Interview with Åsa and Per Gessle about Hotel Tylösand in Hallandsposten

Jan-Owe Wikström from Hallandsposten interviewed Åsa and Per Gessle about Hotel Tylösand. The hotel was originally built by court photographer Johan Hallberg as Restaurant Tylösand in 1915 for 13,000 SEK. Until 1929 it could only be accessed by boat. Today it is one of Halmstad’s strongest brands and tourist magnets, but also – the hotel in the hearts of Per and Åsa Gessle.

The hotel has come a long way until it has transformed into an exclusive spa hotel.

Per notes that there is nothing worse than a hotel where you are greeted by an empty entrance or a deserted reception. He explains:

We want a wow feeling when you enter Hotel Tylösand. You can directly see the car hall, fantastic works of art and sculptures. And we’re going to build a bar in the reception where you can hang out a bit. Sometimes there will be a pianist, so that you automatically end up in a lively environment when you check in.
Because it’s just like with everything else, album sleeves, intros to songs – the first impression is the most important.

Åsa agrees:

The reception is important, the first contact. No matter how shabby hotels are, the reception almost always looks reasonably nice. We also have a nice reception, but it has been there for many years, so it’s time to rebuild, so that it blends in with the new “Front House”.

Åsa – spider in the web

The Front House is a new part of the hotel, with large brown-glazed terraces, the Ronnie Peterson conference room and the car hall with Per’s exclusive Ferrari collection. The rooms in Strandhuset and in Stora huset, the reconstruction of Solgården, Bettan’s Bar, Leif’s Bar & Grill and the new The Spa, but also details such as the small unique room signs, the wrought iron fence around the hotel, the color of the staff’s different clothes, the porcelain in the restaurants and of course – the green apples. Everything bears, in one way or another, Åsa Gessle’s signature. She says humbly:

I don’t think many people know what I do apart from the lamps I have designed. After all, I’m here on an almost daily basis and see things that are good and things that can and need to be improved.
I guess I’m a bit of a spider in the web, as far as aesthetics are concerned. Then when it comes to the actual design of, for example, a room, the architectural firm is responsible for the shell and I for the details, the choice of materials and the colors.

But despite all that, Åsa has no official title at the hotel.

No, not as far as I know. I’ll probably have to ask Jonas.

She laughs, referring to the new CEO Jonas Karlén, who a while ago replaced the long-standing CEO Elisabeth Haglund, who has now in turn replaced Björn Nordstrand as chairman of the board.

To have a significant role alongside Per is extra important for Åsa.

When you live next to a famous person, like Per, you easily become just his wife. But for me it goes without saying to have my own identity. It’s fundamental in my life. I started working more when our son Gabriel was ten years old and I felt that I could be away more than before. And Gabbe – who is just as motivated as his father – once said: “Mum, I don’t want to be known for being my father’s son, but I want to be known for having done something myself”. That’s exactly how I feel too.

At the same time, Per has become more actively involved in the hotel in recent years.

Yes, Åsa has always been involved, but in the last ten years I have taken up more and more space, had more and more ideas and opinions. We have had a strong and common line that our hotel should not only be a place where you sleep and eat, but also a place where you can be creative, socialize and have new experiences.
What makes Hotel Tylösand so special is the diversity. We have a huge art and photo gallery. We have a Spa with skin and hair care, various treatments, laser technology and a Spa shop. We have 230 rooms and suites, we have four restaurants, 32 conference rooms with room for up to 750 people at the same time. Then there is Solgården, the amphitheater, all the DJs and the Roxette and Gyllene Tider museum. Plus Northern Europe’s coolest car hall is now located in the hotel.

Jan-Owe asks if it’s only Northern Europe’s coolest car hall.

Okay then. The only one in the world I know. I think a hotel in Las Vegas had a Ferrari store once upon a time, but that hotel is torn down now.

Took over the run-down Reso hotel in 1995

But it wasn’t like that in 1995 when pop star Per Gessle and businessman Björn Nordstrand took over Hotel Tylösand. It was a run-down Reso hotel with simple rooms, a restaurant and Tylöhus that reeked of the old ’80s.

Åsa says:

We had travelled around the world and stayed in many nice hotels and seen many fun interior details. But when we took over the hotel… the old house was rotten. The rooms were spartan with small, small bathrooms with a small mirror and a shelf underneath with toilet paper rolls on them.
So the first thing I did was fix and place the toilet rolls where they belong, a little further down. And to introduce green apples in the hotel. Philipe Starck and his hotel had apples and in their receptions it was written “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. I liked that. At first, people didn’t think I was smart. But I got through it. It’s only for Christmas that I give in, but then the apples have to be dark red, haha.

