CONTEST – Win the limited edition version of Marie Fredriksson’s biography in English!

by

It’s amazing that after all these years, Marie’s story is finally out in English too! 1984 Publishing, the US publishing company of the English edition of Marie’s biography, was kind enough to offer us 3 limited edition copies for a contest.

In order to participate, answer the following questions correctly:

  1. In how many languages has Marie’s biography been published before the English edition? – 7 (Swedish 2015, German 2016, Czech 2017, Spanish 2019, Hungarian 2020, Portuguese 2021, Russian 2022)
  2. Who wrote the foreword of the English edition? – Jonas Åkerlund
  3. Which song do you get as a bonus track on The Change if you buy the limited edition version and which year was that song originally released? – Sea of Love, 2020

You can find the answers to all questions on RoxBlog.

Send an e-mail with your name, address and the correct answers to the questions to roxblog.contest@gmail.com until 23:59 CET, 31st August 2023. The 3 lucky winners will be announced on 1st September 2023. Good luck!

UPDATE on 1st September: the three winners have been picked and informed via email about their winning. Thanx, everyone, for taking part! The winners are Martijn Poortvliet from the Netherlands, Agnieszka Gilewska from Poland and Arnaldo Suarez from Argentina! Congrats!

Contest terms and conditions:
– In order to participate, you have to send an e-mail to roxblog.contest@gmail.com with name, address and correct answers to the 3 questions. We will consider all e-mails we receive until 23:59 CET on 31st August 2023.
– 3 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 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 winners 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 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 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 our social media channels in case you win.

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Vasa – 19th August 2023 – #20

by

Hux Flux, det är över nu. The very last gig on the tour happened in Vasa, Finland last night.

Schedule

17:00 Doors open
17:45 KAJ
19:00 Fredrik Furu
20:15 Sanna Nielsen
22:15 Gyllene Tider

The stage looked the same as in Ekenäs the day before. Screens on the sides and backdrop with the tour visual. Vasa is also a bilingual city and Swedish is the first language of one third of its population. So it made sense to talk in Swedish between the songs. The amount of talks was approximately the same as on the first Finnish gig, but here Per told the audience that this is their last show on their summer tour. We screamed, but at the same time we were sad, because it’s the last one, so we mimed we were crying and Anders reacted the same way from the stage when he looked at us.

Per said they would do everything to make it the best show. And they put all their energy into it, really. They enjoyed themselves a lot and loved playing for one last time on this tour.

The ginger tea mix tasted a bit like grape and tequila last night, Per said. Micke said tequila, yes, it’s the last gig, after all. Haha.

Åsa came and sat down in front of us on the security fence’s step and stayed there and took pictures and videos of the stage during almost the whole show. It’s always lovely to see her also enjoying the concerts.

The setlist was the same as the day before. The songs that worked best with the Vasa crowd were Kung av sand and Sommartider. Loud sing-along!

At the end of the show, not only Per was throwing his remaining picks from the mic stand and Micke Syd his drumsticks, but even Göran threw his hat to the crowd. Very cool!

It was lovely to see after the concert, that Malin-My, Göran and Micke went to the technicians to hug them and thank them for the tour.

This gang never sounded as good live as on this tour. It was amazing to see the band enjoying themselves on stage and giving full power each night and hear the crowds cheering for them, singing and clapping along every night.

With this, the Hux Flux tour is over. Sad, but true. On a personal side note, I’d like to thank you all for following these write-ups here, for coming to say hi when you saw me on tour and for all your kind words regarding RoxBlog. Appreciate it.

Now only one question remains: when is GT’s 9th summer tour and 6th comeback tour??? Haha. I held up a sign at the end that said thanks for the 5th comeback tour and I’m looking forward to the 6th. The guys and girls on stage were laughing and showed thumbs up. Then after the show we talked to Micke and he said „you wish!”. Yes, I wish. But not only me. So many of us want to hear GT live again. We give you some more years to come back again, guys! Bring the girls too!

