Per Gessle

Per Gessle, the workaholic

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Amazon.de shared the tracklist of Gyllene Tider’s Dags att tänka på refrängen album with length and dates next to the demos appearing on the Deluxe CD. The digital version is available from 22nd April, physical version (CD, vinyl) from 24th April.

 

GT-DATPR_Album-cover

 

Album:

  1. Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej /2:52/
  2. Man blir yr (Album Version) /3:01/
  3. Singel /3:01/
  4. Allt jag lärt mej om livet (har jag lärt mej av Vera) /2:59/
  5. Tio droppar regn /2:53/
  6. Jag tänker åka på en lång lång lång lång lång resa /2:54/
  7. Lyckopiller /3:07/
  8. Chikaboom (Album Version) /3:08/
  9. Anders och Mickes första band /3:22/
  10. Tiden är en dåre med banjo /3:02/
  11. Knallpulver /2:32/
  12. Dags att tänka på refrängen /3:41/

 

Demos:

  1. Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sig (Demo 6/8 2012) /2:21/
  2. Man blir yr (Demo 26/7 2012) /3:24/
  3. Singel (Demo 6/12 2012) /2:11/
  4. Allt jag lärt mej om livet (har jag lärt mej av Vera) (Demo 6/8 2012) /3:05/
  5. Tio droppar regn (Demo 6/10 2012) /2:29/
  6. Jag tänker åka på en lång lång lång lång lång resa (Demo 28/8 2012) /2:54/
  7. Lyckopiller (Demo 21/6 2012) /2:53/
  8. Chikaboom (Demo 6/12 2012) /3:40/
  9. Anders och Mickes första band (Demo 5/10 2012) /3:23/
  10. Tiden är en dåre med banjo (Demo 9/8 2012) /2:41/
  11. Knallpulver (Demo 8/5 2012) /1:32/
  12. Dags att tänka på refrängen (Demo 28/6 2012) /3:13/

 

Looking at the demo dates one can see (not that we didn’t know it until now 😉 ) that Mr. G is indeed a workaholic – and we like it! Let’s take a closer look at these dates.

 

  • 8th May, 2012: gig day in Curitiba, Brazil. Was the demo made in the dressing room?
  • 21st June, 2012: during a short break between South Africa and Borlänge. Were there any lyckopiller involved during the recording? 😉
  • 28th June, 2012: 1 day after Borlänge and 1 day before the ultra-awesome Amsterdam gig.
  • 26th July, 2012: 2 days after the megafantastic Gdansk, Poland gig and 1 day before Kotka, Finland. By the way, this day Per shared the new ”Fake guitarist in an 80’s band” plec collection on Facebook, Roxette Official. So, most probably he had to try and see if they were OK, thus he recorded a demo.
  • 6th August, 2012: After all the birthday celebrations it was time to record 2 demos. Not mentioning the earthquake in Halmstad that day.

Woke up to a trembling world 5 o´clock this morning. Thought Micke Syd was rehearsing in Harplinge.

  • Actually, there was a tweet regarding the earthquake that day: “Det värsta är ju inte att det har varit ett jordskalv i Halmstad. Det värsta är att risken finns att Per Gessle skriver en låt om det.” (meaning: ”The worst thing is not that there has been an earthquake in Halmstad. The worst thing is that there is a risk of Per Gessle writing a song about it.”). Well, I’m not sure about any songs being written that day, but it would be too cool to have some earthquake vibes à la Gessle one day.
  • 9th August, 2012: during the break between Finland and Norway gigs.
  • 28th August, 2012: 1 day before the Ottawa, Canada gig, when Roxette went on a lång lång lång lång lång resa.
  • 5th and 6th October, 2012: 4-5 days after the premiere of Kurt & Lisa and Furet wines in The Per Gessle Selection.
  • 6th December, 2012: well, demos are always good to be recorded when Santa is in town. 🙂

 

Now it would be interesting to hear anything about the circumstances under which these songs were written. Hopefully, there will be a detailed interview about the songs with Per after the album is out. So far we know that ”Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej” – formerly known as ”Är det jag” – was written in the 70’s (demo 9th July, 1979).

One more interesting thing – what a fan (Ketil Nordgård) mentioned on Gyllene Tider’s facebook page the day the tracklist was published – is that in the ”Att vara Per Gessle” book (p. 270) ”Knallpulver” is mentioned as a leftover from Per’s ”En händig man” album. However, Per stated in several interviews that the big difference between Gyllene Tider’s new album and ”Finn 5 fel!” (2004) is that one third of the songs on F5F were leftovers from ”Mazarin”, but now all the songs were written exclusively for Gyllene Tider. Well, whatever project ”Knallpulver” was written for, the title sounds exciting and it seems to fit the album quite well.