Hotel Tylösand 2023 and Hotel Tylösand 1995 have not much more in common than the name.

Åsa remembers:

No, we have added a lot during these 27 years. But we have also removed a lot. All the artificial plants that collected so much dust. And the entrance in lime green and pink, with tiles that looked more like a bathhouse entrance.
At Tylöhus there were mirrors on the ceiling. And the restaurant had pink carpet with seagulls in burgundy and burgundy velvet curtains. It was horrible.
But now we have a line, a common thread in all activities at the hotel and I think it creates a sense of calmness for the guest when there is completeness.

Craftsmanship in the blood

Jan-Owe doesn’t think that Åsa is a trained designer and has attended a lot of great courses.

No, no, I’m just like my husband is in music, self-taught. And we both take help when we need it. It is important to find the right people to collaborate with, preferably personalities who inspire and think a little differently. It is of course also important that the employees understand your vision, so that we pull in the same direction.
And there, Abelardo (Gonzalez), the architect who designed our house, has been a great inspiration and teacher. I rejected eleven kitchen suggestions from him when we built the villa before we agreed. He likes cold materials while I like warm, but eventually, there was a tension where he taught me to keep my eyes open and that nothing is impossible.

Although with a mother who was a seamstress, a great-grandfather who was a slipper maker and a grandfather who was a blacksmith, Åsa already had craftsmanship, creativity and a sense of color and form in her blood.

Well, I was always tinkering around my bed at home, making sure it was nice. After all, we were four children and we grew up with a single mother in very simple conditions, so if you wanted something, you had to be creative and fix it yourself, learn to do well with small tools.

Åsa, who eventually got to display a few stores in Trelleborg, has also brought that thinking to the hotel.

Creating environments doesn’t really have to cost a lot of money. I’m not a geek for branded furniture, but the important thing is that it should feel right. Then if I go to Myrorna and shop, it has no significance. It’s all about the feeling.

Åsa glances at one of the large Monstera plants and smiles:

SEK 299 at Blomsterlandet. So I took the shuttle service there.
In this environment, you also can’t have too expensive things, because they get broken, they are used a lot. There is a huge amount of wear and tear everywhere in a hotel. This is why function is important. And we buy large quantities.
I also don’t like to throw things away, so we reuse what we can.

Sketches by hand

There are also lots of Ferrari details on the shelf inside the Ronnie Peterson Lounge.

Åsa says:

Apart from three books, everything is taken from our private collection. And we had the coasters for the conference table in the hotel’s hiding places. They were unused for some reason, but now they fulfill a function. Super stylish as well.

In the new part of the hotel, The Front House, there are several large sun terraces inspired by the Whitby Hotel in New York, the car hall and the Ronnie Peterson Lounge conference room are Åsa’s latest creations.

I wanted the Ronnie Lounge to be “masculine” and “with a motor feel”, but still with a lot of warmth. Stone is quite cold and cars are tough, so it automatically becomes masculine. And the big screen was really important. When you come from outside and look in, I think it’s beautiful and important that you see movement. Cars and life are always in motion.

The giant conference table inside the Ronnie Peterson Lounge is one of the things that Åsa has designed by hand.

Unlike the rest of the family, I don’t like computers but still sketch with pen and paper. I love to draw and then have it built. A bit like Per. He sits and tinkles on something and then, out of it, comes an idea that eventually becomes a finished text or song. For me, it’s the same when I sketch. I have everything in my head. I can see it in front of me, but cannot present it technically, like a construction drawing. Then it’s important to surround yourself with sensitive people who understand me, such as Östra’s Carpentry here in Halmstad when it comes to fine carpentry.

Inside and outside must meet

The large glass partitions also allow visitors outside to see in and those inside to see out.

It is important that the inside and the outside are connected and become a unit. The greenery outside plays a big role, how everything looks outside the hotel. Here we have boxwood, grass and ivy – not so much flowers, but more evergreen.
When I made a display apartment for HFAB (Halmstad’s real estate company) in 2007, that was also one of the basic ideas. And the person who eventually bought the apartment ended up keeping everything as it was presented. Including all furnishings. Then I felt that I had succeeded.

