Per Gessle

Per Gessle Unplugged Tour – #10 – 21st April 2022 – Karlstad

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When I wrote my latest PG Unplugged report in Halmstad, November 2021, I finished the article with this sentence: „Next stop is Karlstad on 8th December!” Oh well… a lot of things happened since then. First of all, on 7th December we were informed that Mr. G had tonsillitis, so some shows – including Karlstad – had to be moved to January. We were still hoping for other December dates to be kept if Per got well, but unfortunately, he had a longer fight with that tough tonsillitis and all remaining shows were moved to January. We were (and still are) in Covid times, and on 22nd December we got the news that the shows in January would be affected by the new rules related to Covid-restrictions in Sweden and had to be moved to a later period in the spring. We had to wait until 20th January to get to know the new dates for the postponed gigs and there came a couple of additional dates in new cities as well. The date was set, the tickets were in our pocket, no tonsillitis in sight. That’s how the show in Karlstad finally happened last night vs. the originally planned December date.

Almost 5 months passed since the last time we could hear Per & Co.’s unplugged performance live, but it was all worth the waiting! The band was in top shape, as if there was no major break between the 2 gigs. However, after the gig Per said that at the rehearsal the day before they didn’t sound too good. For show day they were their old selves again it seems. Haha.

The crowd reactions were nice. The audience was rather clapping along than singing and reacted to Per’s, Christoffer’s and Magnus’ stand-up anecdotes with laughing. The anecdotes were actually the same as before (from Roy Orbison to It Must Have Been Love via Tom Petty and Dallas), but one can never get tired of these stories. And some extra funny interactions were born between the band members on stage. It was real fun to see and hear their reactions to each other’s comments. One must love the chemistry between these guys and girl.

Before the show started, Per told they arrived the day before and tested Karlstad’s wild night life. He said it’s much fun to be in Karlstad.

The capo was in focus last night again for several songs. Here you could see Mr. G got out of practice during the past 5 months, but also Micke N-S, who brought the guitar to Per with the capo on for Sommartider and after Per started to play it, he realized that it should be without the capo. He said it’s not only him who has problems with capos it seems and laughed.

Before PG & Co. played Det hjärta som brinner, Per said Göran celebrates his 60th birthday today. The audience was cheering, some people even started singing the Swedish birthday song. Mr. G said „Happy birthday, Göran!” and that they play this song for him.

Ljudet av ett annat hjärta is still the No. 1 song for me on this tour. I could really listen to it 24/7 and even for that one song it would be worth going to see each gig. So beautiful how Clarence and Per play it together and Per’s vocals on it.

Before Vilket håll du än går Per told the story of Mazarin, how Helena became part of his gang and that as we know, he likes to mix his voice with female vocals. He now added „I actually need all the help I can get”. The crowd was laughing.

After the first encore, the audience stood up and was clapping and shouting to have the band back for another encore and they soon got back on stage. Then everyone sat down for Vid hennes sida, but were up on their feet again when Per said for Sommartider we should stand up. När alla vännerna gått hem, was a seated song again, but the gang got a well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the concert and they appreciated it.

Next stop is Jönköping on 25th April!

Setlist

1. Kung av sand
2. På promenad genom stan
3. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
4. Småstadsprat
5. Min plats
6. Tycker om när du tar på mej
7. Det hjärta som brinner
8. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
9. Varmt igen
10. Tuffa tider
11. Juni, juli, augusti
12. It Must Have Been Love
13. Vilket håll du än går

Band introduction

14. Här kommer alla känslorna
15. Min hälsning

Encore 1
16. Födelsedag
17. Listen To Your Heart (dedicated to Marie Fredriksson & Pelle Alsing)
18. När vi två blir en

Encore 2
19. Vid hennes sida
20. Sommartider
21. När alla vännerna gått hem

Photos in the article are taken by Patrícia Peres.

Per after the gig:

Thanks for a truly amazing night in Karlstad. LOADS OF PEOPLE + LOADS OF FUN! Five months off the road could mean rusty business but this band still amazes me every time we play together. This tour is a killer in my book. Thanks Karlstad for love and affection!!!! See you soon again! Badabam from PG.

Per Gessle interviewed by Stella Event

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Stella Event, promoter of the last 3 unplugged gigs up in the north of Sweden did an interview with Mr. G.

SE: – Do you have any dream collaboration? Either as a dream that already came true or as something you still hope for?

PG: – No, all my heroes in music have already died. Or about to die. I’m so old so all my heroes are even older, like The Beatles and Tom Petty and Joni Mitchell. So there is like no one. I’ve had the chance to meet many, like Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and Springsteen and it obviously feels super big but it would feel uncomfortable to sit in a studio with one of them.

