Dea Norberg

Per Gessle to release new album under PG Roxette

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As Göteborgs-Posten informs, Per Gessle has decided – there will be a continuation for Roxette, under the name PG Roxette and with Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg on vocals.

Since singer Marie Fredriksson passed away on December 9, 2019, Roxette partner Per Gessle has not really known what to do with the band that made the two friends world stars in the 80’s and 90’s.

Now he has come to a decision. Roxette continues under the name PG Roxette. A new single is coming already in May, an album in September and after that a big tour. Per Gessle will sing together with Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg, both longtime members of Per’s expanded musical family both solo and with Gyllene Tider and Roxette.

PG says in a press release:

It’s not possible to replace Marie and that is not something I want either. It was an era and a fantastic dream we got to share together. But it feels exciting to be able to continue this journey – albeit in a different way. If Marie had still been alive, we would of course have done this together.

The new album is already done, in the studio there were good old Roxette musicians: Jonas Isacsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson and Christoffer Lundquist. Of course, drummer Pelle Alsing, who passed away in 2020, was missing.

Per adds:

The new material feels really fantastic. It’s not always easy to renew yourself when you’ve been around for as long as I have. Sometimes you feel that you repeat yourself, but sometimes you end up on untrodden ground and become so wonderfully curious and then I feel that this is my life, that this is what I can do.

Per Gessle is currently preparing for a twelve-concert spring tour with an acoustic setting where he plays songs from his entire career.

Photos by Patrícia Peres from 2014 (PG + Dea) and 2018 (PG + Helena).

PG Roxette covers Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”

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Per Gessle – together with Helena Josefsson, Dea Norberg, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson, Christoffer Lundquist and Jonas Isacsson, under the banner “PG Roxette” – is among those 53 artists who have covered their favourite songs from The Black Album of Metallica, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. From the 12 tracks of the album Per didn’t hesitate when asked which one he wanted to interpret – he picked Nothing Else Matters.

The Metallica Blacklist is now released digitally and will be out on 7 LPs / 4 CDs as well on 1st October. All profits will be donated to charities of each contributing artist’s choice along with Metallica’s own foundation, All Within My Hands.

In June, when PG shared the news he said:

I’m thrilled to participate in the “Metallica Blacklist” project. Picking a song to record from their classic “Black Album” was pretty easy for me. “Nothing Else Matters” has always been a favourite of mine. Wow, it’s such a great track!

Under the banner ”PG Roxette” I joined forces with long-time Roxers Clarence Öfwerman + Jonas Isacsson + Christoffer Lundquist + Magnus Börjeson together with Helena Josefsson + Dea Norberg, both closely linked to the Roxette touring band of the past.

My ambition was to treat the song with respect while transforming it to a style of my own. I’m very pleased and proud with the outcome.

All proceeds from the recording will go to Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation and to UNHCR, a charity I chose together with Marie Fredriksson’s family.

Upon the release he adds:

I remember hearing Nothing Else Matters all the time on the radio in the early 90’s when Marie and I travelled the world constantly. We always joked about that it actually could have been an amazing Roxette ballad, hahaha!

We both loved it very much. So what I’ve tried to create now is to make it sound like a classic Roxette song.

I’m extremely proud to be part of this Blacklist-project that connects artists and bands from all over the world for good causes. Thank you Metallica.

Watch a short video of the recordings HERE!

You will find PG Roxette’s interpretation of Nothing Else Matters on Disc 4 on streaming sites.

Listen here at the song’s direct links: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, YouTube!

Credits
Produced by Magnus Börjeson + Clarence Öfwerman + Christoffer Lundquist + Per Gessle
Recorded at Farozon, Malmö + Sweetspot Studios, Halmstad + Aerosol Grey Machine, Vallarum, Sweden in January 2021
Engineers: Magnus Börjeson (Farozon) + Staffan Karlsson (Sweetspot) + Christoffer Lundquist (Aerosol Grey Machine)
Mixed by Ronny Lahti at The Lahti Headquarters, Stockholm, Sweden
Played by:
Magnus Börjeson: Programming + keyboards
Clarence Öfwerman: Programming + keyboards
Christoffer Lundquist: Ondes Martenot + keyboards + electric guitar
Jonas Isacsson: Lead electric guitar
Helena Josefsson: Vocals
Dea Norberg: Vocals
Per Gessle: Vocals

 
Metallica photo by Patrícia Peres, WorldWired Tour 2018, Budapest. PG still is from the official trailer.