Setlist

1. Gyllene Tider igen
2. Juni, juli, augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
5. Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig
6. Flickorna på TV2
7. (Hon vill ha) Puls
8. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång

Band presentation

10. Kung av sand
11. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
12. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
13. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet / (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän / Tylö Sun medley

Encore

14. Gå & fiska!
15. När vi två blir en
16. Sommartider
17. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Amazing finale of the Hux Flux tour in Vaasa!!!! Love this place! Thx all you 200.000 ppl showing up making this tour yet another Gyllene summer. Love to you all. We had a blast! Stay safe and sound, y’all!

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Ekenäs – 18th August 2023 – #19

by

Gyllene Tider decided to add two dates in Finland to their Hux Flux tour. The big return to Finland after more than 40 years! One of the two festivals was in Ekenäs last night.

I remember we had a brain freeze when tickets went on sale last December, because the organizer, Nordic Live Productions provided only 2 payment methods – Walley for Finnish customers only and Finnair Plus points. Haha. 21st century at its best… They didn’t make it easy for international buyers to enter their festivals. Anyway, good to have fans in each country, so thanks once again to all the Finnish Roxers and GT fans who offered their help when we needed it.

Raasepori Festival’s first day, when GT was set to perform was sold out fast, already in January. They released some more tickets during the past few days though.

Planned schedule:

15:00 Doors open
15:30 Alan Parry & Mikko Sipola Duo
17:00 Sanna Nielsen
18:30 KAJ
19:30 Guitar Slingers
21:15 Gyllene Tider

The most entertaining among the bands that performed before our beloved headliners was KAJ. 3 young guys full of energy, enthusiasm and fun songs. Sanna Nielsen was very powerful too.

Because of KAJ and Guitar Slingers finishing their set later than planned, Gyllene Tider came on stage at 21:30, after the intro music was played without the cartoon this time.

Regarding the stage set, the difference vs. all gigs before was that there was no LED wall in the background, but the seaside picture with the car was there as a backdrop. There was no HUX FLUX sign either. On the two sides of the stage there were screens which were used by the festival cameramans and they screened pictures of the concerts there, so that everyone in the back could also see what’s happening on stage.

Another difference vs. other gigs was that the merchandise stand had a new neighbour. A Sex Shop was set up next to it. Interesting festival stand. Haha.

It’s the bilingual part of Finland, so the talks between the songs were in Swedish. It got much less talk vs. the other 18 shows. Partly because there were less songs played, partly because they probably had to keep the festival’s timing and from 23:00 a DJ was set to play.

Anyway, the band was in top shape and in a great mood. They loved being on stage again after almost a week off.

The tribute-to-their-favourite-Dutch-band talk remained with Micke playing „una paloma blanca” and the ginger tea talk, too. Per said his mix in the mug tasted like Finland. Micke now asked for help from a friend of his in Ekenäs and he said he got a bag of powder from his friend and poured it into the drink. So Per would play for 12 hours now. We wish! Haha.

Changes in the setlist meant the gang performed 4 songs less. They skipped Vandrar i ett sommarregn, Tuffa tider and Min tjej och jag, as well as Det är över nu. There was only one encore and there they played 4 songs. The order of the songs also changed a bit.

The band presentation was after Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång and the order of introducing the band members was different too. First the two ladies, then Anders, then Micke, MP and Göran. And there was no introduction of PG.

At the end of the concert, during När alla vännerna gått hem, Dea now sat next to Micke Syd and Malin-My sat in front of the drums. So lovely vibes during this song!

The songs that worked best with the Finnish crowd were Flickorna på TV2 and Sommartider.

The weather wasn’t the best. During the other acts there was a bit of rain and it drizzled during GT’s performance, but we survived. One gig like this out of 19 is not bad. However, we expect more summer on Saturday.

Next stop is Vasa, Finland on Saturday! Is it really going to be the last show already? Oj…

Setlist

1. Gyllene Tider igen
2. Juni, juli, augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
5. Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig
6. Flickorna på TV2
7. (Hon vill ha) Puls
8. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång

Band presentation

10. Kung av sand
11. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
12. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
13. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet / (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän / Tylö Sun medley

Encore

14. Gå & fiska!
15. När vi två blir en
16. Sommartider
17. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Amazing gig in Ekenäs, Finland! Thx everyone for an unforgettable evening!

