Per Gessle on “Halv tre med Lotta Bromé” on Mix Megapol

by

Per Gessle was Lotta Bromé’s guest on radio Mix Megapol on 26th October. You can listen to the interview HERE.

Before Per was on air, the radio played The Look by Roxette and När vi två blir en by Gyllene Tider.

Lotta welcomes Per on the show and he thanks for that. Lotta asks Per how he is doing. Mr. G replies he is actually very well. Lotta asks why and Per laughs, because it’s a weekday. Lotta is curious if PG has any fun things to do now that he is in Stockholm. Mr. G thinks there are only fun things around him and a lot is happening right now. Gyllene Tider ticket sales and tour and a new album and everything possible.

Lotta asks Per how he is functioning. Whether he is always in a hurry or he is one of those who have ADHD or if it’s just that he is a very creative being. Per thinks he is a combination of all that. He usually says that he probably has all the letter combinations except I and Q. [They are laughing.]

Lotta is curious if Per was good at school. He was quite uninterested in school. He liked art and drawing and English and Swedish. Lotta finds it strange that Per hasn’t mentioned music. PG says he wasn’t that interested, music teaching was quite boring in his time. He doesn’t know how it goes nowadays, but back then there were a lot of theory things.

So the question is, when he found music in his life. It came very early thanks to his 7-year-older brother who had a massive record collection. Already as a 6-7-8-year-old, he was completely engaged in the pop universe. Lotta asks if Per’s brother had a good taste. He had very broad and good taste that Per thinks he has carried with him. It was everything from Hepstars to Led Zeppelin. So Lotta thinks it was PG’s brother who laid the foundation for Per’s chords. Per agrees. It’s his brother’s record collection that he dug into until he got his own back then.

Lotta wants to know how many records Per has in his collection. Mr. G has gotten rid of a lot since then, but he has maybe a couple of thousand LPs left. A lot of singles too. He split the collection and keeps the vinyls in Halmstad, while the CDs are in Stockholm. He has a record player in both places. He is also using Spotify, but he likes to buy vinyls for the sake of the cover. He loves record covers and the smell of vinyl records. Holding the record and listening to it is magical. Lotta says her 16-year-old daughter started collecting vinyls, using amplifiers and speakers and stuff. Per can identify with that. You think about all the music you grew up with. Aladdin Sane by David Bowie or Sticky Fingers by the Stones or Sgt. Pepper. Without the cover it’s just empty. Album covers are like the face of the music.

Lotta says Per asked her not to invite him for too early on the radio show, because he is old. Now it’s afternoon and she asks Per if he has already woken up. PG has woken up.

They get down to Gyllene Tider and Per tells it was hysterical back in the days. It was crazy in 1980-81. He lived with his mother, his father had passed away by then and his siblings, 7 and 14 years older had already moved out. Lotta is curious what Per’s mother thought of the people standing outside their door the whole time. Mr. G says she took it pretty well, until people started stealing the laundry that was hung on the dash and the number plate of the car. Then she thought it was time for Per to get his own apartment. So he found one. He had a very close relationship with his mother. She was very supportive [Per says the word „supportive” in English], as it’s called in Halland. It was Per’s father who thought you should get a real job instead of fooling around with 3 chords. He had a real job, he was a plumber.

Per’s family members passed away in 3 years and it was tough of course, it always is, everyone knows that when you lose your relatives. But that happened when Per was quite mature himself and as a man you can handle it in a different way than when you are small. It was harder when his father passed away when he was only 19. It was difficult in a way, but there isn’t much to do. You go through that and you learn to live with it. The older you get, the more human people disappear around you, so you learn to deal with it in a way, even if it’s difficult.

Lotta remembers that Per once said that when relatives disappear, you get different values. She is curious what values he thought of. Per can’t remember he said that, but he thinks that when you lose friends and relatives, you become thoughtful. You think through what you are doing. This pandemic was a shock to the system that lasted for years. Per thinks people changed a lot, how they travel and stuff like that. Also one of the reasons for a Gyllene Tider comeback is because they have realized that, perhaps, you should value things and value things in a different way. Value relationships, for example.

