Gyllene 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 |
| Members |
Per Gessle Mats Persson Micke Andersson Anders Herrlin Göran Fritzon |
Gyllene Tider (Swedish: [ˈjʏlˈlɛnə ˈtiːdər], Golden Ages) is a Swedish pop group. 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", alluding to Mott the Hoople's song "The Golden Age of Rock 'n' Roll". 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 was released on April 24, 2013, the 19-show tour started on July 5, 2013 in Halmstad and ended August 10 in Eskilstuna.
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
- Modern Times (1982) - Never released
- Heartland (special US release, containing 6 tracks from The Heartland Café. (Release credited to Roxette)
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
- 1978 Gyllene Tider (EP) (aka "Billy" and "the yellow EP")
- 1981 Swing&Sweet (Bonus-EP) included with the first copies of the album Moderna Tider with four cover versions of international hits: Gyllene tider för rock 'n' roll (Golden Age of Rock'n'Roll - Mott the Hoople), Vill ha ett svar (I Need to Know - Tom Petty), Och jorden den är rund (And Your Bird Can Sing - The Beatles) and Ge mig inte det där (Girl Don't Tell Me - The Beach Boys).
DVD and VHS
- 1997 Återtåget (documentary from TV4, live and interviews )
- 2004 Karaoke Hits!
- 2004 Parkliv! (concert/documentary from 1981 filmed by Lasse Hallström, released on DVD 2004)
- 2004 GT25 Live! (live at Ullevi 2004)
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
- ↑ Sandahl, Ronnie (2004-08-08). "Vilken skön rekordfest, GT!". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ↑ "Roxette rocks Halmstad with Gyllene!". www.dailyroxette.com.
- 1 2 3 4 "Gyllene Tider discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 "Gyllene Tider discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gyllene Tider. |
- Gyllene Tider(Official)
- Gyllene Tider.com - Elektroniska Tider (With full discography and info)
- Gyllene Tider at AllMusic
- Gyllene Tider discography at Discogs