In 2023, Swedish rockers, The Hives released their first album in over a decade – The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons – which debuted in at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart. The playful lads have also been reissuing work, such as the Lex Hives LP which came out in 2012, and subsequently touring all over the UK, which included an April 1st date at the iconic Barrowlands.
With The Hives in lights backdropping their set and their UV black and white suits, the band make quite the statement arrival on stage with lead singer, Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist, parading the stage, goading the audience for applause. Pelie and the others then take to the stage for just short of two hours to perform twenty tracks – not the 9,000 he promised. It is April 1st, after all.
With that compelling rock’n’roll relentless energy, the band thrashed out track after track after track, including the hits such as ‘Walk Idiot Walk’ and ‘Hate to Say I Told You So,’ inviting the audience to clap along and absorb the energy from the stage. ‘Come On!’ off Lex Hives was notable, a standout performance. And the signature light dimmming after each track performance to flash up the UV from their suits rendered the experience contrived, overzealous, yet fun.
They are a band with the oomph to suck you into a rock n roll cult. It was a refreshing experience, a classic rock’n’roll gig that saw young kids crowdsurfing and the audience held in the palm of spirited Pelie’s hands, from the moment they strolled in to Chopin’s ‘Funeral March’ right through to bowing to Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does it Better.’
Photo credit: Phoebe Fox