Lotta plays Tittar på dig när du dansar and asks Per to tell something about it. He hasn’t heard it in a long time, but he recorded it in Nashville. Using flute and mandolin. Lotta asks if those were real instruments. Absolutely yes, Per replies, ”oh my god, it’s Nashville!”. Lotta says there are other projects when Per is not using real instruments, but rather technical stuff. She thinks of Mono Mind. Per likes switching between his projects, jumping between different things. You do an acoustic tour, then you want to do something electrical next month. Then Gyllene Tider. GT is very organic. It’s played hardcore.

Lotta asks when the tour starts. It starts on 7th July in Halmstad next summer. To the question how many gigs there will be Per replies you never know with this little band. Right now there are probably 15, 16, 17, 18 booked. Two extras were added today. Lotta asks Per how many times they said it’s over. Mr. G says they didn’t really say that more than once, in 2019. And that’s what they meant back then. The decision was initiated by Micke Syd, who thought they should stop when they were at their peak and alive, but as Per said before, the pandemic came and he started thinking again. He started writing songs that had that clear Gyllene Tider feel to them and presented them to the band. All of a sudden everyone wanted to be back on the train. On tour they will of course play the old goodies, but he hopes they will play something new as well, because the new record feels fantastic. Although you won’t be able to listen to it until next spring. Lotta asks Per if he comes back on the show when the date for the album release is decided. They kind of agree on meeting at 3 pm on Maundy Thursday.

Lotta is curious about this new project, PG Roxette. Per tells that a new album is coming out on Friday. It’s called Pop-Up Dynamo! and it’s actually a continuation of Roxette. After a lot of tossing and turning, he decided to go on with that train as well. It wasn’t an obvious decision, but time passed and he felt that he wanted to. Continuing that journey mostly comes from the fact that he would like to continue playing the Roxette songs live. He wrote almost all of these songs and he doesn’t want to put the lid on. He also has to say that he is not trying and has never tried to replace Marie in any way. There are these two fantastic girls who were backing vocalists on Roxette tours for many years. It’s Dea Norberg and Helena Josefsson who came forward when they were needed.

Lotta has just looked at the dates and realized that Marie passed away shortly after Per’s family members passed away, so it must have been quite tough years. Of course it was tough, Per says and then their fantastic drummer Pelle Alsing also passed away not long after. So it was tough.

Lotta says that Marie wrote it in her biography that the last tour they went on was the best rehabilitation. Per says Marie was absolutely fantastic, because she never gave up. He remembers when in the spring of 2016 Marie wanted to meet him in her home and said she couldn’t continue. They had a big summer tour booked and had sold several hundred thousand tickets in Europe. She said she couldn’t do it anymore, but she actually toured from 2009 to 2016. They did several hundreds of concerts together. She did that because she was so strong and she wanted to do that. She was just amazing. Lotta notices that it’s still hard for Per to talk about it. Mr. G says it’s tough indeed. She was a special person.

Lotta tells that Marie’s family has decided to put a part of her wardrobe on auction and the money will go to Stockholm’s City Mission in full. Lotta thinks she would have liked that. Per absolutely agrees.

From the new album Lotta plays Watch Me Come Undone. It has this wonderful ’80s style, Per says. This whole album is a cousin to the ’80s and ’90s records that they did with Roxette. Look Sharp! and Joyride.

Lotta is curious if PG Roxette will tour next autumn. Per thinks it’s not a bad idea. Nothing planned yet, but it’s in his plans to go out and play Roxette songs. Lotta says he should release this one in Spanish as well as they did before. Per hopes he doesn’t have to do that. Lotta says she heard Per was so lazy or didn’t want to sing in Spanish that he gave all the songs to Marie to sing. Per explains it was a ballad record and so he chose the ballads that Marie sang and he escaped.

