Two of the biggest pop bands of the 90s in The Archbishop’s Courtyard
For everyone who grew up in the 90s, The Cardigans and The September When are special. Bullet Me, Erase/Rewind, Lovefool, Cries Like a Baby, Can I Trust You and My Favourite GameSongs which almost everyone who was not completely out of it in the 90s is very familiar with. On their respective sides of the mountains, The September When in Norway The Cardigans in Sweden. The Cardigans set the standard for pop music in the 90s and on Friday 2. August at Olav’s Festival they give a double concert in The Archbishop’s Courtyard.
Quick-tempered Abel
- I'm quick-tempered, smiles Morten Abel, who from the start with Mods, via The September When, Pelz and a long and varied solo career, stands as a living exponent of the festival theme for 2019 - TRANSFORMATION.
- You have so many opportunities! For some, it may be perfect to be just one thing. But I've always been curious and searching, I get quickly bored and am easily inspired by art, music and film. I like to open all the hatches and sniff at everything. Mainly to entertain myself, but hopefully also audiences along the way, he thinks.
Although Morten Abel was a success in Rogaland with Mods, it was with The September When that he really became Norway’s most charismatic lead singer. The band started up in 1986, but the breakthrough came in 1991 with the album Mother I’ve Been Kissed.
They managed to release two more big hits, One Eye Open (1993) and Huggermugger (1994), before they band was dissolved in 1996. Morten Abel then continued as a solo artist with no less success until 2008 when the band was reunited, initially with the intention of giving just one concert. However, when that was so successful, the band started writing new music and released the album Judas Kiss in 2009. Since 2011, all has been quiet – but this summer the veterans are on the road again!
– An underlying tension
The response to the comeback has been overwhelming, according to Abel.
- It is very real for me to sing the old lyrics, I relive what the music meant to me then. I think the best from that time is still really good, says Abel.
- Guitarist Morten Mølster died in 2013, and we decided to replace him with two new guitarists, both with distinctive styles. I look forward to every practice session, amazing things happen all the time. Since it's been so long since we played together, there's an underlying thrill of excitement. So it's important to maintain this tension even when things are in place.
The September When perform in the Archbishop's Courtyard in August.
The biggest since Abba
At about the same time as The September When split up for the first time, The Cardigans started on their climb to the top of the world charts. This band from Jönköping with Nina Persson as lead singer started out in 1992 and launched their first album in 1994 with Emmerdale.The album was a big success in Sweden, but it was with their next release Life (1995) that they made a name for themselves worldwide. Cutesy music was the door opener, but behind this lurked much darker texts.
Sales of a million records all over the world laid the basis for the next stage which came when the single Lovefool was included in the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s top box office film Romeo + Juliet. This success resulted in a platinum award for the album First Band on the Moon in the USA and Japan. The band was then invited to compose the theme song for the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, but declined. The next album, Gran Turismo (1998), sold just as well with the worldwide hits Erase / Rewind and My Favourite Game.
After a break, the band started up again with Long Gone Before Daylight in 2002, a more American inspired album, before Super Extra Gravity was released in 2005. After a few years dominated by side projects such as Nina Persson’s A Camp, the band got together again for a series of sporadic concerts between 2012 and 2016. There were only four concerts in 2018, all of which were in the United Kingdom to mark the 20th anniversary of Gran Turismo.
The band has sold almost eight million records throughout the world, but according to Nina Persson there are unlikely to be any more Cardigan albums. So it is a great consolation to know that one of the biggest Scandinavian pop bands ever can still be experienced live in the The Archbishop’s Courtyard this summer!
Ticket price: 595.- incl. fee
Age limit: None
Standing only
The doors open at 19,00.The concert starts sharp at kl. 20.00, be there in good time!
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