What you’ll find on Spotify as the artist details of PG Roxette:

Per Gessle is one of Scandinavia’s most successful artists and songwriters of all time. With a gift for catchy hooks, both musically and lyrically, he has composed chart-topping pop hits for more than four decades. Starting his career in 1978 as the songwriter and lead vocalist in Swedish early 80´s pop phenomenon Gyllene Tider, he and singer Marie Fredriksson teamed up in Roxette with the humble aim to conquer the pop world. Which they did like no other Scandinavian act. Breaking big all over the world in 1989, they would score four US Billboard Hot 100 Number One’s – “The Look”, “Listen To Your Heart”, “It Must Have Been Love”, and “Joyride”.

When Marie Fredriksson sadly lost her long battle to cancer in 2019, the Roxette saga seemed to be over. But the songs were still here, there and everywhere. And so were the fans. A new chapter had to be written. Which it is. And it’s called PG Roxette.

Per Gessle is determined to keep the Roxette legacy alive. Always being the main songwriter and driving force in the band he continues to work both in the studio and on the road. For this project Per has joined forces with long-time Roxette collaborators Clarence Öfwerman, Jonas Isacsson, Christoffer Lundquist and Magnus Börjeson together with the amazing vocalists Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg, both closely linked to the Roxette touring band.


PG Roxette “Nothing Else Matters” header pic is from Spotify.

Update on 17th September 2021: a music video has been published and some more info from Per.

Wanna know how NOTHING ELSE MATTERS came about in the studio? Here’s the story.
I’ve always thought NEM was a beautiful song. It’s got strong melodies, pretty straightforward but smart chord progressions, a lyric you can interpret in many different ways. It’s epic. If I should cover it I would love it to sound like a classic Roxette ballad! Shorten it a bit + create a magnetic intro.
We noticed at the Marie Tribute in Gothenburg 2020 how amazing Dea + Helena sound when they sing together. They sang FADING LIKE A FLOWER at the concert and we were all blown away.
So the basic idea for the vocals on PG Roxette’s take on NEM was to use that particular sound you get when you mix two very different voices and blend them. That’s what we did in the verses and in the outro. Dea + Helena share the duties. The choruses were mine to sing. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to work with three distinctive voices in one song. It certainly appeals to my restless mind!
The programming was done primarily by Magnus + Clarence, then Christoffer came aboard and did some overdubs. His recent baby, an Ondes Martenot from 1928 came in handy. Jonas did his guitar parts in Stockholm and he sounded like he always does; out of this world.
It was an amazing journey from start to finish. Ronny Lahti, who worked many times on Roxette albums in the past, did some extraordinary mixes. He’s another master.
And hey, here’s some footage from the recording sessions filmed by Anders Roos.
Badabam from P.

Per Gessle and Co. on The Metallica Blacklist

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As Per Gessle informs, together with Dea Norberg, Helena Josefsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson, Christoffer Lundquist and Jonas Isacsson he is among those 53 artists who are covering their favourite songs from The Black Album of Metallica, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. 12 songs in several interpretations will be released on 7 LPs / 4 CDs under The Metallica Blacklist project. Per & Co. covered the legendary Metallica ballad, Nothing Else Matters.

All profits go to charity. Release date is 10th September 2021.

Pre-save links are available HERE.

 

Per says:

I’m thrilled to participate in the “Metallica Blacklist” project. Picking a song to record from their classic “Black Album” was pretty easy for me. “Nothing Else Matters” has always been a favourite of mine. Wow, it’s such a great track!

Under the banner ”PG Roxette” I joined forces with long-time Roxers Clarence Öfwerman + Jonas Isacsson + Christoffer Lundquist + Magnus Börjeson together with Helena Josefsson + Dea Norberg, both closely linked to the Roxette touring band of the past.