Lotta wants to know how many ballads there are on the new Gyllene Tider album. Per thinks and says there are no ballads on the album at all. It’s full speed from A to Z, just like how it should be.

Lotta asks how much music Per has in his head and how it can be enough for this many projects all the time. Mr. G doesn’t really know the answer. He is writing all the time, so it gets more and more and as long as it’s fun, he won’t stop. He says that if you are motivated and having fun, it’s music, it’s not a job. He is not the kind of person who gets up every day and sits down at the piano or writes a song. He just writes when he feels like it. Per usually says that he writes as little as possible.

Lotta and PG agree again on meeting at Easter. They wish merry Xmas to each other and happy new year. And with this, the show ends.

Stills are from PG Roxette’s The idea behind the album video.

PG Roxette – from tour to album – Per Gessle interview on Hallandsposten

by

Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per for Hallandsposten. You can read it HERE!

Eight days after Gyllene Tider announced their comeback with the album “Hux flux” and tour in the summer of 2023, Per Gessle now releases PG Roxette’s debut album “Pop-Up Dynamo!”.

PG explains:

Well, it was maybe a bit tight there, but since the tickets for the tour were to be released this week and PG Roxette is an international launch, it turned out that way.

In December, it is three years since the other half of Roxette, Marie Fredriksson, tragically passed away after a long illness. But then she had already been forced to step down in 2016 due to failing health.

So the idea of nurturing the legacy of Roxette has been there latently ever since and Marie and I also talked about it.

Finally he arrived at a crossroads.

It was to drop Roxette completely or to find a way to move on without Marie. Either on or off.

And what made me decide was that I noticed how much interest there was still for Roxette out there in the world through Spotify and all the streaming services. At the same time, I have written all the songs and felt that I wanted to keep them in my life.

I mean, I’ve devoted my entire adult life, almost 30 years, to the band, so it’s not something you just let go like that.

In 2018 Per went on a new tour under the name Per Gessle’s Roxette and the idea was also that there would be a new one as PG Roxette in 2020.

Per tells Hallandsposten:

Yes, the goal from the beginning was not to record new music, but to go out and tour with Roxette songs.

Until a certain pandemic struck and shut down and redrawn the world. Then Per had to think again. And song after song grew into a first PG Roxette record.

The idea was to make uptempo and very ’80s-’90s songs like on “Look Sharp!” and “Joyride”. But in 2022.

Jan-Owe says it sounds like Per has been listening to The Cars a lot, among other things.

Well, you had to root out all the old synthesizers from that time. Jupiter 6, Jupiter 8, Prophet and all those…

Instead of Christoffer Lundquist – who was responsible for Gyllene Tider’s and Per’s own solo albums lately – it was also Clarence Öfwerman and Magnus Börjeson who became producers.

Per says:

It has never been an issue to try to replace Marie, because it’s not possible.

So even though the idea was that I would now sing most of the time, I have always wanted to have girls along as well. And since Helena (Josefsson) and Dea (Norberg) were doing backing vocals on Roxette tours during the past few years, it was natural to bring them along.

The effect surprised even Per himself.

Yes, it was actually when we with PG Roxette were going to record “Nothing Else Matters” for Metallica’s anniversary album that we used both voices at the same time for the first time.

And then I discovered that together they became like a third persona, a new, completely unique voice. Much like Frida and Agnetha in ABBA. So then Dea had to go into the studio again and add her voice to the parts that Helena had already sung.

During the journey, Roxette’s drummer, Pelle Alsing, also suddenly passed away in 2020.

It came completely unexpectedly, like a shock. But it made me even stronger in my conviction to manage Roxette’s legacy, that the music should live on.

Therefore, Roxette guitarist Jonas Isacsson also became involved in PG Roxette early on.

