PLECtionary update & CONTEST!

When we first got to see the 2014 editions of Per’s guitar picks on the producer’s Instagram account (pic 1, pic 2), we got very excited. They all look so hot ’n’ cool! Then the tour started and besides being extremely happy about seeing our most beloved band live again, we expected to see the new picks live, too. During the Russian leg of the tour fans were posting pictures of plectrums they could catch at the concerts and we could see that besides some new ones, most of the picks they could obtain were from 2012. We could think the amount produced of the new plecs was so few vs. Per’s pick-throwing habits that he ran out of those 2014 picks very fast. But it wasn’t the case.

You probably remember Per’s post on Roxette’s Facebook page some days ago. He shared the PLECtionary again, with this text:

A nice collection. But where are the pix from 2014????? /P.

Haha… Yeah… We’d been also wondering, because we saw a lot of 2014 picks appearing e.g. on Tradera, already before the tour started and we were quite sad about the fact that they ended up in traders’ hands, while we couldn’t see too many of them on Per’s mic stand on tour and he played even less of them.

The producer shared the info after we asked them and they saw the PLECtionary that the picks are quite exclusive, not too many of them were produced. That was also confirmed by Mr G and Micke N-S. 100 pieces were made of each 2014 picks, except for the Rox-Jet plec, of which 400 exist. Per already mentioned it in the guitar pick interview that they should slow down a bit and produce less picks for a tour. Now it seems they sticked to that idea of keeping the picks more exclusive.

There was another thing Per mentioned in the plectrum interview and this is how the actual update of the PLECtionary is possible. When talking about Sandra’s collection, he said:

She deserves the best. The best and the complete. I consider it a mission to help her find Plectrum-Nirvana.

2014-1_rs_SK
Photo by Sandra Knospe

And how awesome the way is how he is helping her! He sent the missing 2014 guitar picks to Sandra in a mail not much after he posted about the PLECtionary. Wow! I mean W.O.W.!

Santa Per or Gessle Claus, call him as you wish, he is the most fantastic and most fan-friendly artist in the whole wide world! And he really knows how to make the fans the happiest people in the universe. I can only confirm it.

I don’t even have to mention how Sandra was jumping of joy when she saw Per’s mail in her mailbox. She also wants to thank Mr G for the awesome gift, so here is a message from Sandra to Per:

A truly unexpected and special Xmas present!! What a treat!! Not only that I finally can add a set of these beauties to my collection, but also I’ve got lots of Xmas presents for my Rox-friends now. A big thanks to the generous and kind donator! Hallelujah! You rock, Per!

He ROX, indeed! And Sandra, too! Thanx a million for all your efforts and work with the updates again! We’re extremely happy for you and glad to see your collection is growing.

Since Per sent more picks to Sandra and let her share them with her Rox-friends, she also thought about giving a chance to a wider group of Roxers to get these rare picks. Huge thanx for offering them for a contest, Sandra!

Besides adding the 2014 picks (No. 86-91), the PLECtionary has also been updated with some info regarding quantities produced of picks where it is known and since the latest update, the misspelled, rare Woddy plec (No. 10) could also be added to Sandra’s collection.

Read the trivia from Sandra at the new picks to get to know why Per doesn’t really use those plectrums on tour! What will we see on the mic stand in 2015? Will there be a new production with the same designs or will there be some completely new layouts? Are there still so many 2012 picks left that Per will use them until he runs out of them? The answers are not known at this point. Let’s see what happens next year!

 

CONTEST!!! Here is your great chance to get hold of a ROX-JET / PER AIR HAIR – CAPTAIN GESSLE guitar pick (No. 91)! In order to participate, answer the following questions (correct answers are added next to the Qs on 3rd January):

  1. How many Rox world related guitar picks are there altogether in the PLECtionary at the moment? – 150 (143+7)
  2. How many different 2014 guitar picks were designed for the XXX anniversary tour? – 6
  3. What is written on the front and back of plec No. 10? (Please, spell it how you see it, otherwise we can’t accept your answer. 😉 ) – Text front: HEJ DIN TOK JAG ÄLSKAR DIG; Text back: WODDY

 

Send an e-mail with your name, address (so we can send the guitar pick in case you win) and the answers to the questions to rxbcontests@gmail.com until 23:59 CET on 2nd January 2015. The 10 lucky winners will be announced a few days later.

Good luck!

