Moderna Tider (album)

Moderna Tider (english: Modern Times) is the second studio album by Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider, released on 10 March 1981 through Parlophone. In 1980, Gyllene Tider became nationally famous, with their debut album and debut single reaching number one on the Topplistan chart. Shortly after this success, the production of a follow-up album was started, with vocalist Per Gessle presenting several songs to EMI A & R man Kjell Andersson, who rejected them for being too formulaic and imitative of their debut album. Recording sessions for the album started in July 1980 at EMI Studios in Skärmarbrink, Stockholm with producer Lasse Lindbom. The bulk of the album was recorded in August 1980, wrapping up in January 1981. By that point, the album had been pre-ordered in 140,000 copies in Sweden, an impressive number at the time.

Unlike the band's debut album, Moderna Tider is entirely self-composed, with the bulk of the material penned solely by Gessle, but features creative contributions from the entire band. The composition of the album was largely inspired by the pop rock and power pop by Elvis Costello and the Attractions along with the jangle poppy Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, whilst the sound was inspired by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Phil Spector. The album was named after the Charlie Chaplin movie Modern Times, following several rejected title ideas relating to male ejaculation. In conjunction with Moderna Tider, Gyllene Tider also recorded an extended play consisting of Swedish language-covers of the band's favorite British and American pop songs called Swing & Sweet!, which was issued with original copies of the album.

Largely fueled by Gyllene Tider's third single "När vi två blir en" ("When We Two Become One"), which became the band's biggest hit singles and a television appearance for Sweden's Television, Moderna Tider was extremely anticipated once it was released. It debuted at number one on the Swedish album chart, remaining on the top for three weeks. By the end of 1981 the album had sold over 400,000 copies in Sweden. The album spawned an extensive tour headlined by Gyllene Tider, which infamously included a performance in Kristianopel where three people lost their lives during a stampede in an attempt to enter the concert area. Upon release, Moderna Tider received primarily positive reviews in the press, with most critics noting the more refined production compared to their debut album. It has since been re-issued on CD several times, occasionally with bonus tracks.