It is hard to understand that The Hellacopters decided to break up. A few months ago, the band announced their decision and after the release of very solid covers album and a glorious farewell tour, last weekend The Hellacopters played together for the very last time in Stockholm. They will be very much missed.

Formed in 1994, these Swedes were devoted to high energy punk rock with some drops of glam. A modern version of MC5, with Kiss melodies. From the clubs of Stockholm they went to tour the world, releasing seven studio albums and a good bunch of singles and eps to conform one impressive repertoire.

The farewell tour passed through Finland just before entering into Sweden for the final shows. As usual, feeling like being home, The Hellacopters did four sold out shows in Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and again in Helsinki. They kept a busy tour schedule, signing records to the fans in department stores and giving their last interviews as a band. In Tampere, I had the chance to meet guitarist Nicke “Royale” Andersson and Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist, and bass player Kenny Håkansson. They have done too many interviews to really enjoy one more chat about their career, but they look amused. “During these last days we are just trying to enjoy ourselves and do a good show”, says Robert about the farewell tour. “Sometimes I am counting the days until it is over and sometimes I am not. It depends on the mood. But that happens in every tour”, adds Nicke.

During the farewell tour, The Hellacopters looked at all their catalogue and decided to play most of it, even song that have not been played in a very long time. “It feels like they are brand new songs”, comments Kenny. Are there any songs that the band feels they should have played more often? “Yeah… no!”, hesitates and laughs Nicke. “Now when we played a song like Ghoul School, which is pretty rough, it feels special, but it is not that we feel we should have played more often.” Kenny continues.

Fourteen years on the road and almost a thousand shows is time enough for gathering many memories. Are these guys going to miss being a Hellacopter? “Yes, there are lot of things I am going to miss. But there are also a lot of things I will not miss”, admits Nicke. “The good memories can be anything, good shows, the people we met, hanging out with friends”, continues Kenny.

Without a doubt, The Hellacopters are breaking up in a high point of their careers. The farewell tour was a great success, selling out some of the biggest venues they have ever played, finishing with four shows at Debaser in Stockholm. Obviously now we are playing big shows and whatever we do with other bands is not going to be this kind of show in the near future. It is not that we are going to miss it right now, because that is what we are doing at the moment. But maybe in two years, we will think… gosh I wish I could play on a big stage.

So why the band is breaking up? They argue that the band is a bit worn out and tired. They say is better to stop now than going into mediocrity. Like Neil Young wrote it’s better to burn out that to fade away.  “But it is not like we are not going to see each other again. We are all living in the same city. Everyone is going to play in one band or another”, clarifies Nicke.

Go with the flow

“When we started, we never expected anything”, admits Nicke. “We didn’t we even didn’t think that we would do a full album. When we did the first album, we didn’t think about a fifth album. I don’t think any band does that. You record an album and that’ where all the focus is. It is not like we have a meeting with the band and the record company and plan the albums”.

But soon, The Hellacopters gained attention outside Sweden. Payin’ the Dues, the second album, was a winner and by the time guitarist Dregen left the band to focus on Backyard Babies, The Hellacopters were on track for a successful career.

A steady career also meant that The Hellacopters would be become a regular job. “ That happens sometimes on the road mainly”, says Robert, who substituted Dregen in 1998. “It is our job after all”, continues Kenny. “It is a kick ass job, but it is also our job and I am entitled to complain about my job. Sometimes it is really boring. There is too much waiting. It sounds like a luxury problem, but it is very boring. You wake up, go for lunch, wait for the soundcheck, wait for the show, for an interview… One needs to find a way to kill time.”

Even it was not a popular format, The Hellacopters always appreciated vinyl. They have released a long series of singles and eps, many of them in a very limited print. Nowadays those releases are true collectors’ items, reaching high prices on Ebay. “I don’t have all of them”, Nicke tells. “Robert, our drummer, has them. He is the collector and has all the t-shirts, vinyls… everything. He can build The Hellacopters museum. But when we do a new 7-inch, I usually think, ok I will pick up a copy later, but later there are no copies left.”

But official releases are not the only piece of collection. As it happens with any popular bands, there are a good bunch of bootlegs in circulations. “It is really flattering with the bootlegs, I almost want one”, confesses Nicke. “But I’ve never bought one. That’s a principle. I can’t buy something that I haven’t said ok. It needs to be given to me, so I urge every bootlegger to send us five copies at least.”

Over the years, The Hellacopters have shared the spotlight with several Scandinavian bands that created one of the most exciting rocks scenes in the last years. Turbonegro, The Flaming Sideburns, Backyard Babies, Gluecifer, The Hives are some of the best known bands from this scene. “When we started it, there was nothing going on, just few underground bands”, remembers Nicke. “Our first shows were just for friends. The places were packed, but they were very small. It was like that for two years”, continues Kenny.

The Hellacopters are gone and soon new bands will take their place. Have The Hellacopters any new favourite bands? “We don’t know what is going out. We are getting old! It is not our movement anymore. Us along with the bands that started at the same time we are the dinosaurs now, like The Rolling Stones”, laughs Nicke.