Swedish punk band The Hives surprised a cover band playing their hit song “Hate To Say I Told You So” in Liverpool. The band were in the city as part of a signing session in support of their latest release The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons.
The moment a band turn up with their OWN hearse at our signing session in Liverpool, so we join in to cover Hate To Say I Told You So! pic.twitter.com/7wsOpYGqjH
— The Hives (@TheHives) August 15, 2023
The Hives were due to take part in a signing event at a store on Slater Street, Liverpool on 15 August when Blackburn-based stoner rock band Sky Valley Mistress pulled up in front of the record shop in a hearse (an nod to the band’s album title) and began launching into the Swedish rockers most famous hits. Much to the delighted surprise of the band, as The Hives arrived, the original members joined Sky Valley Mistress for a rendition of what is arguably their biggest hit song.
Released in 2000, “Hate To Say I Told You So” was The Hives’ lead off single for their second studio album, Veni Vidi Vicious and gained the band considerable attention and plaudits. And it was, to the excited crowd on the street, a particular treat to witness frontman Pelle Almqvist share the mic with Sky Valley Mistress singer Kayley ‘Hell Kitten’ Davies just outside of a kebab shop.
Sky Valley Mistress immediately took to social media to share the impromptu performance, saying “thank you to The Hives for coming out with their fans to see our gig outside Jacaranda last night.” The band also shared various images of them posing with the Hives.
The Hives released their latest studio effort only a week ago and is the first release of new material in 11 years. The long gap has not seemed to dent the band’s impact with critics praising the record for retaining its playful, hook filled garage rock sound.
Almqvist, speaking tongue in cheek of the band’s failure to release a mature album, said, “imagine ‘The Hives have been away from 10 years and now they’ve matured.’ It was important to go the opposite way. This has to be fucking stupid and childish, even worse than we’ve been before! The punk songs on this album are almost worse than our first record. ‘The Bomb’ and ‘Trapdoor Solution’ are almost like us reaching the ceiling of it.”
Hailing from Fagersta, Sweden, The Hives came to prominence in the early 2000s, notably after the release of their breakthrough album, Veni Vidi Vicious. Since then, the band has received particular praise for their high-energy live shows that have had many critics citing them as one of the greatest live acts since their arrival onto the scene.
