Interview with Per Gessle in Nyhetsmorgon on TV4

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There was a pre-recorded interview with Per Gessle this morning in Nyhetsmorgon on TV4. While program leader Jenny Alversjö introduced the interview Anders Pihlblad did with Mr. G, there were several Roxette photos shown in the background. Jenny says Marie passed away almost 3 months ago, way too early. She mentions Per was devastated and the day after he gathered his thoughts and finished a song, a comfort song, how he calls it.

 

 

 

In the interview you can hear and see snippets from Per’s new song, Around The Corner (The Comfort Song) and its lyric video.

Per says this song was lying around for a while and he finished it the day after. His mother-in-law also died a couple of days after Marie. It was a really hard time and he finished the song actually for himself. He wanted to get it out of the system. That’s how he works. One needs to get rid of things. He expresses himself through his music and lyrics.

It became a comfort song in a way. Per realized it’s a really strong song when he recorded it with Helena and Mats. He doesn’t mean it’s an especially good song, maybe it is, he doesn’t know, but he saw it touched Helena and Mats deeply. So they thought it should be released. He knows there are a lot of people in the Roxette gang, all the fans, all the friends, the whole world were affected by what happened. Almost all people go through this when they lose someone close to them sometime in life. Everyone needs this comfort. Per’s way to get through this was writing.

 

Anders says there are 2 Roxettes. One before Marie’s illness and the one after it. 2 totally different challenges. He asks Per what he was thinking when Marie got ill, how to go on with his career and if he thought they could go on with Roxette. Per explained he didn’t think they could, because it felt that Marie was in really bad shape, so it wasn’t in the cards to continue with Roxette. The first thing he did after Marie got ill was Mazarin, then Gyllene Tider in 2004, then Son of a Plumber, then En händig man, so all his other stuff. So it was really surprising that Marie wanted to make a comeback. Per thinks even Marie didn’t count on it, that she would come back. She came to visit him in Amsterdam where Per played on his European tour. Anders says he talked to a Dutch girl who was there at the concert and said there was a surprise. Per laughs and says Marie and her husband, Micke came to visit him and he asked Marie if she wanted to come up on stage so they would play an old Roxette song. She hadn’t been on stage for 7 years and she said she doesn’t want to do that. But Per knew she was easy to convince if they give it some more time, so the question remained hanging in the air and in the end Marie said OK, let’s rehearse and see how it feels. One could see she really wanted to do it. So they rehearsed and Marie said let’s try it. For the first extra song Per invited Marie up on stage and there was only Marie and Per on stage. Mr. G thinks they played Listen to Your Heart and maybe It Must Have Been Love too, he can’t remember. Per says the audience died of course and he had never seen so many people crying. It was incredible. It was the first thing Marie did and then a few weeks later she called Per if he could write a new Roxette album. That’s what eventually became Charm School. Then there were 2 big tours, maybe with 300 concerts.

 

Anders asks Per how important he thinks it was for Marie to realize that she managed to do it and that it became such a success. Per thinks it was super important for Marie, because she loved music more than anything else. She loved being on stage and she enormously missed the communication with her fans, with their fans. So she wanted to do it at all costs. Her doctor advised she shouldn’t do that, because touring is exhausting with all the travelling, the waiting, the flying, the time zones and so on. But she wanted to do that. Per told her whatever they do, they do it based on Marie’s conditions. If she wants three days between the gigs, that’s how they will do it. Per thought it was amazing that Marie wanted to do it and that they could go on.

Anders says he saw an interview with Marie that was done by Niklas Strömstedt and there she said Per was a big support to her during that period. He asks Per what he thinks about it. Per smiles, drinks a little water and says he doesn’t know. He hopes so, but it’s hard to answer this question. When someone gets ill, you want to help as much as you can, but it’s always hard to help someone without stepping too much into their private lives. People have families and you don’t know how to behave. This is how he felt about his family too. Sometimes you feel that you go one step too close and they want you to leave them alone. They want to take care of their illness in their own private way. So it’s hard to know. But Per also saw that interview in Niklas’ show and he was of course happy to hear that Marie thought so.

