Gyllene Tider

This article is about the Swedish band. For the Norwegian television series, see Gylne tider.
Gyllene Tider

Gyllene Tider in Stockholm 2004.
Background information
Origin Halmstad, Sweden
Genres Pop, rock
Years active 1976–1985 (temporary reunions in 1995-1996, 2004, 2010 and 2013)
Labels EMI, Capitol Records
Associated acts Roxette, Son of a Plumber, Audiovisuellt Angrepp, Grape Rock
Website www.gyllenetider.se
Members Per Gessle
Mats Persson
Micke Andersson
Anders Herrlin
Göran Fritzon

Gyllene Tider is a Swedish pop group. The name Gyllene Tider translates as "Golden age(s)", alluding to Mott the Hoople's song "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll". Few Scandinavians would not recognize the band's most famous song "Sommartider", often played on the radio during late spring and early summer. The band is well known for its catchy choruses and light-weight lyrics about summer, teenage love and life in a small town in Sweden.

History

In 1976, Per Gessle met Mats Persson, a member of the band Audiovisuellt Angrepp, forming the duo Grape Rock. Later Micke Andersson, Anders Herrlin and Göran Fritzon joined and the quintet was born. The group's name was changed to Gyllene Tider. In the following year, the band had become local celebrities in Halmstad for their Christmas concerts. Taking advantage of this they released their quite rare vinyl EP, Billy, selling about 900 copies. In 1980, the LP Gyllene Tider was released, becoming a huge success in Sweden. "Flickorna på TV2" ("The girls on TV2") was the album's biggest hit.

The second album, released in 1981 under the name Moderna Tider (Modern Times), also enjoyed huge success, and was followed by a national tour. The following year Puls (Pulse) was released, with the hits "Sommartider" ("Summer times") and "Flickan i en Cole-Porter-sång" ("The girl in a Cole Porter song").

The group tried to break through to the American market in 1984 with the album Heartland (a six track mini version of the album The Heartland Café released in Sweden) under the name "Roxette"; however, the album flopped, selling only about 8,000 copies. The name Roxette was later used by Per Gessle to name his successful collaboration with Marie Fredriksson. In 1985 Gyllene Tider officially broke up.

In the following years, however, a few Greatest hits albums were released and a number of reunions took place, in particular the immensely popular Återtåget tour of 1996. In 2004 the band celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with the first new album in 20 years and a big summer tour in July and August. The tour, called GT25, was a huge success, being the biggest tour in Scandinavia ever and the second largest of all time in the whole of Europe, gathering large crowds all over Sweden. When they performed at Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg on August 7, 2004 during the GT25, 58,984 fans watched the concert live, breaking the record set by Bruce Springsteen,[1] and the performance was later broadcast on TV4.

Gyllene Tider reunited again on August 14, 2010, as a surprise encore during Roxette's concert in Halmstad, both bands' hometown. They performed a three-song set, featuring the songs "Juni, Juli, Augusti", "Sommartider", and "När alla vännerna gått hem", with Marie Fredriksson and the rest of the Roxette band joining them on stage for the last number.[2] In January 2013, the group announced a new album and summer tour in Sweden, both called "Dags att tänka på refrängen". The album is to be released in spring, the 19-show tour starts on July 5, 2013 in Halmstad and will end August 10 in Eskilstuna. They are joined on their tour by singer Linnea Henriksson.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Year Album Peak positions Certification
SWE
[3]		 NOR
[4]
1980 Gyllene Tider 1 27
1981 Moderna Tider 1 2
1982 Puls 1 12
1984 The Heartland Café 4  –
2004 Finn 5 fel! 1 26 3x Platinum
2013 Dags att tänka på refrängen 1 14 2x Platinum
Others

Live albums

Year Album Peak positions Certification
SWE
[3]		 NOR
[4]
1990 Parkliv!
(Live at Mjölby Folkets Park on 31 July 1981)		  –  –
1997 Återtåget Live! (Gyllene Tider live!) 19  – 1x Gold
2004 GT25 Live!
(Live 2004; also on DVD from Ullevi)		 28  – -

Compilation albums

Year Album Peak positions Certification
SWE
[3]		 NOR
[4]
1989 Instant Hits!
(Instant Hits! - Samtliga hits 1979-1989)		 3  – 1x Platinum
1994 Samlade Tider  –  –
1995 Halmstads pärlor
(Halmstads pärlor - Samtliga hits! 1979-95)		 1 2 5x Platinum
1997 Ljudet av ett annat hjärta/En samling  –  –
2000 Konstpaus
(Konstpaus - samtliga inspelningar från 1990-talet och lite till...)		 10  –
2004 GT 25 – Samtliga hits! 1 6 1x Platinum
2013 Soldans på din grammofon 4  –

EPs

DVD and VHS

Singles

Year Single Peak positions Certification Album
SWE
[3]		 NOR
[4]
1980 "Himmel No. 7 / Flickorna på TV2" 1  –
"Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly" 8  –
"När vi två blir en" 1 1
1981 "(Kom så ska vi) Leva livet" 13  –
"Ljudet av ett annat hjärta" 3  –
"Beating Heart" ("När vi två blir en")  –  – promo single
1982 "Sommartider" 6 3
1989 "Sommartider Remix '89" 3  –
1995 "Det är över nu" 11  –
"Kung av sand" 31  –
1996 "e.p." 1  –
"Juni, juli, augusti" 37  –
2004 "En sten vid en sjö i en skog"/"Tuffa tider (för en drömmare)" 1  –
"Solsken" 20  –
2005 "Jag borde förstås vetat bättre" 23  –
2013 "Man blir yr"

References

  1. ↑ Sandahl, Ronnie (2004-08-08). "Vilken skön rekordfest, GT!". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Roxette rocks Halmstad with Gyllene!". www.dailyroxette.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Gyllene Tider discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Gyllene Tider discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2013.

External links

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