Yes, it really will be Roxette with his guitar. Just like Gyllene Tider only plays Gyllene Tider with the five of us together, me, Micke (Syd), Anders (Herrlin), MP (Mats Persson) and Göran (Fritzon). It kind of just happens like that, can’t be explained or touched on.

Per about “Pop-Up Dynamo!”:

As the title suggests, it’s electric, pops up and is very uptempo. So if Gyllene Tider’s new record is like four tequila shots, this one is like seven…

The international PG Roxette tour will have to wait. There is a new Gyllene Tider trip in between.

New Roxette album without Marie Fredriksson – German News Agency

by

The names Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle will forever be associated with pop duo Roxette. Three years after Fredriksson’s untimely death, Gessle is now releasing an album with a new project that bears their band name – and also the unmistakably pop Roxette sound of “Joyride” and other world hits of the past. “Pop-Up Dynamo!” will be released by Warner Music on Friday.

“I decided early on that we should go for this sound from the late ’80s, early ’90s, where my heart is basically,” Gessle told the DPA (German News Agency) ahead of the release of the album. Instead of adapting to very new formats, it’s better to stick with what you’re good at. “At the same time, I didn’t want to be nostalgic or too retro. I also wanted to sound modern,” emphasizes the now 63-year-old Swede. The result was an uptempo pop album. “It’s a mishmash of 1989 and 2022 – or 2021 when it was recorded,” Gessle said.

1989 – around this year was the heyday of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson. As Roxette, the two Swedes stringed together one world success after another, including “The Look”, “Listen To Your Heart” and “It Must Have Been Love”. They sold about 80 million albums worldwide. Gessle wrote the songs, while Fredriksson’s stunning voice became a hit on German radio too.

In 2016 Roxette gave their last concert. On December 9, 2019, Fredriksson died at the age of just 61 after a long battle with cancer. Gessle also processed this musically, one year after her death, the song collection “Bag Of Trix” came out with unpublished and partly lost Roxette recordings.

Roxette is now continued as PG Roxette, the world hits of that time are followed by the album “Pop-Up Dynamo!”, dedicated to Marie Fredriksson. The sound remains the same, but a hardly replaceable voice has to be replaced. “This is a new chapter beginning,” says Gessle. “It would have felt strange to do a Roxette album without Marie.”

Fredriksson is therefore not heard on the album, but the longtime background singers Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg. “Pop-Up Dynamo!” is different vs. music by Roxette, but somehow not. From the very first few seconds, “Walking On Air”, the record’s strong first and pre-release track, feels like a ’90s car ride with the radio turned on. The voices of Gessle, Josefsson and Norberg invite you to sing along, the melodies of several of the eleven songs remain supple in the ear.

In the middle of the album, for example with “You Hurt The One You Love The Most” and “Jezebel”, the music sometimes becomes calmer and more thoughtful, in between with “The Loneliest Girl In The World” – despite the sad title – audibly happier again. So Gessle has remained true to this mixture of the cheerful and the thoughtful, which also characterized Roxette. He’s not trying to be Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber.

Gessle didn’t shy away from getting the old synthesizers out of the basement. The Swede admits that “Pop-Up Dynamo!” is something different than today’s pop music. The album sounds so completely different from everything else that is musically circulating today. “Most pop music today is made on laptops or in that style,” he says. “It’s a development that has limited the music a bit.” Gessle himself stays within his old comfort boundaries – those of Roxette.

Auction of Marie Fredriksson’s private clothes

by

Selection of Roxette Star Marie Fredriksson’s Garments to be Auctioned off to Raise Money for Swedish Non-Profit Organisation

A handpicked selection of clothing that world-renowned artist Marie Fredriksson wore in her day-to-day life and on special occasions are to be auctioned off. All profits will go directly to the Swedish non-profit organisation Stockholm City Mission’s work with improving the lives of people in social and financial exclusion. The auctions, which will take place on the circular platform Tradera between October 28th – November 27th, were initiated by Fredriksson’s family to honour her memory and support causes close to her heart.