 

 

Gyllene Tider in top shape: album, tracklist, tour, promo summary

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There were many press and radio interviews with the band during the past few days and there is a live programme on TV4 today – direct broadcast from their rehearsal studio. Here is a summary of all the information we got to know so far.

 

ALBUM:

As Per says, the new album – Dags att tänka på refrängen – is 37 minutes long and contains almost only uptempo songs. There is only one ballad that is similar to ”När alla vännerna gått hem”.

Here is the list of songs from the album:

1. Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej
2. Man blir yr
3. Singel
4. Allt jag lärt mej om livet (har jag lärt mej av Vera)
5. Tio droppar regn
6. Jag tänker åka på en lång lång lång lång lång resa
7. Lyckopiller
8. Chikaboom
9. Anders och Mickes första band
10. Tiden är en dåre med banjo
11. Knallpulver
12. Dags att tänka på refrängen

 

Does it mean “Henry, dansa inte disco!” got a new title? Or Henry might appear later as a B-side…

 

The album is released on 24th April in a bound CD book format. The deluxe version includes a bonus CD with demo versions of all 12 songs. Of course, the album will also be available on vinyl.

According to cdon.se, the standard album’s booklet is of 20 pages, deluxe CD’s booklet is of 24 pages.

Aftonbladet states that Gyllene Tider sounds younger than ever. They have their own style and own sound. These five guys together are a unique mix.

Per replied to Expressen’s question about what makes them being still one of the biggest Swedish bands:

I think there is a reason why Gyllene Tider is still being great. Every time we come back we have new hits.

Micke Syd says to Aftonbladet:

There are not too many bands that have this energy. Per sounds so young and we play so well together. It would be a mortal sin not to do it.

Per said in several interviews that Göran has never been so good as on this album. Micke Syd says:

All people just smile when they hear that fucking organ. “Now it’s summer!”

 

TOUR:

Gyllene Tider is happy with the ticket sales. Per said to Expressen that several concerts are basically sold out. There will be around 10,000 people per gig.

According to Expressen, the total audience of the summer tour with 19 stops is 343,000. This would mean there should be appr. 18,000 people at each venue. Expressen says Gyllene Tider is competing for the summer audience with international giants like Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden and Kiss, but Anders Herrlin thinks:

Those who come to see us, come to see us. We can only do our best and we will be providing something amazing.

Per says to Expressen that they will sit down after Easter and discuss everything about the ticket sales and if there should be any extra concerts.

The songs for the setlist will be selected during the rehearsals. There will be a mix of new and old hits, as well as something for the real hardcore fans. We can be sure the hits mentioned by Per will be played live this summer, too.

Being on stage and performing “Sommartider”, “När vi två blir en” or “Det hjärta som brinner” is absolutely amazing. The symbiosis with the crowd becomes so powerful.

Per said in the PP3 radio interview that there might be 5-6 new songs played on tour.

 

TV4 TODAY:

Tonight the band responds to fans’ questions in TV4’s ”Fråga Gyllene Tider”. Here you can check the details. GT sent greetings from their rehearsal studio and can’t wait for your questions.

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5oM1z0KCis

 

“Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej” will be played on TV4 by Gyllene Tider today – according to GT’s post on facebook. Will it be the cover of this song? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzOLupIS8kI Noooo, we hope it’s a totally new song written by Per.

 

UPDATE: You can watch ”Fråga Gyllene Tider” if you click HERE.

 

Aftonbladet made a funny interview with Per. In 1983 Per answered questions of Aftonbladet’s readers. After 30 years, now Aftonbladet asked him the same questions and put his actual answers next to his answers from 1983. From the 2013 replies we get to know – among other things – that Per isn’t listening to Buddy Holly while he’s making love nowadays. The most similar answer he gave to the question what he’ll be doing in ten years. He said:

1983: In ten years, I’m hopefully still healthy and I’m over the ”being a 30-year-old” crisis and play golf with Lasse Lindbom in Southern France.

 

2013: I hope I’m still healthy and work further on this endless highway of pop music’s realm.

 

It seems that he is over even the ”being a 50-year-old” crisis. We hope to have you on this endless highway for more than 10 years, Per. 😉

Sources:

Aftonbladet:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article16435389.ab

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article16465432.ab

Expressen:

http://www.expressen.se/kvp/gessle-konserterna-ar-i-princip-slutsalda/

http://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/gyllene-tider-vi-ar-ju-hela-sveriges-band/

Sveriges Radio PP3:

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=4283&artikel=5479608

Gyllene Tider’s website:

http://www.gyllenetider.se/nyheter/latlistan-till-dags-att-tanka-pa-refrangen/

 

#gtsommar Lyrics of Gyllene Tider: Man blir yr

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However, we could see parts of the text on the sleeve, Gyllene Tider shared the complete lyrics of Man blir yr, their first single from the new album Dags att tänka på refrängen. The song is full of very typical, fantastic Gessle rhymes. Because of mentioning a “Hollies-låt” and “förlåt Susanne”, the song might refer to Sorry Suzanne from The Hollies, but somehow one can feel there appears a little Fru Nordin in this song. Doesn’t she? 🙂