The end wall inside the Ronnie Peterson room is adorned with huge black and white photos from Peterson’s Formula 1 era. And the walls in the hall are made of granite.

I want a basic tone based on earth and nature and instead add the colors in the details. I basically have a rather sacral taste and am convinced that calm colors make people calm. And stone is very soothing. I designed the statues and the bench from scratch where visitors can sit and relax and look at the cars through the windows. It’s fantastic. A bit like in a museum.

The car hall top secret

Åsa reveals the fact that it would become a car hall was well hidden for a long time:

Yes, it was top secret. We designed it as a conference room, because even the builders wouldn’t know about it from the beginning. We didn’t want it to leak out.
Then it became a long process. I started building a fitting room in November 2019, which was ready in January 2020. But when we were about to put the shovel in the ground, the pandemic came and shut down Sweden in March 2020.

The inauguration of the new hotel part happened this spring, where there are now also guided tours of the car hall held by Dick Jönsson Wigroth, well-known in the motor business.

Per says:

I have known him for many years. When his name came up I thought I hope, hope, hope he wants to do that. Dick is both an aesthete and a technician and is cut and ready for the job.
And I have spoken to a lot of staff in connection with us building the new Front House. Both Åsa and I want it to feel special to work at the hotel and when many people said that they were proud to be part of this fantastic new building, then of course I’m proud that they are proud!

Today, Hotel Tylösand has 120 employees, which during the summer will multiply to over 400.

Per points out:

We are basically full over summer until August. December is also a party month when we serve over 9,000 Christmas dinners. But it’s not like that in January, February or in October or November. It is during those months that we have to be extra creative and invent things so that, above all, companies will come here. We want to keep our staff even when it’s not peak season.

Pay attention to the details

Even though Per, with the support of co-owner Björn Nordstrand, together with the CEO and the board is responsible for the big brushstrokes, he also, just like Åsa, pays attention to the details.

Yes, every time I’m at Hotel Tylösand I do some check-ups, I won’t say where. But I can, for example, go into a toilet and check that the toilet lid is attached, that there are towels and that it is generally fresh. If there is something crazy, I report it immediately and then it will be fixed right away.
Because it’s important that it’s clean and tidy everywhere. It’s invaluable that the staff learn how we think and that everyone helps to ensure that the guest has a maximum experience. If you pass a pillow that has been sucked down, you lift it up and puff at it. Not everyone sees that because not everyone cares. But exactly that is the key to people saying “I’ve never been to a hotel like that in Sweden!”. We hear that often.
Therefore, it’s also important to get involved for the entire Tylösand area, that it is neat on the beach, safe and inviting, that there are good rescue routes if something were to happen. Everything has to work, because the more we invest, the more people come here.

New projects underway

More to come. In December, the pool project will start when that part will be renovated.

Åsa says:

Then I would like to build a sun roof on top of the spa with a staircase up the side. But also extend the roof over Bettans so you can sit and enjoy and have a drink or coffee. In that case it would be called Bettan’s roof.
So I constantly have new projects and wishes. Then you can see if you get through with them. The board is tough, haha…

To own a hotel of 23,000 square meters is an ongoing process. Or as Per himself puts it:

It’s a bit like washing windows on a skyscraper. You will never be finished. Because when one thing is done, it’s always time for the next.

Photo of Åsa and Per by Linus Kamstedt Lindholm.

Per Gessle’s parallel universe in Hallandsposten

As it always happens before a tour starts, Jan-Owe Wikström from Hallandsposten did an interview with Per Gessle this time again.

There was a sneak premiere of the Gyllene Tider tour at Leif’s Lounge in Hotel Tylösand last Thursday, release of the new record “Hux Flux” the following day and tour premiere of Gyllene Tider at Brottet in Halmstad on Friday. It is the present.

New solo record already completed for release next year, premiere of the Gyllene Tider movie in 2024 and then also premiere of the musical in Malmö, based on Jane Fallon’s novel “Got You Back” with Roxette’s songs as a basis. It is the future.

Come along into Per Gessle’s parallel universes.

This is how the industry works today. Everything must be planned a year in advance. Least. It’s studios, venues, hotels, staff and everything around that needs to be booked, so it’s important to always be one step ahead.

Per and Jan-Owe are sitting in Per’s house in Sandhamn which, surreally enough, turns 30 this year.