 

Anders says Marie and Per had many common memories from Roxette times. He is curious about the greatest ones that Per will remember forever. Mr. G says there are too many. He thinks it’s kind of a fairy tale what they have been through. The possibilities, the chances, the odds for them to succeed, coming from Sweden those days and in this industry were less than minimal. It’s fantastic, all the success they have achieved. But if he skips all the golden records, chart positions and such things, he remembers those days when they were on stage in front of 50,000 people in Chile, in Sydney or wherever and looked into each other’s eyes. And then Per knows Marie thinks ”how the hell did this happen, Per?” and he thinks the same. You see the rolling ocean of people in front of you and they all love what you are doing. Such things are fantastic. But of course there are many more.

 

Anders realized Roxette has extremely loyal fans. He read what they were writing and asks Per how much of that has reached him. Per says he was of course devastated when Marie passed away, but he was also happy to see the response she got from all around the world. From many other artists, producers, radio people and fans, all the people. There are hundreds of thousands of greetings coming in and it’s awesome that Marie gets that appreciation. Per says they definitely have the best fans in the world. They have always been super loyal and followed them in all times. It’s been a long journey.

And here the interview ends with the flame of the candle going out in the lyric video. All in all it was a very touching interview. One can see it’s still hard to talk about what happened and it needs time to find comfort. Per says they have the best fans in the world. What I must add: and we have chosen the best idols in the world. Undoubtedly.

Stills are from the interview.

Per Gessle (feat. Helena Josefsson) – Around The Corner (The Comfort Song)

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When a week ago Per informed on his social media sites that new music was coming, most of us probably thought of anything else but what he actually released today. The cover and the short snippet he shared 2 days ago made it clear what it is about. It became a very personal, heartbreaking, yet heartwarming song. Around The Corner (The Comfort Song). The comfort song. Wonderful lyrics, beautiful melody, vocals by Per and Helena matching the feelings.

Listen to it on , , , YouTube or any other digital platform. Mr. G informs that in a couple of weeks the song will be out as a vinyl single as well. Update (13th March 2020): The vinyl single is out in 1500 copies. Side A – Around The Corner (The Comfort Song), side B – Kissing Is The Key (2019). You can order it at , or . Watch the lyric video HERE.

Per’s heartfelt comments related to Around The Corner (The Comfort Song):

Music is an extraordinary thing. It can bring a smile to your face and create so many wonderful images in your heart and mind. It can also help you through grim times. Some songs even feel like they were written just for you, especially for you. Isn’t that strange? Or maybe it just means we’re all the same?

I finished writing ”Around The Corner” the day after Marie died. Three days later my mother-in-law died. Death was on the plate. I wrote it for me. But I guess I also wrote it for all of you out there. We are many who lost someone dear and don’t really know where to go.

I spent an intense afternoon in the T&A Studio with MP Persson on December 16th. Two days later Helena Josefsson jumped on a northbound train and joined us for some singing. I didn’t really listen that much over xmas but the first week of January 2020 I sent what we’d done to Clarence Öfwerman who wrapped it up with some beautiful sounds and poured even more love over it.

Here it is, my comfort song.

P.

Around The Corner (The Comfort Song)

Hold a candle to your heart / Let the shadows on your face
Rock you gently with their grace / It’s been a long and lonely day

I don’t know what you’ve been through / You have to continue to care about you
Things have to end to start anew / No one can change those rules

In the dark the earth keeps on turning / Craving for some morning light
It takes the backroads, fools the night / It knows the sun is burning
Somewhere around the corner / Around the corner

Do get some rest, you need it bad / Sometimes the laughter just makes you sad
Sometimes the joy can make you so scared / It’s been a long and lonesome day

I can’t tell what you’ve been through / But I won’t ever stop telling you
Some things have to go to start anew / I know it I’ve been there too

In the dark the earth keeps on turning / Longing for the morning light
It takes the backroads and fools the night / It knows the sun is shining
Somewhere around the corner / Around the corner

Words & Music by Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

 

Front cover and A side of the single

 

Roxette received Honorary Award at the Swedish Grammis

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Roxette received the Honorary Award at Grammisgalan in Sweden last night. The justification was:

“Brilliant timeless pop songs with effective angelic choruses and puns that have crossed all borders of the world. This year’s Honorary Award Winners have had all this. They therefore succeeded with the journey from a Swedish small town to the whole world’s pop heart again and again and again for three decades. With credits like 75 million records sold, 4 US No. 1’s – unique for a Swedish act! – 6 singles in the top 10 in England, and hundreds of concerts in all parts of the world, this year the Honorary Award goes to: Roxette! ”

Per Gessle wasn’t present at the gala, but we could see Åsa in the audience. While manager Marie Dimberg walked up on stage, the whole audience stood up to applaud Roxette.