 

Man_blir_yr

Man blir yr

Kom just på
Mitt i villervallan
Broder Allan står
På en båt
I en Hollies-låt
Helt genomvåt
Förlåt Susanne, det blir så här ibland
När jag gräver upp gammalt damm
Och ser tillbaka

Man blir yr
Man tar fyr
Tum för tum
I mitt rum

Kom just på
Hur vi möttes
I en vrå
På ett diskotek
85? Kanske 82?
Du var söt i lockigt hår
Susanne, det blir så här ibland
Jag gräver bland gammalt damm
Och flyr tillbaka

Man blir yr
Man tar fyr
Tar en chans
Får åka ambulans

Kom just på
Den som spar han har
Det är tur att du finns kvar
Här hos mej
Annars hade jag nog ägnat all min tid åt dej
Jag hade letat efter dej
Jag hade letat efter en vän
Värd att leta efter

Man blir yr
Man tar fyr
Man blir kär
Och blir så här

© P. Gessle – Jimmy Fun Music

 

The song premieres on Swedish radio stations next Monday (18th March). The single with Chikaboom #2 as a B-side will be available digitally from that same day, as well as on 7” red and yellow vinyl from 3rd April (according to webshops).

If you want to listen to the song very early in the morning on Monday, you can tune in on Mix Megapol (Gothenburg). There will be a GT interview, so the song will surely be played during it. According to Per, they’re on from 7.30 am CET. Click here for listening to Mix Megapol’s online broadcast. This morning show is also shown on TV, but we’re not sure there is a live broadcast. Clips hopefully will be available later on Kanal 5’s website or the show’s YouTube channel.

Bring on Monday! 🙂

 

 

Small Apartments OST’s SOON becomes NOW

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Have you ever thought that the day of ”soon” will one day become ”now”? Per informs on Facebook that the Small Apartments soundtrack album is finally having a digital release (Spotify + iTunes, etc.) on 18th March, the CD will be out here and there – whatever it means – on 27th March. Exclusive, numbered and signed double-LP is out on 17th April (sort of). The record will be coloured for sure, but Per says he still has to decide which colour to use. However, we think he – of course – has a colour in his mind already. Well, green would definitely fit the sleeve, mainly Matt Lucas’s clogs. TDR says there will most probably be appr. 300-400 vinyls.

Here you have pages of the booklet. Unfortunately, there are too many pics from the movie (which is of course understandable) and too few pics (1) of the musicians. However, good to know that you can check so many websites and social media sites where Mr. Party Pleaser provides you with spiritual guidance.

 

SA_booklet_01

SA_booklet_02

SA_booklet_03

SA_booklet_04

 

 

Small Apartments: Getting there…

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When I’m thinking about how a sleeve of a Per Gessle album would look like, an almost naked Matt Lucas is maybe the last thing I’m visualizing. Well, the album is the soundtrack of Jonas Åkerlund’s movie, Small Apartments, in which the outfit we can see most often is the one you can see on the sleeve. So it’s quite evident to have Mr. Lucas like this on the cover.

 

SA_OST_cover

 

The Daily Roxette listed the tracks on the album:

1.   Franklin’s Intro (0.56)
2.   I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) -Instrumental- (2.03)
3.   Drizzle #1 (2.02)
4.   Shopping With Mother (2.36)
5.   Franklin’s Theme #1 (1.39)
6.   He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother (4.18)
7.   Burned Out Heart –Instrumental- (3.37)
8.   Are You An Old Hippie, Sir? –Instrumental- (1.49)
9.   Making Love Or Expecting Rain #1 –Instrumental- (2.46)
10. Waltz For Woody (1.03)
11. Drizzle #2 (2.02)
12. C’mon (2.59)
13. Warm. Again. (4.27)
14. Drizzle #3 (2.02)
15. Drizzle #4 (0.56)
16. Week With Four Thursdays (1.54)
17. Dixy -Instrumental- (3.06)
18. Making Love Or Expecting Rain #2 –Instrumental- (4.03)
19. Double-Headed Elvis -Instrumental- (1.31)
20. Franklin’s Main Theme (6.43)
21. I Have A Party In My Head (I Hope It Never Ends) (2.09)

 

As you can see, the list is different vs. the one you can see at the end of the movie. It excludes eg. Something in the System, Speedboat to Cuba, Late, Later on and Something Happened Today or maybe they are called Drizzle #x on the album. The songs in bold were not included in the list that appears at the end of the movie, but Per’s He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother cover can be heard on the radio, when Matt Lucas is driving the car. Unfortunately, Matt is singing along with Per, so the song itself we can enjoy when the soundtrack album is finally out. When? Aha…. ”Soon” seems to be a neverending period of time…