DIO IN SWEDEN (1986)

Courtesy of Michael Johansson, visit him here for more information and licensing his photos.

Michael Johansson: I took this photo of Dio at Scandinavium in Gothenburg (Sweden) back in April 1986.

When I had talked to Ronnie in December 1985 he had said that he didn't think they would be able to bring the dragon to Europe.

But at least here in Sweden 'Dean' was with them.

I remember I was surprised that Viv was not with them and Ronnie avoided to give a concrete answer to what had happened.

/ Michael Johansson (saguaro.se)

I GUESS YNGWIE DOESN'T LIKE ENTOMBED ...

Courtesy of Michael Johansson, visit him here for more information and licensing his photos.

Michael Johansson: 
"Is this Swedish?"

"Is it Candlemass?"

Then he hears Entombed's singer LG's vocals and says:

"I don't understand how anyone can like this crap".

"On my new album the song 'Pyramid of Cheops' is as heavy but with great vocals".

"Maybe I am getting too old".

He screams "AAARRGGHHH".

"I don't want to hear more of this".

But maybe he had to as Amber liked it and Jörgen H gave her the CD 🙂.

I took this photo in Stockholm back in 1993ish.

/ Michael Johansson (saguaro.se)

METALLICA AT THE BREAKING SOUND FESTIVAL (1984)

Courtesy of Michael Johansson, visit him here for more information and licensing his photos.

Michael Johansson: I took this photo of Metallica moments after the show... at the Breaking Sound Festival at Aéroport du Bourget outside Paris back on August 29 1984. 

Cliff looks exhausted... I can't believe my eyes... They are all drinking Heineken... 😮 What's wrong with the hard rock world... It is so bitter and smelly...

I don't know if the April 1st 1983 story about Kirk is true or not. He was still in Exodus and got a call from someone in the Metallica camp asking if he wanted to join them. Seems he thought it was an April Fool's joke and hung up 🙂 ... I guess they called back - good thing they did!

/ Michael Johansson (saguaro.se)

W.A.S.P. IN SWEDEN (1984)

Courtesy of Michael Johansson, visit him here for more information and licensing his photos.

Michael Johansson: I took this photo of Blackie somewhere in Sweden back in October 1984. I think it is at Glädjehuset in Stockholm. I managed not to get any blood or meat on me during these three W.A.S.P. shows in Gothenburg, Karlskoga and Stockholm.

Before Sweden they had played in Paris and Chris or Blackie had said they were so badly treated by the French they would never go back there. They were refused at several restaurants and taxi drivers didn't want to pick them up...

There was some protests in Sweden also but all three gigs went fine.

/ Michael Johansson (saguaro.se)

METALLICA (1985)

Courtesy of Michael Johansson, visit him here for more information and licensing his photos.

Michael Johansson: I took this photo of Metallica in Birmingham (England) back in August 1985. They were there for a couple of day rehearsing before Donington (Monsters of Rock).

As usual we had some of the latest issues of the magazine with us, Lars was not impressed with the Wahlgren siblings. And when I say 'we' I don't mean AT and I. AT had deserted to another Swedish magazine (Rocket) and I was doing most jobs with reporter Stefan Johansson.

No, not related. No, not related to Jens or Anders either... We are all called Johansson in Sweden... Ask the chat...

This photo was taken 6 beers before James ran after the old lady...

Funny fact... Rolling Stone magazine used this photo also. With them holding the OKEJ magazine... 🙂

And it was used in a Metallica book 'Back to the Front' a few years ago...

Actually, I now remember a couple of those 'running after the old lady' photos were also used in that book...

/ Michael Johansson (saguaro.se)

My notes: AT is a Swedish Music Journalist, named Anders Tegner. Okej Magazine was Sweden biggest music magazine in the 80's.

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN ’CHRISTMAS MOMENTS’ <<< TRANSLATED TO ENGLISH

YNGWIE MALMSTEEN
by photographer Michael Johansson

For many years, Yngwie Malmsteen was one of the artists that I found most enjoyable to photograph and then to hang out with. It is therefore extra sad when this changes with new management and new people who decide in Yngwie's life.

The first time I spoke to him was at the Pink Pop festival in Holland in May 1985. Jörgen Holmstedt and I were there to do a report about the festival and also a more in-depth story about Yngwie. It resulted in overturned cars, thrown bicycles on highways and a taxi ride to a closed brothel in Belgium. Over the next 15 years, I photographed Yngwie about 50 times. I did several of his
album covers, including Trial by Fire: Live in Leningrad (1989), Eclipse (1990), The Seventh Sign (1994) and Double Live in Rio (1998).

I was on several tours both in Europe and the USA. There was only one time I got mad at him. It was during a tour in 1990 somewhere in Europe and there was a drunken party on the tour bus and Yngwie was extra rowdy and rowdy. Then I had enough and took all the booze that was left in the bus and poured it out in the sink. I think everyone was a bit shocked that meek little me did this so everyone went to bed. The next day Yngwie smiled and said that he didn't know I could get so mad. He even apologized. I did the same because I had poured out the booze.

These Christmas pictures for me are Yngwie in a nutshell, He wants to be serious, which he is 100 percent in his music, but didn't hesitate for a second when I asked him to put on a Santa hat for a picture for the magazine Okay. We did Christmas pictures on several occasions over the years. Once at his house in Miami we stayed up all night drinking. Yngwie in a Santa hat, playing the sitar and singing Christmas carols. Parts of this were also filmed for a feature that would later be broadcast on ZTV. Nowadays, his management has broken all contact with basically everyone who had anything to do with him when it happened.

I find it very sad because many of my funniest rock memories are from my meetings with Yngwie.

It was better back in the day …

(The opposite side)
THE MOMENT
A small, small part of Heavy Metal history seen through SRM (Sweden Rock Magazine) photographer Michael Johnssons lens.