Marie Fredriksson (1958–2019) is one of Sweden’s most celebrated and beloved artists, famous as lead vocalist in the pop rock duo Roxette consisting of her and Per Gessle. In addition to the international success of Roxette, Fredriksson achieved noteworthy accomplishments through her solo career as a singer-songwriter. Fredriksson sadly passed away in 2019, following a longer period of illness.

Marie Fredriksson’s iconic style, with short blonde hair and close-fitting rock attire has inspired several generations. A selection of her off-duty garments and clothes worn on special occasions are now to be auctioned off. The auctions are initiated by Fredriksson’s family, to support the work carried out by non-profit organisation Stockholm City Mission in Sweden. The family elaborate on their decision in an official statement:

Throughout her life, Marie was committed to improving the conditions of people living in vulnerable circumstances. In her biography Listen to My Heart, she shares her own experiences of growing up in a family with modest means. Marie’s strong social commitment is the reason we as a family have decided upon letting part of her possessions benefit others through this collaboration with Stockholm City Mission. We are certain that this is something Marie would have wanted, and our hope is that the auctions will be a helpful contribution to Stockholm’s City Mission’s important work aiding those in need.

Mikael Bolyos with family

Selected Pieces to be Displayed in Central Stockholm

Approximately fifty garments from Fredriksson’s private collection of clothes will be auctioned off via the circular market Tradera between October 28th and November 27th. The garments consist of a range of items she wore in her day-to-day life and a few festive gems that she wore on special occasions, including the dress worn during her performance at Princess Madeleine of Sweden’s wedding in 2013. Selected pieces will be displayed at the department store Nordiska Kompaniet in central Stockholm from the beginning of the auction up until November 5th. All raised funds will be donated to the non-profit organisation Stockholm City Mission’s efforts to create a more humane society through social care, work training and education.

“We are honoured to be entrusted with this task by Marie Fredriksson’s family, and with managing and celebrating her fashion legacy. It is a beautiful initiative, where all funds raised will be an important contribution to helping us improve the lives of people living in social and financial exclusion.”
Åsa Paborn, CEO at Stockholm’s City Mission

Read more about the auctions and see pictures on Stockholms City Mission’s website: stadsmissionen.se/ge-stod/auktion-marie-fredriksson

Press contact
Fanny Siltberg, Head of press, Stockholm’s City Mission
fanny.siltberg@stadsmissionen.se
(+46)8-684 230 40

About the auctions

  • Approximately 50 garments from Fredriksson’s private collection, that she wore in her day-to-day life and on special occasions will be auctioned off via the web based circular market Tradera. The auctions will be open for international bidding. The auctions will launch on October 28th via https://www.tradera.com/en/charity/mariefredriksson and close on November 27th.
  • The funds raised will be donated to Swedish non-profit organisation Stockholm City Mission’s efforts to create a more humane society through social care, work training and education, as per Marie Fredriksson’s family’s wishes. Stockholm City Mission is a non-profit organisation, independent from State, Church and Municipality working to eradicate social exclusion in Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholm City Mission’s social activities are aimed at children, youth and adults living in social or financial exclusion. The organisation offers open meeting places, housing, social rights support, and individual guidance, with the ambition to empower people in need and strengthen their sense of belonging and stature in society. stadsmissionen.se

Garments in the auction include:

FADI EL KHOURY
Ball gown
2010’s

Extravagant, creme-coloured dress with pearl embroidery, golden roses, and a voluminous skirt with a tulle train. The dress was tailor-made for Marie Fredriksson to wear at the celebration of Princess Madeleine of Sweden’s wedding with Chris O’Neill, which took place on June 8, 2013, in Stockholm. During the ceremony, Marie Fredriksson performed her ballad “Ännu doftar kärlek”.

