Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per for Hallandsposten before the Roxette In Concert 2025 tour starts tomorrow. Per regarding the tour:
It’s the most exciting and the most uncertain thing I’ve done since Gyllene Tider’s comeback in 1996. You don’t know at all how it’s going to work, how it’s going to be received.
He explains it’s absolutely not a new band. It’s him, one half of Roxette, the Roxette band where Jonas Isacsson is back for the first time since 2001 and then Lena who is hired as a singer. The other option would have been to not make a comeback at all so this was the next best option, he points out.
Per tells Jan-Owe that it’s 26 degrees in Cape Town right now and he didn’t understand at first why he had an allergic shock, until he realized that it’s full pollen season over there. He took one pill and it was over in an hour, Per laughs.
We’ve actually sold as many tickets this time as when we were there with Marie. I never thought that! At the same time, the music industry has completely changed, where in four years we’ve increased the number of streams on Spotify by 40 percent. So I think it benefits us “craftsmen”, people want real music live.
It could even have been a joint tour with Bryan Adams in Australia, Jan-Owe says.
Yes, indeed. We play almost in parallel, so he wondered if we would go together. But unfortunately, we had already booked venues and started selling tickets. A bit of a shame, because it would have been great fun.
At the rehearsal a little over a week ago, there were 21 songs left. Per reveals:
There have been a lot of “kill your darlings”, but that’s because many songs have the same character. But there will still be two that we’ve never played live with Roxette before.
To the question how the rehearsals felt, he replies:
Very good! Lena is extremely professional. Now it’s about finding our roles. Marie and I had known each other for so long, so it was natural for her to step forward as long as she could. Then I got to the front on the last tour and solo and with Gyllene Tider, I’m the one who does it. We’ll see how it goes here. I mean, the rehearsals are one thing, but in front of just over 10,000 people: “How will Lena act in, for example, “Sleeping In My Car”?” So it’s going to be a challenge, really fun. It’s just a matter of not interrupting each other. Hahaha.
Jan-Owe asks who decides in such situations. Per explains that Lena of course had ideas regarding her singing, but otherwise, Per has the final say.
After the two Halmstad gigs at the end of July, Per has nothing else booked.
We’ll see. But I have several projects that are currently on hold.
To the question if there could even be new Roxette songs with Lena on vocals he replied:
Not at the moment. That has never been the intention, it has been that the song catalogue should live on. People want to hear Roxette’s old hits, not something new. But at the same time – when you work together for as long as we will now, you never know what it might lead to.
Jan-Owe is curious if there are any plans with Gyllene Tider.
Right now it feels a bit finished, but it has felt that way before too… If this tour develops into what I hope for with gigs on more continents, Roxette will be priority 1.
