjell were running around Stockholm clubs and listened to punk bands and they realized the guys in GT knew what music was about.

Sven asks MP if he would thought when they recorded their first album that they would become one of Sweden’s greatest pop bands. MP says not at all. When they were there in the studio, they were not thinking like this, but there was a supernatural driving force in all of them. They were dreaming with the songs, they rehearsed a lot to become better.

Per says that in January 1979, Kjell from EMI called him. He lived at his mother’s then. Kjell says Per’s mom picked up the phone and said his son was still sleeping, but she could wake him up, it was 12 am after all. Micke Syd says when Kjell called them, it felt like winning the lottery, the Nobel Prize and becoming the father of 4 at the same time. Lasse Lindbom went down to Halmstad to see if they could play. Lasse met Per at motel Hallandia and says Per was quite nervous, he had sweaty hands. Micke says of course they were nervous. Recording an album at a big record label with Lasse Lindbom! Per took Lasse to their studio and when they were there altogether, they became more confident. All other bands who rehearsed there went to see Lasse Lindbom. Pappa Syd says Lasse listened to the guys in the cellar of the old nursing home. Lasse then went back to Stockholm and told Kjell he wasn’t totally convinced. He was a little sceptical about the singer’s pop star status. But there was something in Per’s lyrics and how they could perform their songs. They were talented musicians.

Per says it was magical that they could record an album, but still no one knew who they were. As small town boys they felt quite lost in the big city. In the ’70s all record labels were in Stockholm. Those days there were only 2 TV channels and 1 radio that played pop music. Laila Berger, a childhood friend says the guys didn’t have an image. They came from the countryside, in clogs, jeans and T-shirts to EMI in Stockholm. Lasse says the first to get out from the taxi was Göran. He was showing the receipt and asked if he gets money for that. At that moment EMI probably didn’t think of them as future pop idols.

They recorded the album at EMI’s little studio 2 in Skärmarbrink. The studio was so small they could hardly fit in all five of them with the instruments. Micke says they got the small studio because Björn Skifs was recording in the big one. Per says there was something magical in all this. No one knew them, they didn’t have any success, they just wanted to record their album. They went home at nights and shared a room. Per, MP and Anders were in a triple room. They were sitting there and listened to the cassettes to hear what they recorded during the day and they thought that was the best they ever heard. Revolver upp, Sista gången jag såg Annie, those songs. Mr. G says he thinks the record label didn’t really know what they wanted to do with them when they recorded their first album. They picked Himmel No. 7 as the first single with Flickorna på TV2 on the other side. Lasse Lindbom says they had to change the sides and re-release it. Kjell says it was Niklas Strömstedt who first saw the qualities of Flickorna på TV2. In the summer of ’79 he was a DJ at Atlantic, a club in Stockholm where all the hip people were going. Niklas says his first impression of GT was that they were quite curious, nice, a little clumsy guys from the countryside.

The first time MP went to Atlantic he was wearing clogs. The security guy was so nice to him he said he can lend him his private shoes so he can change his clogs and pick them up when he is leaving. After this, MP’s clogs were left home for good. Susan Hübel, Micke’s then girlfriend says Anders and Micke went to Ullared and bought the most awful clothes ever. Göran says he was only 17 and he went to clubs like Atlantic and Victoria.

Per says they had to learn how to handle fame. Even if one thinks it’s cool to become famous and have fans, they were not prepared for it. It was very strange. They were super happy of course, but also surprised that it happened so fast. Teenage girls were screaming and fainting, it was hysterical. They did only 6 live performances in front of an audience before they became No. 1 with Flickorna på TV2. Micke says they suddenly had everything they dreamed about. Attendance records, screaming girls, guys were showing their middle finger to them while girls were falling in love with them.

Pappa Syd enters Börjes konditori where the GT guys were hanging around a lot to eat or drink something, but also to meet friends. He says Harplinge was a vivid town, but after the railway disappeared in 1986, the town became kind of dead.

Per still lived with his mom and says when they were hanging out his washed clothes they got stolen by fans. But not only that. Anything that could be moved was gone. Even the registration number plate from the car. Mamma Syd confirms that girls were totally crazy. They were sitting in the ditch outside the house and were waiting for Micke to come home. Susan remembers she once received a pillowcase from a girl with a letter to ask Micke to sleep on it and send it back to her. Micke was so nice that he did sleep on that pillowcase.

Lasse Lindbom says he was surprised by the monumental success of GT, but not because he didn’t believe in them, but because one never thinks that something can become so huge. These things just happen. Kjell also says he never thought they could be so huge. At least not that fast.

Niklas thought that the guys could accompany him on his first album in 1980, but GT became so big that they didn’t have time for that. So he had to find another band.

When Per had his 22nd birthday in 1981, he received more than 3000 letters in 2 big bags that were waiting for him in front of his mom’s house.