PG Roxette – “The Craziest Thing” single with “Just Perfect” as B side is out!

by

The Craziest Thing was originally released on PG Roxette’s debut album Pop-Up Dynamo! It was written by Per Gessle and Eddie Jonsson. In connection with the European Table Tennis Championship in Malmö 10th-17th September 2023, a new version of the song, The Craziest Thing (Lost Boy Remix) has been produced and it’s the official song of the EC.

Peter Johansson, project manager for the European Table Tennis Championship says:

It feels incredibly fun that Per Gessle is once again making a song for a major table tennis championship. It was a success last time in connection with the World Championship in Halmstad. This song is pompous and happy and will do perfectly in Malmö Arena. I’m also convinced that it will work excellently as a boost for our Swedish players in the hunt for the medals at home.

Per Gessle says:

I feel incredibly honored to once again be responsible for the official table tennis song in the context of the EC and WC. In 2018 it was the WC in jolly Halmstad and then it was “Name You Beautiful”, this time at the European Table Tennis Championship in Malmö my contribution is called “The Craziest Thing”. Filled with twisted energy and as effective and fast as a diagonal forehand smash.

The B side of the single is a previously unreleased song, Just Perfect. Per says:

“Just Perfect” was written in October 2014 for the “Pretty Woman”-musical. I was in touch with Jonathan Lawton (who wrote the script to PW, both movie + musical) and the basic idea was to create a “bookend” to “It Must Have Been Love”. “IMHBL” would appear at the end of the musical and “Just Perfect” in the beginning.

The lyrics told the story about the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles where some important parts of PW took place. Btw, Elvis Presley stayed at that particular hotel for six months during his heydays, hence the Elvis-reference in my lyric.

Jonathan loved the song but it all went nowhere when director Garry Marshall decided that Bryan Adams was going to write all the songs to the PW-musical instead. Not even “It Must Have Been Love” got included. Shit happens and no worries. Personally, I think Bryan did an amazing job with all his new stuff.

So here’s “Just Perfect”. I re-used the idea for the chorus in Roxette’s “This One” a few months later if it sounds familiar. That’s the way I am.

Listen to the single HERE and don’t forget to order the physical copy, a limited edition vinyl 7″ HERE!

The Craziest Thing (Lost Boy Remix)

I know you’re trying to please
You make me weak in the knees
When you come around, aha
I love hanging out with you
Love the things that you do
To find higher ground, aha
But baby, my mind is drifting
My focus keeps on shifting
Baby, my mind is drifting

In a certain light you tend to look just like her
It’s the craziest thing
In a certain light you tend to look just like her
It’s the weirdest thing

I know you want this to last
To make me wipe out the past
And go to Square One
I don’t know what to do
Hey, I haven’t got a clue
How to unblock the sun, aha
Got a reason my mind is drifting
The attention keeps on shifting
Got a reason my mind is drifting

In a certain light you tend to look just like her
It’s the craziest thing
In a certain light you tend to look just like her
It’s the weirdest thing

Words by Per Gessle
Music by Per Gessle + Eddie Jonsson
Published by Jimmy Fun Music
Original recording produced by Magnus Börjeson + Clarence Öfwerman + Per Gessle
Remix produced by Lost Boy at Lost Boy Studios, Umeå
Programming: Lost Boy
Vocals: Per Gessle + Helena Josefsson + Dea Norberg

Just Perfect

I wanna welcome you to treasure
Magnificent rooms of joy and pleasure
Where anything is possible
We’re workin’ so hard to make things happen
Elvis is gone but not forgotten
We’re still makin’ dreams wishable
And doable
Even things unthinkable
Can happen right here in this hotel
In gold with roses watching

This is perfect
Just perfect
It’s just perfect – oh oh oh
Just perfect – oh oh oh

