Swedish artist and songwriter Pugh Rogefeldt passed away on 1st May 2023. The day the sad news came out, Per remembered him like this:
He was a magnificent artist, songwriter, singer. My early teenage life was coloured in the most unlikely shades by Pugh’s magical songs, lyrics and imagination. The “Pughish” album was my favourite. I sat in the eighth row at Halmstad Theatre when the “Ett steg till” tour came to town and was completely mesmerized. One of the greatest moments in my career is when Pugh read the stanza “Mina damer och herrar, det är gyllene tider för rock’n’roll” so that we at Gyllene Tider could use his voice in the intro to the song “Gyllene Tider för rock’n’roll” in 1981. Many years later, in 2004, we had the honour of having him as a support act on GT’s 25th anniversary tour. He wanted me to help him put together his setlist for the tour. I was happy to do that. Amazing, when you think about it.
As a tribute, Per releases a single, Vandrar i ett regn, a cover of Pugh’s song. Mr. G recorded it in April 2023. He says:
“Vandrar i ett regn” was released on Pugh Rogefeldt’s live album “Ett steg till” in 1975. An album that – besides other places – was recorded at Halmstad Theatre in December 1974. I was then fifteen years old and there, of course. Since then I have always loved this song and now that I had the honor to be at a tribute gala for dear Pugh, it felt natural to record and release my own version.
I worked together with pure Halmstad musicians; MP from Gyllene Tider on mandolin, Gicken Johansson on bass and lap steel, Magnus Helgesson on drums and Linnea Olsson on vocals. As icing on the cake, Ola Gustafsson from Norrland has added his fine guitar loops here and there.
I know Pugh heard my version before he passed away and of course it feels fantastic and big. He was a unique artist with exciting and high ambitions where he did not always take the easiest path. Thanks Pugh.
In the June episode of Nordic Rox, the Pugh Rogefeldt special, PG mentioned that the backing vocals on the live recording of Vandrar i ett regn from the double LP, Ett steg till are half crazy. It’s typically Pugh as well. Mr. G says it’s an homage to the Doo Wop ’50s style of music.
The B side of the single is a so far unreleased version of “If I Knew Then (What I Know Now)”. Per says:
It’s basically the same backing track as “Om jag vetat då” from “En händig man”, but with new vocals and no girls around this time. Forgot about it, but found it in my files.
Mr. G will perform at the tribute concert for Pugh Rogefeldt at Cirkus in Stockholm on 18th October.
I’m very proud and grateful to be involved. Pugh has meant a lot to me and my generation. I understand that everyone wants to join. He was unique, a forerunner. I learned so much about how you can stretch languages. That’s what Pugh did. I learned that there are no rules and norms to follow. He was an amazing man. It will be wonderful to pay tribute to him.
Listen to the single on any streaming site (Spotify, Deezer, YouTube)! Pre-order the 7″ vinyl edition at Bengans, Ginza or some other Scandinavian webshop! The vinyl is out on 10th November.
A video to Vandrar i ett regn is also out soon!