Even if the guys became famous, they weren’t popular in Harplinge and Halmstad. People were shouting at them not to think they are now something and ”you fag!”. Göran says it was just jealousy. For Anders it was so hard to deal with the reactions that he moved to Stockholm quite early.

Micke says that after their break-through, there came a 2-year-long touring. Per says when you have such a huge succes, you lock yourself into your job. Of course, people recognized them when they fuelled the car or outside the hotels it was filled with people when they were touring, but they worked even more focused.

Micke says he started playing the drums when he was 5. He took a pair of knitting needles and played on an ashtray. Then he built a drumset from O’boy cocoa and coffee cans and played on them. Lasse says Micke wanted to be a pop star. That was his thing. Niklas says to say that Micke is a photobomber is an understatement. He likes to be in the front, in the middle of attention and he is not ashamed of it. Marie Dimberg says Micke Syd is a bit of an all-over-the-place guy. He is doing 800 things at once. Lasse says he was driving a truck and was a pop star at the same time. He could cope with it. Mamma Syd says Micke had his first job as a truck driver and when he was eating together with the others, he was constantly drumming. They told him he should stop drumming, otherwise he can’t eat together with them next time.

 

MP says back in the days there were only 3 radio stations, P1, P2 and P3. 95.4 was the highest frequency, so he thought to use the frequency somewhere between 99 and 100. He used a tape,  so he had 45 minutes to borrow his dad’s Amazon and put the radio on and listen if he can hear what he put on and it worked. Then he was driving around in Harplinge to check the range. Niklas says MP is one of the most musical people he has ever met. According to Lasse, MP is a musical genius, but also a very odd character. He was the one Lasse thought of the least that it could work outside Halmstad. Kjell says that one night on a tour MP knocked on Per’s door. Per opened it and MP told him he had solved the riddle of life. Then he closed the door and in the morning he couldn’t remember anything.

Göran tells that they had a pump organ at home and he played it when he was 4 years old. He always liked music. He was wild and always happy. He had a lot of energy. He was selling beer and soft drinks at the age of 14-15. Niklas says Göran likes to be on stage. It’s fun to see him now. He doesn’t look like he did in 1979, but he is the same on the inside.

Per says he was much of an introvert. The world of pop was very interesting for him. More exciting than his real life. He was ranking all songs on LPs, band members as well. He had lists of the nicest covers, best hairdos, coolest clothes, etc. Susan says Per was a pop star right away. He was the first guy she saw using nail polish and eyeliner. Per says he was selling Christmas magazines and stuff like this and bought records from the money he got. When he was 10, he already had 100 LPs. Kjell says Per has always been the engine and the driving force in all this. Marie Dimberg says he is a leader, a quite responsible leader. He is hard-working, pedantic from head to toe, meticulous, professional and organized. He has a good sense of humor and knows what he wants. And even if he is a world star, he is incredibly down to earth. It’s only his cars that are extravagant.

 

Anders says he bought his first bass guitar in secret and was hiding it under his bed so that his father couldn’t see it. He and his father worked at the same place, but Anders left the job when Gyllene Tider had their first show in Kalmar. He thought his father would die. His dad had never said anything regarding GT in his life. He wanted Anders to have a real job. When Anders was in Nashville with Per to record an album, he found some clipping from a newspaper that his father had kept and it was bewildering. Niklas thinks Anders is a divinely gifted pop bassist. According to Kjell, together with MP they are probably the most skilled musicians.

Per says that everyone who is coming from a small town eventually doesn’t want to come from there, because there are no possibilities. There is only one common dream: get out and succeed with your music.

After a couple of successful years they thought the next step should be to release an album in English to be able to hit the international market. They sold a lot of albums, so the record label invested money in them and they could do whatever they wanted. MP says they lost the grip, he doesn’t know why they recorded an English album. They thought they had already done what they could, so they had to find something else. Anders says it was a flop in all senses, productionwise as well. Lasse says an English album was not what anyone wanted from Gyllene Tider. Micke says they wanted to succeed abroad too, but with this they went away from what they actually were. But they didn’t know it back then. Anders felt that something would happen because they were getting far from what the direction in the music world was. Duran Duran came out with Girls on Film which was hypermodern and they were standing there asking how the hell they are doing it.

The guys had a tour that wasn’t too successful. Nothing really worked and it was the first time since their break-through. Then Per had the idea to get back to Swedish. The 5 of them had a dinner at restaurant Svea, in Grand Hotel, Halmstad. Per had a list with him of what they should do. Per presented it, but Anders said they can do it, but without him. No one expected it to happen, that Anders would leave the band. There had been no signs of it before. They weren’t pop stars anymore. It was hard to deal with it in the beginning. Everything you were so far disappears. Göran didn’t know what to do, Micke didn’t know it either. All they knew was that they didn’t want to go on with the band without Anders. It wouldn’t have been the same without him.

