Patrícia Peres

Q&A with Per at Live Nation – The answers!

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roxetteloveAs we informed you some days ago, you could tweet your questions to Per on Live Nation Australia & New Zealand’s Twitter account. Per replied to 14 questions so far.

It’s not yet known if he continues to answer the remaining Qs or if new ones are coming, but we will keep our eyes open and let you know if he does so. Article will be updated then.

 

 

 

Q: – Per, how do you deliver a song like I’m Glad You Called? I mean clearly it was an emotional hell that break up!

Per: – There are of course bits & pieces of me in those lyrics. But I’m a writer, I make things up.

 

Q: – Per is there any song from a previous album that you regret not choosing as a single?

Per: – LS, Joyride & CBB had lots of potentials. Sleeping single. Paint. WSL? & more. Tough competition.

 

Q: – What makes a crowd exceptional to you?

Per: – Every crowd is great. Rox-fans are glowing with positive energy. How could you not love that?

 

Q: – Hello! Will Roxette be re-releasing any rare songs like “I Want You” in the near future?

Per: – Not IWY. It was made with other artists & belongs to another rec. company. But other fun stuff might pop up.

 

Q: – 24 years wondering what will be the perfume that he uses? Time flies.

Per: – Perfume is good for you. I change a bit. Bottega Veneta got some nice ones for guys like me.

 

Q: – U talked about re-release old roxette’s vhs and DVDs. It will happen? When?! Looks promising!

Per: – Hope so. Everything is kinda upside down at the moment with the EMI/Warner-merger. One of these years.

 

Q: – Can you please do that epic mashup of ‘crash boom bang’/’anyone’ again please?

Per: – Yea, that was cool. No promises though…

 

Q: – Are there songs that are tricky to do live? Have u ever tried 1 that u couldn’t make work live? If so, which?

Per: – Most early ones are tricky because they were made for the studio, not necessarily to be played live… You have to re-think some songs to make them work live w/ a band w/o using computers & other devices.

 

Q: – Can we expect high-tech lighting or any mind blowing, dramatic stage production changes in 2015?

Per: – Cirque de Soleil here we come!

 

Q: – When you tour do you find it hard to adjust to the different timezones?

Per: – No, it’s fine. As long as you get some sleep you’ll adjust pretty easy.

 

Q: – Per! Do you plan to tour for many more years? Will Roxette be neverending?

Per: – Yes, both Marie and myself love to tour and perform so I’m pretty sure we will continue.

 

Q: – Do you ever see photos uploaded to social media of yourself with fans and wish you could have a retake?

Per: – Every day!!!

 

Q: – So glad you are coming back to Oz! Can we expect some surprises like maybe some unreleased songs in your shows?

Per: – We start rehearsing in September so until then I don’t know. But we’ll try out some different stuff for sure.

 

Q: – Per, what out of all the Roxette albums is your favourite one?

Per: – LS! is cool because it just came down from the sky. It was created without fame, fortune & expectations.

 

Some more answers were added on 25th June:

Q: – Does it blow your mind that there are so many hard-core fans in distant lands (New Zee) after all these years?

Per: – Yes, never take it for granted.This biz eats acts for bfast=to have global fans after all these years is fab!

 

Q: – Tell me your favorite Roxette lyrics, the ones that mean the most. I need ideas for a tattoo!!!

Per: – I’m living in a box but I’m out when opportunity nox!

 

Q: – G’day from Oz Per! With all your frequent F.L.Y.I.N.G, have you ever thought of buying your own private Jet?

Per: – Hahaha. Good one. Of course. Per Air!

 

Q: – When you sit down to write, do you write both melody & lyrics or does one come first (usually)?

Per: – Both work for me. I usually start with music but sometimes a phrase or an idea for a title makes me tick.

 

Q: – What is the biggest advantage of playing live? Are there also disadvantages?

Per: – Live = very different from being in the studio. All songs are written for the studio so you have to make them work live, which can be tuff.

 

Q: – Per, what song took the longest to piece together (vocals, music etc)?

Per: – Most of In My Own Way was written in 84 but only finished in 2010. Very unusual=I’m fast when writing.

 

Q: – Per do you like the You don´t want love production? You think in the next Rox album will inc a song like this?

Per: – I really enjoy some EDM music. Definitely you’ll hear those influences in the future. But in our special way.

 

Per starring in Linnea Henriksson’s Halmstad video

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If you attended any of the concerts during the Gyllene Tider tour in 2013, you surely remember Linnea Henriksson. She was the support act at all concerts and she did a fantastic job. I think many GT fans became fans of Linnea as well during last summer.

She released her latest album ”Du söker bråk, jag kräver dans” in February and for the song ”Halmstad” she did a video. The video was shot on 15th May in Aleskogen and at Västra stranden in Halmstad.

