STOCKHOLM - According to a report in today’s edition of Expressen, Gyllene Tider will perform 10-15 gigs this summer. To maximize attendance, the venues being selected are of the “bigger” model. The tour will start at Örjans Vall in Halmstad with two concerts, and will end about a month later. The tour will include Eyravallen in Örebro, Norrköping’s Sports Park, and Sundsvall’s Park Arena. Sundsvall is once again the northern limit of the tour (even though Per had spoken of wanting to re-conquer the north of Sweden).

  Other venues include Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg and the Olympic Stadium or Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm. Per Gessle wants to crush pianist Robert Wells’ attendance record of 43,000 at Ullevi, according to the Swedish tabloid.

• Expressen’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - This summer’s upcoming 25th Anniversary Gyllene Tider concert tour is expected to be so popular, that the fees the band rakes in will probably reach record levels. Per alone, according to a report in today’s edition of the Swedish newspaper Expressen, might earn almost one million Swedish Kronor (SEK) [US $138,000] – per night.

  The two hottest acts in Sweden this summer, according to this report, will be Gyllene Tider and the gigantic Diggiloo tour package (many well-known Swedish singers appearing one-after-the-other on the same stage; a touring version of a popular SVT television program).

  Previously, the artists demanded a certain amount for every gig. But this summer, there will most likely be huge crowds attending. In other words, guaranteed blockbusters. As Expressen’s reporter put it: “We’re talking 10,000 people per concert. At least.”

  Nowadays, the production companies themselves rent the big venues. They estimate an audience where each pay an entrance fee of about 300 SEK. That adds up to 4.5 million SEK if there’s a minimum of about 15,000 in the audience. The production company takes 80 percent (3.6 million) of the total amount.

  “Yea, there’s a great deal of money involved and I don’t deny that the artists gets quite a bit of it. But there’s a bunch of other people splitting it as well,” says Patrik Krall of 2entertain, producers of the Diggiloo tour.

  At EMA-Telstar, no one wants to comment on the money issue. But according to numerous sources, the thought process there is the same as at 2entertain.

  With Gyllene Tider however, there are considerably fewer sharing the cake. This means that Per could earn up to a million SEK for one single gig.

  “Yes, that’s the way it is,” says an [unnamed] arranger who is involved in Gyllene Tider’s fee negotiations.

• Expressen’s Article (In Swedish - with photo of Per)

HALMSTAD - The Gyllene Tider 25th anniversary exhibition at the Museum of Halmstad that we first reported last summer, will open on June 6th.

  “We are planning a great exhibition with lots of things, documents and music never before shown to the public,” says the museum’s website. “It will be a real “eldorado” for Gyllene Tider’s many faithful fans.”

  The exhibit is being curated in close cooperation with members of the band.

• Museum of Halmstad

HALMSTAD/STOCKHOLM - Hallands Nyheter, the local newspaper for the Halmstad area, interviewed Per last week after he was nominated as the “Halland Resident of All Times.” Per was surprised, but he doesn’t want to be compared with historical persons. “It’s like trying to compare Picasso to the painters a long time before him. You can’t really do that,” he said to Hallands Nyheter’s Mårten Samuelson.

  Per also told the reporter that on his birthday, he and his family visited Mauritius. “I isolated myself for a couple of days and wrote four songs there. But on my birthday we went out on a catamaran ride. It was a huge difference compared to the cold weather here!”

  Currently, Per is working in the studio with Gyllene Tider. “We have been here for two days,” Per says. “We are still trying to find the sweet and airy sound. We just played a song, but it sounded too good. It can’t sound like that with Gyllene Tider!”

  “I have written a lot of songs and we’ll see what happens. Our goal is to accomplish a single or – if we’re extra lucky – an EP. An album is still a dream, although we do have enough material. If we are to record a full album it needs to follow a red line at least.”

  Per doesn’t know the exact dates for the Gyllene Tider summer tour yet. “It’s EMA that sets up the tour plan, but of course we’ll be performing here in Halmstad and along the west coast. The premiere will be in the middle of July and then we’ll keep going until the middle of August.”

  In a related story, Dagens Nyheter recently interviewed Kjell Andersson, a man who had a huge impact on Per and Gyllene Tider’s success and is considered “an institution” in the Swedish music industry. He worked at EMI Sweden for 30 years and signed Gyllene Tider to the record company in 1979. Andersson has also had a hand in designing many Roxette (and related) record covers.

  His collaboration with Per has continued over the years and he says that he’s currently working on Gyllene Tider re-releases that are slated to come out before this summer’s tour.

  Starrox contributed to this article.