The summer of 2023 lies ahead of Gessle and Gyllene Tider. A new tour awaits. Even though everything was really over that evening on the pontoon outside the Opera House in Oslo on 18th August 2019. Until a red, rectangular Bo Diddley model Gretsch guitar in the fall of 2021 changed everything again. And Hux Flux was Gyllene Tider back.

For some reason, I usually come up with something new when I’ve got a new guitar and these songs screamed for “Gyllene”.

But if he hadn’t suffered from tonsillitis and new covid regulations hadn’t been introduced, there might still not have been a comeback.

That’s how it was. In November, at the end of my 2021 acoustic concert tour, I got tonsillitis and had to cancel the last concerts in December. And when they were to be implemented in January instead, new pandemic restrictions came and everything was moved until April.

That gave me a lot of time to spare, so between December 2021 and April 2022, this album was created. I recorded demos together with MP, where we worked in a completely new way. Since we had so much time this time, compared to the recording of the last record “Samma skrot och korn” in France, we devoted a lot of time to the guitars. We went back, tested, redid and tested again.

Then, when everything was basically ready, we sent the material out to the band. Some songs were just finished in form, but not arranged, then everyone got to make their mark and that’s where Anders came into the picture, who modernized the sound on some.

The rest was recorded at Staffan Karlsson’s Sweetspot Studio outside Harplinge. And the result: an energetic pop album full of string guitars and of course – Farfisa organ.

I was doing the acoustic tour at the time and in parallel also finished PG Roxette, which was an ’80s-90s synth-based pop record. So this became an outlet to play that kind of totally dying guitar pop that I’ve always loved. Old fashioned, a bit punk and edgy where the song “Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig” almost sounds like Plastic Bertrand and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

It’s difficult to balance between silly and fun, but I try to get on the right side of the line because Gyllene should be a little more fun, a little more kick-ass, which isn’t always easy when you’re 64.

I noticed in retrospect that on the previous Gyllene album from 2019 I had too many songs that were better suited for me as a solo artist. A little more sophisticated and more serious. Gyllene sounds best when it becomes a little more classic power pop, a little more 3-chord fireworks!

And actually, this time I haven’t written a single song that didn’t make it.

Just like the previous record, “Hux Flux” is also available as a vinyl LP in several colors. But the song order on the vinyl version differs from the CD and streaming.

Yes, on an LP there are two opening tracks and therefore you always want a strong, exciting ending on side A to get curious about side B. Otherwise, with the CD and not least streaming, it has easily become that you featured too much music. The LP format is perfect.

The fact that Per still buys vinyl records is due to one reason in particular:

It’s for the album covers. Then I usually play the records on Spotify anyway because it’s easier.

At the same time, he misses the romance of the physical records.

I come from a generation that has a romantic view of the record itself and therefore it is so difficult to accept that it hardly means anything anymore. Without the album covers, the music becomes much more obscure and is consumed in a different way. Most young people probably listen to even more music than my generation did, but they don’t always know WHO they are listening to. Or what the songs are called. Or who wrote and produced. Everything has become one big anonymous stream of music since streaming took off.

In the past you went on tour to promote the records because it was on the records that you made money. Now it’s the other way around. Major tours are very lucrative. Few people care when old artists release new material because it’s the old hits that the masses want to hear. I can only look to myself and have no idea, for example, about the last decade’s Elton John, Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney records.

Jan-Owe is curious how Per has managed to “survive” despite the fact that the music industry has completely changed, both in terms of listening, consuming and the way of writing.

I don’t know. I’ve tried both to try to develop myself and my creation in the digital world while at the same time “going backwards” sometimes and staying with the acoustic and organic in my music. I’m interested in both ways because they bring out different sides of me and my creativity. I absolutely believe that as long as you have fun and work consistently, a certain amount of success will come naturally. But of course, if you want to reach the top of the charts around the world, all the stars must be aligned. It is completely out of my control.

Jan-Owe asks Per how he knows if a new song fits his solo project, PG Roxette or Gyllene Tider.

I actually try to write as little as possible. But I always have the antennas out. Sometimes an idea pops up when I’m strumming the guitar in front of the TV and I save the idea on my iPhone. When I’m working on a project, I go through everything I’ve collected and use some for what I’m working on at the moment. This is a pretty typical scenario how I write songs. I do puzzles.

I almost never sit down and write lyrics or complete songs if I don’t have a project going on. That way, I almost always know from the start what I’m looking for.