We can be truly entertaining
Delightfully sharp and so persuading
Nothing less than wonderful
Offering pearls and shiny diamonds
Fine chandeliers and striking tables
We make your life so powerful
And colourful
Even things incredible
Will happen right here in this hotel
In gold with roses watching

This is perfect
Just perfect
It’s just perfect – oh oh oh
Just perfect – oh oh oh

Words + music by Per Gessle
Published by Jimmy Fun Music
Produced by Per Gessle
Recorded at Tits & Ass, Halmstad October 2014
Engineer: Mats Persson
Programming + keyboards: Per Gessle + Mats Persson
Vocals: Per Gessle

Gyllene Tider – Hux Flux – Fredrikstad – 12th August 2023 – #18

by

After finishing the 1-month-long Swedish leg of the Hux Flux tour and having a week off, Gyllene Tider visited Norway last night. The gang performed in Fredrikstad, a city not too far from the Norwegian-Swedish border. It was 4 years ago the band played there last time and of course, they wanted to top that 2019 summer night.

In Fredrikstad there were two support acts before GT. Minor Majority (Norwegian band) played from 18:00 and Uno Svenningsson from 19:15. This was Uno’s first time in Norway. Dea and Malin-My didn’t join him on stage for Under ytan, but to make it special, Uno sang part of the lyrics in Norwegian. On this tour, it was the last time Uno and his band warmed up the crowd. They did a fab job concert by concert. His songs are very catchy, the lyrics are easy to learn, so after a couple of concerts we could even sing along. Uno and his band made us look forward to their session each time. It’s always great to have a good support act. It makes it easier for us to wait for the main performers while having fun. Thanks for all the cool evenings, guys!

Gyllene Tider came on stage at 20:30. It was so amazing to see them again after a week of break! They also all seemed to be very happy to be on stage again. They left both Chrissie and Billy home in Sweden, but otherwise they played all other hits and the crowd sang along to the ones they knew the lyrics to.

In Norway, the talks between the songs were the same as previously. As you know, Norwegians understand Swedish very well and vice versa, so the guys of course talked in Swedish.

When it came to the ginger tea talk, Per said it tasted a bit like cucumber and lakrits. Micke asked him if it tasted good and PG replied „not really”. Micke said he even added a little Aquavit to the mix. Haha.

What’s with the in-ear systems these days? Hm. Earlier on tour we could see Per having problems with his in-ear, the fixing of it, now it was Anders who had some issues with it. After Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig he went to the side and technician Peter Fredriksson checked it, but it seemed that it wasn’t enough. Before Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång Anders walked to the side again and Peter quickly changed the whole system while Per was talking. It distracted everyone a bit, but once PG saw they could start the song, they started and Anders rushed back to his spot on stage. I can’t say the problem was gone for good, because when Tylö Sun came, Anders went to the side again, maybe to tell Peter to prepare another system for the encore break. Then it might got really fixed, because after that we didn’t see any further problems.

Micke dedicated Min tjej och jag to Erling Haaland, Norwegian football player, if I understood the name right.

It’s been a while since the last time we could see flying bras at a GT show, but Norway didn’t disappoint. Haha. Two bras were aimed at the stage, but they didn’t reach their final destination. Both landed in the area in front of the stage.

Anders Roos was there on spot, taking a lot of photos from several angles during the whole gig. Jan-Owe Wikström was also present. They are working hard on their upcoming GT book.

Next stop is Finland on Friday and Saturday for the very last two shows!

Setlist

1. Gyllene Tider igen
2. Juni, juli, augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
5. Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig
6. Flickorna på TV2
7. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
8. (Hon vill ha) Puls
9. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
10. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
11. Tuffa tider

Band presentation

12. Min tjej och jag
13. Kung av sand
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet / (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän / Tylö Sun medley

Encore 1

17. Det är över nu
18. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

19. När vi två blir en
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

All photos in the article by Patrícia Peres

Per after the show:

Underbar kväll i Fredrikstad, Norge. Tack för all skönsång + positiv energi!!! LOVE TO YOU ALL!