Marie Dimberg held a touching speech while accepting the award in the name of Roxette. She talked about the first time she met Per and Marie. She met Per at Café Opera in 1984, when she was new at EMI. She met Marie Fredriksson later in the same year at the reception of EMI. Ms Dimberg told that Marie and Per met in the late ’70s when they shared a rehearsal studio. 2 successful Swedish artists, they established Roxette in 1986. Their dream, ”Today Sweden – tomorrow the world” came true. ”2 good friends, 3 great chords and 12 brilliant songs” was the slogan of their break-through album, Look Sharp!. The rest is history. Marie Dimberg told about Roxette’s journey, their US No. 1’s, their concerts all around the world filling football stadiums and playing for millions of people, selling more than 75 million albums, doing thousands of interviews and TV programs. Per and Marie were the ultimate combo, where 1 + 1 makes at least 3. Per’s fantastic songwriting complemented Marie’s unique voice and strong stage presence. The better Marie was singing, the better songs Per was writing. Their songs are loved all around the world. Their international greatness could be seen also now when Marie sadly passed away on 9th December 2019. She and Roxette were honoured all around the world. They meant a lot to many generations over so many years. Now a voice went silent, but the music and songs live on.

When Marie Dimberg finished her speech, everyone stood up again to give a huge applause.

During the night, Tro was also performed by a boy, Love Bjurman and Marie’s picture was shown on the screens. At the end of the song everyone stood up and raised their glasses to Marie. The program leader told Marie is a legend who touched so many people all around the world not only as an artist, but also as a person and will never be forgotten.

Watch Marie Dimberg’s speech HERE and Tro HERE. You can watch the complete broadcast HERE.

 

 

Stills are from TV4’s broadcast.

Mass for Marie Fredriksson on World Cancer Day

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Hedvig Eleonora church (Östermalm, Stockholm) organized 2 masses for Marie Fredriksson on 4th February, World Cancer Day. The first one was held from 18:00 to 19:15, the next from 20:00 to 21:15. They remembered Marie and her fantastic music on the masses where the church’s children and youth choirs, One Voice choir and the church’s musicians, deacons and priests took part. The masses were open to everyone with free entrance. The organizers collected money for Cancerfonden during the event.

1000 people fit in the church for one mass. There were 2 masses because of the huge interest.

HedvigPuls is a worship service with specially selected music themes, such as Avicii, Beyoncé, Laleh and Kent. For the fall of 2020 they planned to have a mass with Marie Fredriksson’s music, but when the sad news of her passing reached them, they chose to organize this on World Cancer Day instead.

The choirs sang Ännu doftar kärlek, Tro, Sparvöga, Längtan, Ett hus vid havet and It Must Have Been Love.

Hedvig Eleonora church’s bells were ringing the melody of Sparvöga for a week after Marie’s passing.

Pictures and instavideos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

Videos: mass, Ännu doftar kärlek, Tro, Sparvöga, Längtan, Ett hus vid havet, It Must Have Been Love,

If you want to donate money to Cancerfonden, you can use this bank account number for donations: SE0650000000052101012251 or donate to the local cancer foundation in your country.

Per Gessle interview on P4 Extra – ”There were so many Maries”

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Swedish Radio P4 Extra did an interview with Per Gessle on 25th January, the day when the tribute concert was broadcast on TV. You can listen to it HERE. It starts at 34:10 and lasts until 54:38.

The program leader, Svjetlana Pastuhovic asks Per about the tribute event and if it was like a farewell. Per says it felt like a farewell, in a weird way. It was a strange evening. It was fantastic and tough at the same time. The hardest all the artists thought at the rehearsals was to see all those old videos between the songs for the first time. But later when there was the recording they rather closed themselves into their professional bubbles, so it became a bit easier. Per and Marie have been friends since the end of the ’70s and they did this fantastic journey of Roxette together. Those videos and pics made them remember Marie’s greatness. When you do such a concert it’s even more concrete and of course you get under its effect.