For the audience, Hux Flux, the album is brand new. But for Per, MP, Anders, Göran and Micke Syd, it is already fifteen months old when Per reveals which minute is the most important at a concert:

It is the last 30 seconds before the concert starts and the first 30 after it has started. Then the expectations are maximized and that is why the first impression is so extremely important.

There are more songs that can be played live this time compared to the last record. But at the same time, over the years, we have built up a treasure trove of songs that means we can’t skip “Leva livet”, “Tylö Sun” or “Sommartider”. People expect them as they have such strong nostalgia value and many have lots of memories and connections to those songs.

Then the old songs are on so many playlists. It’s the same with Roxette, we’re constantly increasing on Spotify. If we release a new single, it gets 30-40,000 streams in the first few days, while “It Must Have Been Love” gets 400,000 streams on any given day. Then you think: Why can’t people listen to the new song instead? But it doesn’t work that way.

That Gessle, when “Hux Flux” was finished a year ago, would take it easy and wait for it was not on the map either. Instead, he has spent the winter and spring completing his new solo record, which he just finished with a planned release sometime in 2024.

I wanted to finish this record before I enter the Gyllene bubble that lasts until September.

Per gives a hint of how it sounds:

It has a bit of a summery Mazarin feel. I play many instruments myself but have the help of many new acquaintances. It’s a super exciting project.

The start of filming for the new Gyllene Tider film is in the pipeline with the band bringing the cast to the stage at the sneak premiere at Leif’s Lounge last week.

It starts filming in August with a premiere next year and if the film is as good as the script, it will be awesome. The film is not a documentary depicting Gyllene’s enormously long career, but is about the early years, from when I meet MP and we form Gyllene Tider until 1982 when “Sommartider” is released. A lot of anecdotes and craziness run past, it really was a special time that I hope can be portrayed in an equally special way.

In autumn 2024, there will also be a premiere at Malmö Opera for the musical with Roxette’s song catalogue based on the novel “Got You Back” by the English author Jane Fallon and reworked for a musical script by Klas Abrahamsson.

I have met her a few times and she is fantastic. To my great surprise, I have discovered that my music works perfectly in a musical context. I’ve never been particularly interested in musicals because the style itself can be very pompous and slightly annoying. It’s never been my thing. But songs like “Spending My Time”, “Crash! Boom! Bang!”, “It Must Have Been Love” and not least “Listen To Your Heart” work superbly with a large orchestra and grandiose arrangements. They are big melodies with strong and intense emotions.

So I’m grateful that it happened. Back in 2015, we got the first offer, but it always turned out that the script wasn’t good enough. Up until now. Because this is a wonderful way to nurture Roxette’s music and the ambition is also for it to go abroad.

However, whether there will be a solo tour in the summer of 2024 before then remains to be seen. Per cryptically smiles and says he can’t say anything about it. But in Per Gessle’s parallel universe and future calendar, it may already be inscribed, Jan-Owe says.

Hallandsposten talked to Per Gessle about the table tennis EC

As you already know, PG Roxette makes the official song for the Table Tennis EC in Malmö. Jan-Owe Wikström from Hallandsposten talked to Per about the song and table tennis.

PG says:

Fun and flattering to be asked again. I was still going to release the song as a single in a new version in the fall and when the association got in touch, it was killing two birds with one stone, a win-win situation for both.

The Craziest Thing will be released on 18th August.

It will be a cooler version where I have worked with Andreas Broberger. The song is slightly rewritten, but it’s not a completely new text or a new title like “The Craziest Ping Pong” or something.

Table tennis has always had a special place in Per’s heart:

Yes, it has always been around. It’s just like padel – anyone can play it. After all, Halmstad and ping-pong belong together, even if this time the EC is in Malmö.

Per remembers:

I remember when the Swedish Open Championships (SOC) were played in Halmstad and I was there. There I got my first autograph, from Bengt Grive, the TV commentator. Then I got some Chinese autographs too, which I couldn’t decipher.

The funny thing was that many years later, when Roxette had made a breakthrough, we ended up on the same flight. And when Grive found out I had his autograph, he wanted mine. So there it was 1–1. Haha.

Regarding who is the best at ping pong in PG Roxette, Mr. G says:

I was good for a while and I’m so old that I still count to 21. The worst is in any case Christoffer (Lundquist). So I have to say Magnus (Börjeson), the bass player, who is a real expert.

PG photo by Fredrik Etoall.

