CONTEST: Win a Per Gessle’s Roxette tour photo book!

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Anders Roos, photographer and publisher of the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour photo book was kind enough to offer us 1 copy for a contest. As you know, the book contains quotes + pics around Europe in 2018 on 144 pages and a DVD of the last show of the tour. The copy you can win is signed by Mr. G! So here is your great chance to get hold of it if you don’t have it yet!

In order to participate, answer the following questions correctly:

  1. How many gigs were there on the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour? – 20
  2. Name the opening and closing songs on the setlist one could hear at each concert on tour! – The Look; The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
  3. Name the female members of the band on tour! – Helena Josefsson, Malin-My Wall
  4. Which gig was recorded for the DVD? – Gothenburg, Sweden, 16th November 2018

Send an e-mail with your name, address and the correct answers to the questions to rxbcontests@gmail.com until 23:59 CET, 7th July 2019. The lucky winner will be announced shortly after. Answers to all questions can be found on RoxetteBlog. 😉 Good luck!

Contest terms and conditions:
– In order to participate, you have to send an e-mail to rxbcontests@gmail.com with name, address and correct answers to the 4 questions. We will consider all e-mails we receive until 23:59 CET on 7th July 2019.
– 1 winner will be picked randomly among those who have participated and sent the correct answers.
– You can only participate once, any attempt to participate twice or more times will lead to your disqualification.
– Prizes won’t be paid out in cash. Prizes will be sent by registered mail only once.
– The winner will be announced on this website, on our Facebook page and will also be notified per e-mail. You’ll be required to answer the e-mail confirming your address.
– RoxetteBlog.com will not enter into any correspondence regarding the result of the contest and is not liable for any damages, loss or expenses that may result in connection to the prizes.
– By taking part in the contest, personal data (first name, surname, e-mail address and address) will be collected. These data are needed in order to run the contest, particularly in order to match participation applications to their entries as well as to identify and notify the winners. This method of processing data is therefore required pursuant to Article 6 Paragraph 1 lit b of the GDPR to fulfil contractual obligations. The personal data collected will be processed and used by RoxetteBlog.com only to the extent that is required in order to run the contest. The personal data will be stored for the duration of the contest and – in order to process any claims relating to winnings and damages – for a maximum of 6 months afterwards and they will then be deleted. By participating you agree to all above mentioned and your name being published on this website as well as on social media channels in case you win the contest.

 

UPDATE on 8th July 2019: since we got hold of another book too, we picked 2 winners instead of 1. The winners are: Alejandro Molina, Argentina and Marcela Molcakova, Slovakia. The winners are informed via e-mail too.

Interview with Per Gessle and Micke Syd on Svenska Yle

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Kjell Ekholm from Svenska Yle did an interview with Per Gessle and Micke Syd in the beginning of June in Stockholm. The guys were talking about Gyllene Tider’s history, last album and farewell tour.

When they sat down, there were the recently re-released first 3 GT albums on the table and Micke and Per started discussing people on the covers. Micke Syd recognized his then girlfriend, Per pointed at Marie i växeln. Kjell told the guys he has the first edition of GT’s first album pressed on yellow vinyl and Per asked him if he knows that it was printed in only 9000 copies.

Kjell mentions GT has now sold nearly half a million records, but their career start wasn’t easy. They made a self-financed EP that they sent to various record companies and radio stations, but they didn’t get too much airplay. Per even sent a complaint letter to the local radio station in Halmstad, Radio Halland. That letter is now hanging on the wall framed in Swedish Radio P4 Halland’s studio.

Per told the name of GT came from ”The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll”, a single by Mott the Hoople, one of his favourite bands. In 1984, Gyllene Tider tried to launch an English album in the US, and because their name was impossible for Americans to pronounce, they changed it to Roxette after a song by Dr. Feelgood. Per told he didn’t write good songs on that record, especially no good lyrics. It flopped. Billboard reviewed the album and wrote ”nothing much happened here” and that’s how Per felt too. A year later Anders Herrlin decided to leave the band. Per thinks it was probably Anders who suffered the most from this pop idol hysteria. He was voted Sweden’s best looking guy in 1982 and it didn’t fit him at all. He also had other musical ambitions. Per added that Anders’ in-depth knowledge of the digital world was of great use when they made Roxette’s first records.