Contest terms and conditions:
– In order to participate, you have to send an e-mail to rxbcontests@gmail.com with your name, address and the answers to the 3 questions. We will consider all e-mails we receive until 23:59 CET on 2nd January 2015 with complete information.
– 10 winners will be picked randomly among those who have participated and sent the correct answers.
– You can only participate once, any attempt to participate twice will lead to your disqualification.
– Prizes won’t be paid out in cash. Prizes will be sent by standard mail only once (so basically, if the envelope gets lost, we won’t be able to send a replacement).
– Winners will be announced on this website, on our Facebook page and will also be notified per e-mail. You’ll be required to reply to 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 prize.
– All submitted data will only be used for the purpose of the contest and in case you are one of the lucky winners, to send you the prize.

 

Update on 3rd January:

The 10 lucky winners are:

Rosina Marmion – Uruguay
Agata Giunta – Italy
Gaby Hildebrandt – Germany
Jorge Diaz – Argentina
Nikolett Zentai – Hungary
Ilya Volkov – Germany
Kersti Liivamäe – Estonia
Helen Franklin – England
Mariana Gumuzio – Spain
Remco Verhaaf – The Netherlands

The winners have been informed via e-mail and were announced on our Facebook page, too.

The Per Gessle Selection champagnes and 2011 Kurt & Lisa are out

In June this year Per announced on Facebook that The Per Gessle Selection would grow by three bottles of champagne. The bottles were supposed to hit the stores (or Systembolaget) in November. We have been looking forward to this “release” and finally the champagnes are here including very cool stickers.

The Pleaser  – a blend of grape varieties 40% pinot noir and 60% chardonnay – is available at Systembolaget for 308 SEK.

The Convincer – a rosé blend of  50% pinot noir and 50% chardonnay – is available at Systembolaget for 325 SEK.

The Improver is a cuvée produced in partnership with Blanc de Blancs producer Pierre Peters from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in Cotes du Blancs and consists of 15 different vintages – even back to 1988. Only a few hundred bottles (the initial information was 500) have been produced. The champagne will be sold at Hotel Tylösand – no further information regarding how to buy it otherwise though.

Besides these three champagnes, Kurt & Lisa 2011 is available at Systembolaget since early December as well. Rumour has it that it’s the best so far (so just watch out when you buy it, some stores still have the 2010 and want to sell that one before putting the new one on the shelves. I was even told at one of the stores early December that the year doesn’t matter, that I should get the 2010 because they are the same……no comment). The sticker has been updated with a new colour too.

And last but not least, I finally had the opportunity to drink Fru Nordin white and I must say – well done! The non-alcoholic wines I had tasted so far were rather dry and acid. This one is milder, but it tastes more like wine and fruty. Very yummie. The WineAgency has also published a recipe for a white wine glögg – without alcohol, that is. Check it out! You may get inspired.

So if you live in Sweden (or happen to be there) head to Systembolaget and grab some of the Per Gessle Selection bottles for the upcoming Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties! Welcoming 2015 with one of these champagnes will surely be special (seems I was in Sweden too early this month).

Skål!

Fru Nordin Vitt
Fru Nordin Vitt
The Pleaser
The Pleaser
The Improver
The Improver
The Convincer
The Convincer
Kurt&Lisa 2011
Kurt & Lisa 2011

 

 

 

 

26th anniversary of Look Sharp Live – Roxette in Borgholm? – VOTE!

No, the anniversary is not today. It’s next year. Why do I come up with this topic then? Probably, because several new dates have been added to the already impressive list of XXX tour dates during the past 2 weeks. Still no South or North American, Asian or African dates are known, but surely there will be some concerts added also in those parts of the world, when everything is arranged.

Since the European tour leg was announced and I saw the Swedish dates, I can’t get one thought out of my head. And I guess I’m not alone with that thought. The cities are:

18 July – Kalmar
22 July – Halmstad
24 July – Gothenburg
25 July – Stockholm

There are some days off between Kalmar and Halmstad which could be spent with something else than just sightseeing in Sweden. Kalmar actually lies very close to an extremely important place not only in the Swedish Royal Family’s life, but in Roxette’s history. Borgholm is the place I’m talking about.

Roxette performed at Borgholm Castle already in 1987 on the Badrock tour, but more importantly, the place is known for most of the Roxers because of Look Sharp Live (recorded on 25th-26th July 1989, released on VHS on 1st October 1989) and for the rest of the people on the Globe because of Listen To Your Heart video. Still too funny that the ruins were thought to be built only for the video’s sake.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to drive through Öland Bridge on 19th July, look around on the island and have a fantastic gig at night inside the ruins of Borgholm Castle? Just like 26 years ago. The distance between Kalmar and Borgholm is only 40 km, so it’s easy to get there. 20th-21st July is still enough for everyone to do the usual ”sightseeing” in Halmstad before the show on 22nd July.