My ambition was to treat the song with respect while transforming it to a style of my own. I’m very pleased and proud with the outcome.

All proceeds from the recording will go to Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation and to UNHCR, a charity I chose together with Marie Fredriksson’s family.

 

Stills are from the official trailer.

Roxette’s four US No.1s at Don’t Stop The Music gala on TV4

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There was a 2-hour-long live music gala on TV4 tonight, Don’t Stop The Music. The evening was arranged by the Swedish Music Foundation, which works to support everyone in the music industry who has been affected by the pandemic in various ways.

Among other artists, Peter Jöback, Tomas Ledin, Zara Larsson, Lars Winnerbäck and First Aid Kit performed at the fundraising gala.

Such an event in Sweden can’t happen without at least covering Roxette. This time it was 4 great Swedish ladies who performed Roxette’s four US No.1 hits in a medley. It started with Janice and Listen To Your Heart that turned into Frida Öhrn’s interpretation of The Look. Then came Mariette with Joyride and Loreen closed the medley with It Must Have Been Love. Click HERE to see their performance. Before the medley, there was an intro talk about Swedish US No. 1 successes. Four of the seven No.1s were Roxette songs.

Dea Norberg was at the gala too and she provided backing vocals. She was also interviewed by TV4. She is a singer and backing vocalist and she has been touring for 25 years. She tells the music industry is in a difficult situation during this time. Dea says she wants to feel that she can contribute to the society with the skills she has. She hopes and believes that all on stage and backstage will survive this tough period. She represents thousands of those who we don’t see, but who created what we see.

HERE you can watch the complete program.

Stills are from the gala.

Gyllene Tider’s GT40 Live Ullevi 2019 show is out!

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8 months after Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour is over, the Golden Guys surprised us with a live show release. The concert film is the complete Ullevi show, recorded on 3rd August 2019 in Gothenburg. The concert was originally planned to be held at Slottskogsvallen, but right after the tickets went on sale it turned out to be too small, so it had to be moved to Ullevi, of course. The number of visitors at the show was 54340! Pure awesomeness! And the chance to relive the best gig on the GT40 tour is just amazing!

Since I usually stand in the very front of the crowd, I love watching the DVD recordings later, because then I can see how the stage and the crowd looked from the back and how the band saw the audience and the venue itself. The camera angles used for the GT40 shooting are fabulous. You can see so many details and you can feel yourself standing and dancing and singing along right in the middle of the crowd, in front of those 5 guys and 2 ladies in top shape, giving their 120% of energy up on stage.

I want last summer back! Watching this concert on my 24th day of quarantine I’m just grateful for it and I appreciate it even more (if possible at all) how this band could unite so many people via their music. Hopefully, the good times are back again soon and ojojoj… still can’t believe it was Gyllene Tider’s last tour. Was it? I didn’t want this Ullevi gig to end… But the good thing is that from now on I can watch it anytime!

Streaming is available . If you want to rent the film, you get a 48-hour streaming period for 4,99 USD. You will be able to stream it on supported browsers or the Vimeo mobile app and watch it on TV, mobile and tablet. While if you buy it for 9,99 USD, you can stream it anytime, download it and watch it on TV, mobile and tablet.

If streaming is not your thing and you haven’t ordered your physical copy yet, you can buy the DVD or Blu-ray at or .

Setlist

1. Skicka ett vykort, älskling
2. Juni, juli, augusti
3. Det hjärta som brinner
4. (Hon vill ha) Puls
5. Flickorna på TV2
6. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
7. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän
8. Det kändes inte som maj
9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
10. Tuffa tider

BAND PRESENTATION

11. Låt denna trumslagarpojke sjunga!
12. Kung av sand
13. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
14. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
15. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
16. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
17. Tylö Sun

Encore 1

18. Billy
19. Det är över nu
20. Gå & fiska!

Encore 2

21. När vi två blir en
22. Sommartider
23. När alla vännerna gått hem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stills are from the concert recording.