Even though the band had ended, their songs eventually got an eternal life. They are continuously played on the radio. In 1995 the guys had their first reunion on stage. ”Halmstads pärlor” became Sweden’s best-selling album two years in a row. In 2004, the band had their 25th anniversary and went on a giant tour that became the biggest ever in Sweden and pulled over half a million in the audience. In 2013 they did their third major tour.

Kjell asked the guys what they think makes them unique. Per said he played GT songs with so many other musicians, but they sound totally different when he plays them with others. Micke Syd thinks the songs are made so well and their playing is so personal that it makes a difference. He tells an example that all drummers who have tried to imitate Ringo or Charlie Watts have found out that it simply doesn’t work. There is something unique that you can’t put your finger on but which means that no one in Gyllene Tider can be replaced, because then it creates an imbalance in the whole.

The guys talked about the rehearsals that they would rehearse as little as possible. They wouldn’t rehearse ”Sommartider” for example. The first time they will play it will be in Halmstad. Micke Syd said that those early songs are encoded in their spinal cords.

Regarding the new album, ”Samma skrot och korn” there was no pressure on the guys from anyone else than themselves to do something good. The record stands out among today’s albums. Micke Syd said when he looks at the charts both in Sweden and worldwide, it feels like they came from another planet.

Per told he started writing songs for the album two years ago and then he still wasn’t aware that it would be the last record of GT. He said he wanted the record to feel like they are a band that has been playing together for a long time and has grown up and matured with pop music. He neither wanted nor couldn’t write another ”När vi två blir en” or ”Sommartider”. Mr. G said he wanted to write adult texts with a lot of sentimentality, sadness and contemplation and how it was before. It fits them right now.

To Kjell’s question about why they want to end GT when they still seem to be in top shape and can release such a great album, Per replied they are getting old and it feels good to end it while they are all still alive and in top shape and can do this tour, because who knows where they would be in 5 years.

 

Spanish edition of Marie Fredriksson’s biography

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Marie Fredriksson’s autobiography, Kärleken till livet was first published in Swedish in 2015, then in German in 2016 (Listen to my heart: Meine Liebe zum Leben) and in Czech in 2017 (Listen to my heart: Moje láska k životu). On 18th June 2019 the book was finally released in Spanish (Listen to my heart)! We are still badly missing an English version. Maybe one day…

You can order the Spanish edition HERE!

From what we know, in Argentina the Spanish version was released only as an e-book, so fans started a petition that you can sign HERE if you also want the book to be published physically in Argentina.

Longtime fan Bianca Martins Cappelletti took some pictures of the Spanish edition. Here you can see those pages that contain different photos vs. the Swedish version. Could be that these photos already appeared in the German and Czech versions, because I remember I saw at least some of these.

Per Gessle’s Roxette – Quotes + pics around Europe in 2018

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When the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour ended in 2018, I wrote this as a closing thought in my last concert review: ”Now fingers crossed for a fat tour photo book full of beautiful pictures, a live CD and a DVD! AND an announcement of any PG-related tour in the not too far future! GT40, anyone?” Oh well… except for a live CD everything else is there to enjoy. Haha.

Per Gessle’s Roxette – Quotes + pics around Europe in 2018 is a photo book consisting of 144 pages which also includes the whole last show of the tour (in Gothenburg, Sweden) on DVD. Together with Anders Roos’ amazing pictures you’ll find interviews with Per and all band members. The edition is limited to 1000 copies, all of them signed by Per Gessle. The book comes in the size of an 7” inch single, 17 x 17 cm. Each book also holds a piece of the printing press plate which makes every book unique.

