Under Scandinavian Skies
November 2021

Oslo morning...
Photo © Jo Hackett

Tampere Cathedral
Photo © Jo Hackett

It felt great to finally board a flight abroad again... this time to the realm of the Vikings and the Snow Queen.

Having touched down in Helsinki, we took a ride on the crew bus through a world of conifers to Tampere, an intriguing Finnish city with its cathedral of Gothic turrets and spires. Helsinki was equally atmospheric, its waterways stretching out to the open sea. When we went there on tour ten years back, that whole sea as far as the horizon was totally frozen over! Both the Tampere and Helsinki shows went down a storm and the band were on terrific form...

A short flight then took us over the archipelago to Stockholm. Jo and I walked as far as the edge of the old town, where elegant bridges cross the water with some great views. It was fun to play once again at the Nalen, a beautiful venue replete with Grecian pillars and luxurious drapes. Again, the crowd was fantastic and we had a great time on stage.

Next stop, Oslo. Jo and I enjoyed exploring the streets, coming across some gorgeous old buildings and a fun Winter Wonderland pleasure zone, Christmas being just around the corner! Both band and audience were totally on fire at the show...

From Oslo, we drove south back into Sweden, where we played in both Gothenburg and Malmo, again to fantastically appreciative crowds. It was fun to explore picturesque Gothenburg too, with its waterways alongside streets, reminiscent of Amsterdam.

Finally, over that extraordinary bridge crossing the sea from Malmo, we reached Copenhagen. The show there was absolutely incendiary with extraordinary reception!

What a wonderful finale to the tour... The band have been incredible and we're all now looking forward to those next two shows in Monaco and Paris.

My thanks to Brian Coles, Adrian Holmes, Solo and all the promotors, and I hope to return to Scandinavia as soon as possible!