So far there is only one concert scheduled for the summer of 2015 inside the ruins (Tomas Ledin, 29th July), so 19th July still seems to be free. The date? Fits! Roxers’ touring agenda? Fits! Marie barefoot? Fits!

How about a poll? Even if you might not be able to attend that gig personally for any reason, you might want to share your opinion and see some videos later. If miracle happens and a concert will be organized there.

[yop_poll id=”17″]

On a side note, hearing Paint live there would be a fab addition, but already a gig itself inside the ruins would simply be an out of the world experience! Wishful thinking it might be, but hope dies last… We want to see Roxette live in Borgholm! The 30th anniversary tour definitely deserves a stop there!

 

LTYH_stills_rs
Stills are from Listen To Your Heart video

 

Update on 17th December:

Now we’re informed that a Facebook page was already created by Maria Francovig Valero (Argentina) in 2013 to support Roxette to perform in Borgholm in 2014. Then as the year was passing by, another page was created, hoping for Roxette to play there in 2016. You can join those pages if you feel like it. No matter which year, we just need a Roxette concert in Borgholm! 2015 just seems to be a perfect year for that.

European tour is growing by two new concerts

Roxette in Ostrava 2015Two new concerts have been added to a very busy European schedule for Roxette next year.

Marie and Per will play the very second concert in Czech Republic in Ostrava (Cez Arena) on the 15th of June – the same place they toured in 2011 and  they are also going to visit Bulgaria for the second time ever – they play in the capital city of Sofia (at Armeec Arena) on the 17th of June. Tickets will go on sale on www.ticketpro.cz and www.ticketpro.bg respectively.

Current European schedule is as follows:

Europe:

10/5 – Milan, Teatro Arcimboldi, Italy – tickets
13/5 – Madrid , Palacio Vistalegre, Spain – tickets
14/5 – Barcelona, Sant Jordi Club, Spain – tickets
17/5 – Bucharest, Aranele Romane, Romania
19/5 – Budapest, Budapest Sports Arena, Hungary – tickets
21/5 – Prague, O2 Arena, Czech Republic – tickets
23/5 – Jelling, Jelling Festival, Denmark
26/5 – Paris, Olympia, Paris tickets
27/5 – Amsterdam, HMH, The Netherlands
29/5 – Antwerp, Lotto Arena, Belgium

June 2015
1/6 – Dublin, The O2 Arena, Ireland – tickets
13/6 – Trondheim, Sverresborg, Norway – tickets

15/6 – Ostrava, Cez Arena, Czech Republic
17/6 – Sofia, Armeec Arena, Bulgaria

22/6 – Warsaw, Torwar, Poland – tickets
24/6 – Cologne, Lanxess, Germany – tickets
25/6 – Hamburg, O2 World, Germany – tickets
27/6 – Berlin, O2 World, Germany – tickets
28/6 – Dresden, Elbufer, Germany – tickets
30/6 – Mannheim, SAP Arena, Germany – tickets

July 2015
2/7 – Stuttgart, Porsche Arena, Germany – tickets
3/7 – Bad Kissingen, Luitpold Park, Germany – tickets
5/7 – Mainz, Nordmole, Germany – tickets
7/7 – Munich, Olympiahalle, Germany – tickets
8/7 – Vienna, Stadthalle, Austria – tickets
13/7 – London, O2 Arena, United Kingdom – tickets
18/7 – Kalmar , Fredriksskans, Sweden – tickets
22/7 – Halmstad, Örjans Vall, Sweden – tickets
24/7 – Gothenburg, Slottskogsvallen, Sweden – tickets
25/7 – Stockholm, Sjöhistoriska, Sweden – tickets

August 2015
6 or 7 or 8/8 – Klaksvík, Faroe Islands – tickets

Per Gessle about Kaj Kindvall

Kaj Kindvall is a Swedish radio host since 1970. He hosted music programs (Tio i toppen, Poporama and Tracks among others) that played an important role in Swedish music history. In 2003 he got a Swedish Grammy, the jury’s honorary award for his work at the radio and spreading pop music.

His last program after working for more than 40 years at Swedish Radio is on 27th December, at 18:30 CET on P4. It will be a summary of the past 40-45 years and besides his colleagues and listeners, artists will also talk about what “Tracks” and Kindvall himself meant to them over the years. Per Gessle will also talk about his thoughts and memories related to Kaj and his programs. The part with Per was probably recorded last Saturday, when he visited the radio’s studio.

So tune in on 27th December to listen to him!

PG_in_front_of_Swedish_Radio