The book looks beautiful already on the outside. I like the color choice of it, as well as the Per photo appearing on the cover and hey, there is Mr. G’s signature too. It’s actually a box and inside you will find the book. The book’s binding is a bit strange. I’m not a pro in book binding, so I don’t know how this type of bindery is called, but it’s used creatively, the way Per Gessle’s Roxette is printed on it. On the cover of the book you can see another wonderful Per Gessle shot and on the back cover you can see the number of your limited edition copy. Your number / 1000. Don’t be surprised if you bump into an edition that has XXX/1000 written on the back. Some extra copies were printed above the 1000 limited edition for reviewers, give-aways to friends, etc. All those are marked by XXX/1000. The rest is divided among several resellers. So from the official resellers you will get a book with a number / 1000 upon order.

When I first got to know about what would be included in this limited edition goodie, I thought I might have misunderstood something. A piece of the printing press plate. I thought there would be a print-out pic, similarly to the RoXXXette On The Road’s Roxers edition, but it turned out I read it right. It’s indeed a piece of the printing press plate. Nice addition! It’s glued inside, under the cover. Be very careful when you open the book, because this part is sticked together with a velcro fastener. The DVD is in the back of the book and there you also have to be careful when opening it, because the same type of velcro fastener is used on the inside of the back cover too.

As the title says, the book contains quotes. Sven Lindström asked Per and all band members and they shared their thoughts on the tour, the preparations, song choices, the creative process and they also talked about how they had got asked by Per to join him on tour. This is first of all a photo book, so of course there are many pictures of Per and all band members, the crew, taken backstage, at the rehearsals, on stage, in town, in hotel lobbies, on the bus and other strange places. Anders Roos obviously had an all access pass, so he could follow the guys and girls anywhere. This is how we can now see fab photos of Per and Co. in places where we would otherwise never see them. 144 pages make the book thick, but one can flick through very quickly. I would happily flick through at least another 144 pages full of such great pics.

Do you remember? The first song on the setlist was The Look! When the DVD starts and I hear the intro, I suddenly want to be there again, in the front row and listening to those magical Roxette hits live. The DVD contains the complete last show (16th November 2018, Gothenburg). Complete gig is not really true though, because the talking parts are not in there, at least most of them. No band presentation either. It’s all focusing on the songs themselves.

I remember several concerts where Anders Roos was present, taking pictures and I saw him fixing cameras here and there and everywhere. Now one can check out all camera angles on the DVD. Cool thing! The whole vibe of the shot material helps to relive our memories. There are far-away recordings, close-ups, moves that turn into slow mo, as well as shaking camera during uptempo songs while Per is doing his trademark left leg stomping. Lovely to see the interactions between the band members and Per and how they all pay attention to each other. Hopefully, one day we can see them all again on tour with Mr. G.

A trailer is available for the DVD HERE!

The book is officially out on 1st July, but you can already pre-order it e.g. HERE or at Ginza or Bengans. Don’t wait until it’s all sold out!

Per Gessle – Nio i topp is back!

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The so far last part of Gessles nio i topp on Swedish Radio P4 was broadcast on 25th December 2017. The program is back from 30th June! 9 more episodes will be on air and available to download and it’s of course again Sven Lindström joining Per to discuss Mr. G’s choice of songs. A must-listen-to podcast for all nerds!

The 9 new episodes will be the following:

  1. Gyllene Tider’s nine best songs (Part 1)
  2. Nine songs that have shaken my world
  3. Nine songs of which the cover became bigger than the original
  4. Nine best debut albums ever recorded
  5. Gyllene Tider’s nine best songs (Part 2)
  6. Nine singer / songwriters who reached all the way to Halmstad
  7. Nine best double albums of all time
  8. The nine best songs from 1971
  9. Nine Swedish hits

Don’t forget to tune in on Swedish Radio P4 this Sunday, 30th June at 12.03-13.00!