Here you can hear It Must Have Been Love from the tribute event. Only the first part that Per was singing alone, playing his guitar, accompanied by Christoffer. The program leader asks Mr. G how it was to play this song. Per says it was OK. He played it in this arrangement earlier too, so it wasn’t really new. But this is Marie’s song. He wrote it for Marie. One can hear it’s a hard work for him to sing it, but for Marie it was a piece of cake. She was singing it magnificently. Svjetlana asks what IMHBL means to Per. He says it is one of Marie’s signature songs. When you hear it you immediately think of Marie. It’s important in Roxette’s history, the Pretty Woman movie, how it all happened. All their songs have their own history, but this one is maybe their biggest ever. Then comes Listen To Your Heart and The Look.

The program leader asks what Per thinks was Marie’s secret of having an effect on so many people. Per doesn’t really know, but he says there were so many Maries. She wrote so many songs, she was a fantastic songwriter. She wrote and sang about things everyone could relate to. She was a talented artist on stage too, one of the best Per has ever seen. She owned the stage and the crowds even in huge football stadiums with 50-60000 people in the audience. That requires a special personality. And one of course one can’t forget about her amazing voice. She was a very complete artist, but at the same time she stayed a small town girl. All this was in her DNA and Per thinks people felt that.

Svjetlana shares her memory of a concert where she went with her mother. It was at Brottet, in Halmstad. Then she asks about how it was to work with Marie. Per repeats that there were so many Maries. She has always been very ambitious, mainly at the beginning. Mr. G tells the story that they printed T-shirts with the text ”Today Sweden, tomorrow the world” when they were recording their first album. They had a common dream. From day 1 they wanted to conquer the world. Everyone wanted Marie to concentrate on her solo career, but she wanted to work with Per. They were very good friends and had much fun together. They were a team where 1 + 1 makes 3. Per had the capacity to write all those songs and Marie had the capacity to sing them. And the better Marie was singing, the better songs Per was writing. They triggered each other. The last album before Marie got ill was Room Service (recorded in 2000) and until then everything worked like this. Later it became different of course, she was good in another way. The comeback she did in 2009 and lasted until 2016 was absolutely incredible. The doctors advised her not to tour, but she wanted to. She was longing for the stage and meeting her fans, as well as making a new Roxette album.

Here they listen to Den ständiga resan and then they talk about the fact that Per mentioned Marie was like a sister to him. Per says many thought over the years that they were a couple, but they never were. They were very close friends and it was more like a sister-brother relationship between them. But when you are working together so intensively, the friendship changes with time. When they were on tour constantly, it wasn’t Marie who Per called first when they finally got home. This is how a good marriage or a good friendship works according to Mr. G.

The program leader asks if they liked fame. Per says they could do another program about fame. Svjetlana is happy to invite him for another program where this would be the topic. Haha. One wants to achieve success with his music and at the same time you have this pop star dream. There are many negative things around when you are famous. For example, you go out and you always have to take selfies with people. It’s a special life, but it’s OK. Per thinks those who want to become famous don’t know what it is all about. But once you become famous, you can’t rewind the tape. Svjetlana asks if Per regrets it. He says absolutely not, but it affects your life all the time. In 1991 they did 1800 interviews in 7 months. But this is how the music industry works. Marie disliked all those promotional trips. It was very tough for her. Per tried to understand that this is how the industry works, so they need to do that to be able to compete with other bands. Marie didn’t like it, but she was a pro. They did all those many TV shows, back then it was playback almost all of them. You can find them on YouTube.

Many of Roxette’s songs are still played on the radio. Svjetlana asks how it feels for Per. He says he wrote all these songs, they are his babies and of course he would like to perform them still. He is very proud of them. But he also knows the soul in those songs was Marie. He tells he was touring with his own band in 2018 and played a lot of Roxette songs. It worked, but it was a different thing. One has to accept that Marie is not there anymore and it will never be the same as it was, but life goes on in a way.

They finish the interview with Things Will Never Be The Same which Per asked to be played.