As Linnea said to Hallandsposten: ”The song is a declaration of love to my hometown and I love Västra stranden. The view of the sea and the harbor are unbeatable and Aleskogen was a refuge to me when I was little. There is a mystery in the forest, you walk among the trees and suddenly, you are at the sea.”

Why we are writing about this video is that its premiere was today and Per Gessle appears in it for some seconds at the very beginning. After Mr G did his part in the video, he posted 2 pics of himself in the woods. The black & white one is close to what you can see in the video in color. (Photos taken from Roxette Official.)

PG_LH_20140515  PG_Aleskogen_20140515

 

THURSDAY UPDATE: Just did my part in Linnea Henriksson’s new video clip “Halmstad”. Fab song + outstanding video! Check it out! /P.

THURSDAY UPDATE #2: Out in the Halmstad woods w/ Linnea! Nice. /P.

 

It is indeed an outstanding video and it’s so colorful and cheerful as Linnea herself is. Congrats!

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOIXeGGFH0A

Ask Per a question!

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Live Nation Australia & New Zealand posted a video with Per Gessle promoting the upcoming Roxette world tour’s Oz & NZ leg. If you ever wanted to know anything about Roxette, now here is your great chance to ask Per anything you want! He’ll be choosing his favourite questions to answer personally. So be creative and try to ask him something else than when they will come to your country! There are already some questions to him on Twitter.

Tweet your questions to @livenationoznz and don’t forget to use the hashtag #ROXETTELOVE!

It’s not yet known until when you can tweet your questions and when and how Per will answer them. Once we get to know it, we will update this article. Good luck, Roxers!

 

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeC4LrE3_0w

Per Gessle at the Gothenburg Book Fair in September!

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We already mentioned in an earlier article that Per’s 2 books will be launched at the Gothenburg Book Fair in September. However, it was quite predictable, we didn’t know it for sure back then if Mr G would be there in person. The good news is that you’ll be able to meet him at the book fair! More than that, what do you think about a 3-day-long trip in Gothenburg? Why? Because he will be at not less than 2 seminars! Both seminars are organized by Roos & Tegnér, the publishing company of the upcoming Per Gessle books (and the fabulous Alla tiders Gyllene Tider book).

PG_SL_03One seminar is on Friday, 26th September and it will start at 5.00 pm and last for 45 minutes. The topic sounds very promising. There will be a conversation led by our beloved Sven Lindström, who will have Per Gessle and Nisse Hellberg (you surely know him at least from The Lonely Boys project) as guests. They will talk about pop culture, songwriting and inspiration. Besides this, there will be a pop quiz for the two pop nerds. Sven is going to be a fab moderator of that. Sounds like it’s gonna be much fun, doesn’t it?

The other seminar, which is related to Per’s books, is on Sunday, 28th September. It starts at 1.00 pm and lasts until 1.45 pm. The moderator here will be Jan Gradvall, who is a well-known Swedish journalist and knows very much about pop culture. Per will talk about the books and how the most popular songs came to his mind. He will share his thoughts about songwriting and lyrics and he will tell about his role models and inspirations. Since there was a signing session last year, I think there will be one this year, too, however, it’s not yet confirmed.

The tickets you can buy at the entrance and on Sunday it is valid for the seminar as well. Regular prices for adults: 180 SEK per day. Happy Hour between 9:00 and 10:00 on Sunday: ticket for adults: 130 SEK. For the Friday seminar you will also need a seminar card, which costs 625 SEK if you buy it until 9th August and 675 SEK after that date.

It’s not yet known if the seminars will be broadcast live anywhere, like last year on TV4. Busy month September is going to be!

 

Update on 29th June: the seminar programme has been published. Click HERE to check it!

Heikki L feat. Per Gessle – You Don’t Want Love video is out

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Update Judith – May 28th
Due to various comments and statements from Per and Per’s management we have decided to remove the embedded video for the song.

Management statement:

Per Gessle appears as a guest solist on DJ Heikki’s single “You Don’t Want Love”. Per added his touch to the song, laid his vocals in a studio in Sweden and that is the full extent on his involvement in this project. DJ Heikki is the artist, it’s his single and it’s him and his record label who are responsible in making the video. The finished video was presented to Per just the other day and he does not appreciate it at all. Therefore he has chosen not to post it on any of his Facebook- or Twitter pages.

Per’s comment on Facebook:

HEIKKI L VIDEO UPDATE: Very strange and silly video indeed. I think Sony Finland should do the right thing and
1. withdraw it
2. make a new better one that we all could be proud of! /P.

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The official video for You Don’t Want Love is out. Unfortunately, there is no Per in it. The only Rox world related reference is a Roxette cassette put in the player at 3:02. From this photo it seems that the video was recorded in April.