Anders got a job in a music store in Stockholm. Suddenly there were cheap computers and sequencer programs, so one could make music with synthesizers in a simple way. So he learned everything about it.

Per started working with Marie. Here comes a part of an old TV show from 1983 where the reporter asked him if Marie was his new support in life. Per said of course and kissed Marie on the hand. Per continued to work and write songs together with MP and recorded all his demos with Mats. They wrote together Listen to Your Heart, Spending My Time and Queen of Rain. Anders became producer for Roxette together with Clarence Öfwerman when they recorded The Look.

When Listen to Your Heart became No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100, Per called MP to come over because they had to celebrate something. MP was surprised because there were journalists and cameras all around. It happened so fast and it was hard to take in for MP.

When Roxette went on tour, Anders became member of the band and he was programming all they needed and played the bass. Per says he didn’t escape from the GT guys. Göran and Micke were less around, but he worked together with MP and Anders.

Per remembers he was sitting in a dressing room in Tokyo and wrote Det är över nu for Gyllene Tider, because they were to release a compilation album, Halmstads pärlor and they needed new songs for that. He wrote Kung av sand for that too. Both songs became big hits. Per was free after the Roxette tour and they decided to do a tour in 1996 with GT. They also decided for recording an EP for the tour. There was Gå & fiska! and Juni, juli, augusti on it and these songs became big hits too.

Sven asks Anders what makes Gyllene Tider sound like Gyllene Tider. Anders says it’s like a secret sauce. Why is a chocolate cake better than the other? Micke says you can set 10 drummers with the same drumset to play Gå & fiska!, but it is only him who sounds like that. And it’s not about how good Micke is. There is some kind of chemistry among them one can’t explain. Per says he can’t put his finger on it. They learned it all together. Niklas thinks GT could manage to create some kind of mix of commercial pop and humorous lyrics, fun arrangement and pop they could never hear in Sweden before Gyllene Tider.

Sven asks Per if they know why they became so big. Per says he has no clue. They didn’t sound like anyone else. They come from another planet and have another DNA in their sound. Per thinks his songwriting is special and MP’s input too. Micke and Anders are a bit younger and come from another route. And Göran too. It became a hybrid that could sort out what they were good at, so it became a special sound.

While they are in the studio in France, Per says they had been a power pop band from the very beginning. Then they tried to develop their own sound while they wanted to keep their identity. But on the last album they wanted to take a step back. They wanted to record clean guitars like on Moderna Tider. They thought there was no reason to find out something new at the age of 60. So Samma skrot och korn became nostalgic and sad. Even in terms of the lyrics. Per wanted it to sound like this band had been together for 40 years. They grew up and they love pop and this is what it has become when they are now around 60.

 

 

 

Marie Dimberg is asked about how GT can always succeed with their comebacks. That they can be away for 10 years and then make success again. Marie says it’s exactly because of that. Because there is this ”How can we miss you when you won’t go away?” thing. They go away and let people miss them. At the same time, their hit catalogue finds new audiences every time. And they are associated with tons of lovely things, including summer.

Sven asks when they will come back for a next farewell tour. Per says in 4-5 years maybe and laughs. They are in the peak of their lives, so they are doing a little finale now. One can never know. Marie Dimberg is also not sure that it was the last time last summer when they were on stage together. It felt like that in the very beginning though. Micke says there are people who still can’t believe it was their last tour, but he still thinks it was. Göran says it was the last time, because they decided it. MP says the same. Niklas thinks one can’t just stop. Maybe there comes a day when they think, shit, we have all these songs. Wouldn’t it be fun to play them again?

Towards the end of the documentary, when När alla vännerna gått hem is playing, there are cuts of the song from Parkliv 1981, Återtåget 1996, GT25 2004, DATPR 2013. And when the 1996 part comes, it’s Marie singing for a few seconds and you just can’t hold your tears back.

 

 

Micke Syd says the pride stays with them, but he will miss being on stage knowing that only they can do it together. MP says a better tour than this was can’t be done. One couldn’t feel in their playing that it was a farewell tour. It’s just an absolutely incredible feeling. Göran will miss the fans the most. They are the reason why GT existed at all. Why they became so big. Without the fans it wouldn’t have happened.

Most live footage is from Ullevi (but there are cuts from e.g. Dalhalla and Piteå as well) and it’s amazing to see the band and the crowd in those parts of the docu. I miss hearing the songs in complete and the flow of a complete gig, but I assume, we will get that on a DVD later. Would be just awesome!

 

All stills are from the documentary.

Thanx for the technical support, János Tóth!

Update: there is a YouTube upload of the docu.