TOMASZ STARZEWSKI
Evening gown
1990’s

Champagne-coloured gown lined with pearl embroidery and gems – a creation on par with Marie Fredriksson’s star quality. The dress is designed by British designer Tomasz Starzewski, a favourite among many celebrities in the 1990’s, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher included. This dress was worn by Marie Fredriksson during the celebration of her 40th birthday.

AZZEDINE ALAÏA
Bodycon dress
1990’s

A slim fitted dress worn by Marie Fredriksson during the Polar Music Prize-ceremony in ‘92/’93. For all its glamour, the dress might best be advised to wear with a ‘no pain, no gain’-mindset, as it allegedly required more than one tiny step on the red carpet due to its tight fit.

JASPER CONRAN
Black evening gown – silk with pearl embroidery
1990’s

An elegant, yet savvy dress worn by Marie Fredriksson during Roxette co-star Per Gessle’s 40th birthday celebration.

GIORGIO ARMANI
Cashmere coat
1990’s

Double-breasted coat in the softest of cashmere wool. This particular coat is described in Marie Fredriksson’s biography Listen to My Heart (2015), written together with Swedish journalist Helena von Zweigbergk. In her biography, Marie elaborates on how growing up with modest means affected her, and that the ability to buy whatever she wanted as an adult filled her with a wonderful sense of revenge. “My fantasies turned into reality; I could actually afford things.” The story about the Armani coat is mentioned in the book:

” It has been so unreal. I remember when my husband and I visited an Armani store in Milan. I tried on two coats, both with a price well over 20 000 SEK, with one being slightly more expensive. I couldn’t make up my mind about which one to choose. I consulted the saleswoman who recommended that I’d buy the more expensive coat. ’Heck, I’ll buy them both’, I said. You should have seen the faces on the people in the store! “

Per Gessle on Nyhetsmorgon interviewed by Jenny Strömstedt

by

Saturday morning Per was invited to Nyhetsmorgon, TV4’s morning show and Jenny Strömstedt interviewed him. You can watch it HERE on TV4 Play if you are in Sweden or HERE on TV4’s website if you live anywhere else or you have troubles with VPN.

Jenny introduces Per as one of Sweden’s most beloved artists. She says one of Sweden’s most beloved bands went on a farewell tour 3 years ago, but this week the happy news came about Gyllene Tider’s comeback. Here comes a little footage from previous tours and when the camera shows the studio again, Per is already sitting on the couch enjoying GT’s music that plays in the footage.

Jenny welcomes Per on the show and Mr. G thanks for that. Jenny holds up the Pop-Up Dynamo! vinyl and says Per also releases a new album under PG Roxette. She asks PG when he sleeps at all. Per replies he sleeps as rarely and as little as possible and admits he is busy with many things at once. There is always something going on.

Jenny says Per was on Nyhetsmorgon together with Micke Syd approximately 3 years ago and they talked about their farewell tour that was coming and now they reunite again. Never say never, Jenny adds. Per explains that it was really meant to be a farewell tour, but he thinks the pandemic changed everything. It brought him a lot of new thoughts. The whole new GT thing came after he bought a guitar. He bought the guitar and wrote two amazing songs that screamed for Gyllene Tider. The 5 guys met more often lately because of the upcoming GT movie and Per just asked them if they should record some new songs. Everyone thought it was a cool idea. This lead them to record a new album which is called Hux flux and a summer tour with the same name next year. The album is already finished. Jenny finds it exciting. She asks Per how he felt that those two new songs were Gyllene songs. PG says it’s a special kind of style, a sort of power pop style that sounds like only Gyllene Tider sounds. It’s very cool. Jenny is curious about what happens when the guys gather in the same room. Per smiles and says that not much happens when they just gather in a room, but a lot is happening when they play together. It’s just awesome. It’s cool to be in a band. He wishes all young people would try it, to play the same song at the same time and have a role in a little band. It’s actually a magical feeling.