• Hallands Nyheter article (in Swedish)

HALMSTAD - Per Gessle can flash his well-known V-sign. There will be a summer concert with Gyllene Tider at Örjans Vall in Halmstad.

  Halmstad’s local governing body (kommun) has given the go ahead for one, possibly two, concerts in July and thus Gessle’s dream can be fulfilled: to break the attendence record at his hometown football (soccer) arena.

  It’s been held so far by Per’s favorite team, IS Halmia, when on October 13, 1962, a night game against Landskrona Bois was seen by 20,381 people.

  Gyllene Tider can also count on breaking their own Halmstad record which originated from a concert at Stora Torg in June 1995 when around 15,000 attended the group’s first real reunion.

  It will be the first time Örjans Vall will be used as a rock arena. Earlier proposals have been rejected because of concern over damage to the grass during the Swedish soccer season.

• Hallands Posten’s article (In Swedish)

Read more…

STOCKHOLM - After having spent Christmas with his family in Halmstad, Per Gessle says it’s now time for him to work on the new Gyllene Tider record that will be released to coincide with this summer’s upcoming 25th Anniversary tour.

  “It’s important so that the tour isn’t only a retro thing, even if we will be playing the old hits,” says Per.

  Per won’t comment how far along the recording process is. “Then you won’t have anything to write about the next time,” Per said to Expressen’s Per Hägred.

  The article claims that the comeback was planned – or at least considered – as early as 1996, during Återtåget. The tour will start in July, local venues are being booked now, and the only worries are that they might not sound good or that it will rain. The new record and the summer tour are presents from Gyllene Tider to their fans.

  The only thing that hasn’t gone the way Per would prefer lately is his receding hairline that tells him he’s reached middle age. “I thought this was something that only happened to one’s father,” he says.

• Expressen’s article (In Swedish, with full-size photo shown here as thumbnail)

HALMSTAD - If Per Gessle gets what he wants, the Gyllene Tider tour planned for next summer will start at Örjans Vall, the home stadium of his favorite soccer team Halmia. Örjans Vall is located in Halmstad, Per’s home town in southern Sweden. Gyllene Tider tried to get the permission to perform there during their 1996 “Återtåget” tour, but they were rejected. “It’s all politics,” Per said in a Radio Halland interview yesterday. Per said he doesn’t want to discuss the details, because he “doesn’t want to interfere in other people’s business.”

• Sveriges Radio Halland article (in Swedish)

STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - As widely expected, The Daily Roxette learned today that Gyllene Tider has indeed decided to tour Sweden next summer to celebrate their 25th Anniversary. Members of the group met over the weekend to make the final decision.

  “After all, 25 years are really quite a lot, and that has to be celebrated,” Per Gessle says. “It’ll be cool to bring Gyllene into the 21st century, and I hope the Summer Swedes would like to join us in our celebration,” he continues.

  There are, of course, no specific tour details available yet. The tour itself will be planned early next year, with the premiere date probably in July. The reunion is not permanent. “One summer is enough for god’s sake! Gyllene Tider doesn’t exist anymore, we only put it together again for this project,” Per laughs. “We live under enormous expectations, but I think we can live up to them,” Gessle explains to Aftonbladet.

  It is expected that the tour will be preceded by some new material, perhaps an entire new album. Per and MP Persson will start recording demos after Christmas. Some are already done, Per says in Aftonbladet.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo at right, courtesy EMA Telstar, is of pass from ’96 reunion tour.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - In today’s edition of Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet a person “close to Per” reveals that Gyllene Tider has recorded more than half of a new album for their 25th anniversary next year. The album is to be released late spring 2004, according to the source. “Per Gessle wants to release the bomb himself,” the source tells Aftonbladet.

  This is not confirmed by Michael Ilbert - the supposed producer, Capitol or d&d management.

  “We’re discussing the best way of celebrating the anniversary. I cannot confirm, nor deny a possible album,” manager Marie Dimberg says to Aftonbladet.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - There will most likely be a Gyllene Tider reunion tour in Sweden next summer, according to newspaper reports published today and The Daily Roxette’s own sources.

  The Swedish news agency TT Spektra writes today that plans for such a tour are becoming much more concrete.

  Band members have begun discussing detailed plans of a possible new album release – and a tour – with EMI/Capitol, their record company. Members of Gyllene Tider have for a long time now talked about a tour next summer to celebrate their 25th anniversary.

  “Of course I feel this would be great. I remember ’Återtåget’ and few 43 year-olds get to tour and both give and receive happiness,” says Micke “Syd” Andersson, drummer of Gyllene Tider. Micke gives the tour a 50/50 chance of happening.

Daniel Alvedahl and Thomas Evensson contributed to this article.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)