Interview with Per Gessle after the Hallandian of The Year 2022 gala

Hallandsposten did an interview with Per after the award ceremony and asked him about how it feels to be Hallandian of The Year 2022.

Since I live in Halmstad and love Halmstad, it feels fantastic. I was born here, so it’s my everything. It has shaped me. Although I have had an apartment in Stockholm since the end of the ‘80s, Halmstad is my hometown. Obviously, all of that shapes me – I’m a small town guy.

Regarding the intense year 2022, PG says:

It’s been a very intense year, but that wasn’t planned. I’m like that, I take it as it comes, as you do when you are as old as me. It started with the single with Uno (Svenningsson) in January and then my acoustic tour continued. It was postponed, partly because I got sick with tonsillitis in December, partly because there were new corona restrictions at the beginning of the year. So that tour didn’t finish until May.

He also released some previously unreleased songs, which he usually does on his birthday in January.

The pandemic also meant time to write more new music:

During this period when there were restrictions and I couldn’t tour, I took the opportunity to write and prepare Gyllene Tider’s new album that will be released next year. So that record was pretty much done by May. Then in summer it was quite quiet, then I prepared the release for PG Roxette, the English record that came out recently. And not to forget, this summer I also recorded the Christmas songs that just came out too. So it’s been quite a lot actually.

Per admits that after all this has been a “normal year” if you look at the workload.

I like to work. I’m so happy to have a job where I don’t feel like I’m “going to work”, but that it’s more of an extension of myself. So I love what I do.

If 2022 has been so active, 2023 will probably not be less busy. New music and a summer tour with Gyllene Tider await. Hallandsposten asked Per what the audience can expect.

A fantastic album! Uptempo, great energy. I’m really glad we made it and that it turned out so well. Anders Herrlin called me the other day, he had listened to it again and said “how the hell did this happen? How did we do this?”. It’s the kind of record that you get hooked on. And so I hope the tour will be amazing.

To the question why he still lives in Halmstad despite the fact that he also has an apartment in Stockholm he replied:

It’s because I like Halmstad, and I feel creative here. I have found a place where I live, on the coast, where I love to be. Then we have Hotel Tylösand, so that means we have a foothold here. Although I’m not involved in the daily operation, I’m still involved, and my wife not least. It also means a lot that we have succeeded in managing it and building it into something exceptional.

Hallandsposten says that the Halland of The Year award seems to be a great response to Per’s love for Halland.

It feels great, but I’ve always felt it. I’ve felt that the people of Halmstad are proud of Gyllene Tider, Roxette and me, so it’s nothing new. But it’s awesome and all the nominees are great, so it’s amazing to win something like this.

Regarding the large portrait that will hang at Halmstad City Airport PG says:

I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I say that’s the punishment if you win, that you get to hang there on a big picture in the arrivals hall.

More photos from the event by Jari Välitalo in Hallandsposten’s article.

Per Gessle is Hallandian of The Year!

After being nominated for the fourth time in a row, Per Gessle has now won the title Hallandian of The Year! Congratulations!

The first 3 winners in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were Janne Andersson, Boris Lennerhov and My Feldt.

The prize is awarded by the Marketing Association in Halland in collaboration with Hallandsposten and Hallands Nyheter. Hallandians themselves were able to nominate people who they think have been good ambassadors for Halland 2022.

Voting ran until 30th November and the winner has been awarded at the Breakfast Gala this morning (14th December) in Halmstad Arena. For the winner, in addition to the honor, a place among the previous winners awaits at Halmstad City Airport. Per has also received a painting created by artist Dagmar Glemme.

Nominees this year were musician and songwriter Per Gessle, comedian and musician Krister Classon, writer Björn Hellberg, golf player Ingrid Lindblad, actress Madeleine Martin and memory master Martin Nilsson.

The jury’s motivation for nominating Mr. G:

Per Gessle is one of Sweden’s most successful artists and songwriters. He has put Halland on the world map for several decades with his music in various forms and constellations. During 2022, he has once again been widely noticed in all media after releasing previously unpublished songs, recording a duet with Uno Svenningsson and releasing a new record with both Gyllene Tider and PG Roxette. Per is also a co-owner of Hotel Tylösand, which has received many prestigious awards and annually attracts large numbers of tourists and conference guests and has Sweden’s largest art gallery.

Congrats once again and looking forward to bump into that pic at Halmstad City Airport!

 

 

Photos from Hallandsposten

 

Picture and video from Radio Båstad