Gyllene Tider 2.019 – en sista refräng

When earlier this year, months before the GT40 tour it turned out that there would be a book about Gyllene Tider written by Jan-Owe Wikström and photographed by Anders Roos, I knew the end result would be fab. This duo created another wonderful book, Alla tiders Gyllene Tider 6 years ago, but not only that. Jan-Owe already wrote a book about the band and another about Roxette many many years ago and actually, he wrote the very first Hallandsposten article about a young band, Gyllene Tider more than 40 years ago, on 8th July 1978. He has been following the guys ever since. Anders’ work we also know from other Per Gessle related projects. His amazing photos we could see from several tours and studio sessions over the years.

Jan-Owe and Anders visited the Golden Guys in France when they recorded their last studio album, Samma skrot och korn and were following them on their farewell tour to catch and eternalize the magic around this boy band 40 years after their break-through.

Already by looking at the cover, one can be sure that what’s inside is of high quality. The front cover shows a pleased and proud gang in 2019, while when you turn the book around, the back cover shows a young, promising band in 1981. Wonderful. And this time travel appears inside the book too.

I don’t know how others start reading it, but to me the book shouted out for a start from the end. Which is actually the beginning of all. You will read about all the important years in GT’s life, how MP and Per met and decided to become pop stars, how Anders and Micke met and how Göran with his Farfisa came into sight and how all 5 of them got together to establish one of Sweden’s, if not the greatest bands ever.

In between the historical happenings over the decades, the break-through, early tours, studio sessions, the break-up, the come-backs detailed by Jan-Owe one can read a couple of fan stories about what GT means to the fans. Stories from the ’80s, about Gyllene songs being played at weddings or even funerals, hunting the guys and their autographs. Things what only fans can understand.

Besides all these, you can also get to know what albums and bands had an impact on Per, MP, Micke, Anders and Göran and what their Top10 GT songs are. The lists are not so different, but there isn’t one single song that you would find in each band member’s Top10. How strange.

After the past, you turn the book around again and arrive to 2019. The Intro and the Outro, before and after the very last Oslo gig give a great frame to the whole GT40 farewell. The chapters guide you through the complete process from what happened between the last concert on the GT tour in 2013 and the first thoughts of an anniversary tour, through the creative process of recording a last album and creating the set for the last shows, till the very last performance of the greatest Swedish band of all times.

Besides the Golden Guys’ feelings and actions, their stories of how they met their wives and how their families (their parents and their close families now) supported them over the years, the book also tells you about other important people around the band. You can read about what BoJo’s (Bo Johansson, Live Nation tour leader) job is on a tour as per logistics and organizing all details, what the head of crew has to do and that a gig couldn’t happen without the best crew. You get to know how Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg came into sight for this last tour and how they contributed to the shows, but you can also read about veteran Fredrik Lilliestråle Stéen and Micke Syd’s friendship that resulted in the fact that GT invited a group of policemen, firefighters and ambulance, as well as defense veterans to thank for their service at each GT40 concert in Sweden.

The fans’ part in 2019 is represented by a handful of hardcores. Thomas Evensson (an essential establishing member of TDR) is there from almost the very beginning of Gyllene Tider. You get to know how he got involved and became the creator of the non-official GT website. You meet Bradley Coverley from Australia, who represents all the non-Swedish speaking fans from around the world and shows that distance is nothing when it comes to your idols. Jan-Owe and Anders travelled together with Sandra Knospe who saw now more than 250 GT, Roxette and PG related concerts in her life and travels thousands of kilometres on each tour to follow the band to as many places as possible. She can also compare how touring life of a hardcore fan was in the ’90s and how it is nowadays. Nowadays I join her in this ”craziness” and travel together with her. The GT40 tour was the first one for me when I had the chance to attend each gig and added my reviews show after show on RoxetteBlog.

In the book, almost all stops on tour are present. The emotional ending in Halmstad with all the TACK signs held up by fans couldn’t be left out either. Including the tears on and off stage, of course. Per’s words to the crowd at the last concert in Sweden: ”Thank you for following and supporting us for 40 years. Without you, we would be nothing.”

Anders Herrlin is right about what GT’s essence is.

Gyllene Tider is like a mud pie. There are lots of different recipes for mud pie, but here I, Micke and MP are the bottom of the cake with our own way of playing together, while Per’s voice and Göran’s Farfisa are the topping on the cake. However, how much you add from each element, that recipe is a secret and is locked in a safe in Harplinge.

This book is really a must have for all the fans, but also a good reading for anyone who has ever bumped into Gyllene Tider’s music. How Jan-Owe writes down the discussions it feels like you are there with guys in the studio in France or the final rehearsal before the premiere gig or at the concerts themselves. And the photos taken by Anders Roos give you a visual to all this, so you have kind of a movie playing in front of your eyes.

Yeah, now we need a DVD too. To be able to relive the GT40 magic as many times as possible.