Jenny says she thinks the band reunited so many times because the audience that has been following them over the years needs GT. When she saw Gyllene Tider’s last gig, which wasn’t the last one in the end, she looked around and everyone in the crowd was moved. She feels that the audience and the band strengthen each other’s life, they made this journey together. She asks Per what role he thinks a band like Gyllene Tider has in this generation. One big role is certainly what Jenny mentions, Per thinks. Mr. G says that the fantastic thing in his job, writing music and songs is that they really communicate with people, when they are getting married or meet or cry, etc. Songs mean a lot to people. That’s the power of music. So of course it’s amazing and it’s almost impossible to quit if you once started. It’s impossible to imagine that he would stop writing music or be on stage.

Jenny asks Per if he gets any kind of feedback now when he is on stage with Gyllene Tider and plays the old songs again. Per says, not really. He sings texts he wrote when he was 23, so he realizes that time has passed and he probably wouldn’t express himself the same way today. He tells he was on an unplugged tour earlier this year and played a lot of old songs in acoustic arrangment. He realized it’s very different when you are 63 and sing a song you wrote 45 years ago, because the song suddenly means something else. Even if it’s the same lyrics, it gets a different angle. For example, Ljudet av ett annat hjärta or När vi två blir en, these are songs he wrote when he was 20 or so. When he sings them now, he tells the story in a different way vs. when he wrote the song. Jenny repeats the title När vi två blir en while thinking about the next question and Per starts singing „… känna din kropp emot min…”, then he asks Jenny if she knows the song. They are laughing. Per explains the expressions in the lyrics are young, the declaration of love is young, those are young thoughts and young vibes. He thinks it’s important to find something you can stick to all the time while time goes by.

Jenny says Per goes on with Roxette under the name PG Roxette and releases a new album next Friday. Jenny heard there is a fan forum where a tough discussion went on if it’s right or wrong that Per continues without Marie. Per thinks it’s a relevant question. He tells that Marie quit Roxette in 2016 and it wasn’t obvious to Per to continue, but time passed by and he felt that he wanted to keep Roxette’s legacy alive. There are so many people all around the world who love Roxette’s music and he now tried to make a record that is kind of a sibling to Look Sharp! and Joyride. Mr. G says he didn’t try to replace Marie. He works together with the classic Roxette band and let the two girls – who were on tour with them during the „modern times”, if one can say so –, to come forward when they are needed.

With GT there were two most intense years, with Roxette eight. Per tells Roxette started in 1986 and ended in 2016, so it was altogether 30 years. It’s not more than half of his life, but almost. So all his adult life he lived with Roxette. Gyllene Tider ended actually in the mid ’80s and it became project-based. So it’s Roxette Per worked with the most. Jenny is curious what has shaped Per the most. PG says the success and the opportunity he got through Roxette in life has shaped his whole life and the whole life of his family. It became his destiny in a way.

Jenny asks Per if he sometimes can look back and reflect on all the huge success he had. If he allows himself to do that. Per says he doesn’t do that, he doesn’t like to sit and look back that way. Of course, sometimes when he talks about it, he reflects on it, but he doesn’t sit at home and looks at the golden records, for example. It’s the future that counts. It’s that he is a songwriter first of all. He started writing songs when he was a teenager.

Jenny asks Per where he gets the driving force from and that he can’t help it. Mr. G says he wanted to enter the pop world when he was a kid – 6-8 years old –, because the pop world was much more exciting for him than the real world. He thinks it’s still a bit like that. He likes to live through his songs. It’s tragic but true.

Jenny closes the interview with mentioning the GT tour next summer and she asks Per about the upcoming GT album. PG tells it will be released next spring, PG Roxette album is out next Friday and tickets for the GT tour go on sale on Tuesday.

Jenny thanks Per for coming on the show and wishes good luck with everything. Per says it’s always a pleasure and sends his greetings to Niklas [Niklas Strömstedt, Jenny’s husband].

Stills are from the morning show.

Thanks for the technical support to János Tóth!