And when it comes to modern musicians, they work in a completely different way, where you make electronic music separately and then you send the material to each other. And I have had the opportunity to do that, I have worked with David Guetta and a bit with others, but that’s a different thing. I feel that I have grown old in that way, that I like it the way I can do it. When I talk about music with my son, who is 24, we don’t understand each other at all because we hear so many different things. But it was the same when I grew up, so my parents didn’t understand why I wanted to listen to T-Rex.

SE: – As organizers, we often take care of the artists’ requests. Do you have something specific that you always want in the dressing room? And when you toured the world with Roxette, did you have any crazier rock star requests then? Just because you could like…

PG: – Nowadays, my tour guide always asks if I want the same as usual in the dressing room and I never know what it is, but I usually want flakes, in case I don’t have time to chew. It can be irregular times so then it’s good to have some energy. And then I want fresh ginger for the throat. And then we usually ask for a little champagne, but we drink it after the concert and only if we in the band think we have earned it. Type of stuff like that…

In the past, it was maybe a little more extravagant stuff and on a tour I kept asking for Mouton Rotschild, such a very expensive wine, and it was mostly to see if anyone could provide us with it. And there was ONE guy, his name was Andre – you see I remember his name – in Zurich who pounded a bottle of Mouton in my dressing room. Otherwise you were disappointed every time. But this was a long time ago, so it’s statute barred.

SE: – Is there anything you always do before stepping on stage? Either as a warm-up or for more superstitious reasons for it to go well?

PG: – I actually never sing up. Marie always sang up, on the last tour she could sing up for two hours. But I usually never do it, I do sound check and then it must be good. I probably have no such fuzz for me but I always want to go last on stage. I kind of want to gather the band and feel that everyone is on the same wavelength and like to look everyone in the eye. So I’m a bit of a guide dog. And I’m so addicted to this friendship in the group.

That’s a bit what made me so scared at the thought of this tour because it felt so naked. I have always played in front of a large audience and with a large band and so on. Now I’m the only guitarist so it becomes obvious if a mistake happens. But I got the question from the management at Hotel Tylösand and since the max. audience was 500, I thought that if it fails miserably, there wouldn’t be so many witnesses. So we did two gigs there and then it became an acoustic tour.

SE: – This tour is described as “dipping your toes in your song catalogue”. Is there any song in your song catalogue that you yourself thought would be a real hit but didn’t really break through?

PG: – It’s a difficult question. I myself am the world’s worst at hearing what can be a single and what cannot. In addition, there are so many factors that are needed for a song to become a hit, especially internationally. But we can say this, “Spending My Time” of Roxette was on the “Joyride” album in 1991. And then there were three songs that our record company said would be hits, it was “Joyride”, “Fading Like A Flower” and “Spending My Time”. And it was the last one they thought would be the biggest. It was during the MTV era that it got the biggest video budget, four million or something like that. But then when it was to be released and become our fifth America number one, our record company collapsed. So all of a sudden no one worked with Roxette and our record was almost forgotten in the US, which led to “Spending My Time” not really being the big song that everyone had thought.

Get your tickets for the PG Unplugged Tour HERE!

Per Gessle performed at the fundraising concert for Ukraine

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Per Gessle performed at the fundraising concert in solidarity with Ukraine at Avicii Arena, Stockholm tonight. The almost 3-hour-long Hela Sverige skramlar show started at 20:00 CET and could be watched live not only on spot, but thanks to the organizers, also on SVT and other online channels (TV4 Play, Aftonbladet, Expressen). Swedish Radio also broadcast the event. The show will be available online for two months to watch on SVT, HERE.

The evening was filled with unique performances of some of Sweden’s foremost artists (Per Gessle, Eva Dahlgren, Peter Jöback, Wilmer X among many others) who showed up for free. Ticket revenues go in full to six different organizations in their work to curb the humanitarian crisis and promote human rights and democracy (International Red Cross, Proliska, UN Women Sweden, Fight for Right, Civil Rights Defenders and The Media Initiative for Human Rights).

As Per said earlier in a press release:

What is happening in Ukraine is undemocratic, indefensible and inconceivable. Difficult, if not impossible, to understand. You would think that no one in our modern times would have to experience such situation. I played a lot both in Russia and in Ukraine and the people of both countries are absolutely amazing. I have unforgettable memories from there that I saved deep in my heart. How could this happen?

Björn Ulvaeus from ABBA opened the event with a wonderful speech about peace and freedom.

Emma Molin and Fredrik Skavlan were the program leaders and after 4 performers they announced that 16 million SEK had been collected until then. While they talked, you could see Per and the band in the background, the crew changing the set for them. Mr. G entered the stage together with Helena Josefsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson and Ola Gustafsson to perform the 5th song at the gala. Listen To Your Heart sounded beautiful in that full arena!

All other artists also gave their best at the event. Even performers from Ukraine took the stage. Don’t miss Maria Sur singing Survivor (Destiny’s Child). So powerful!

Thank you, Per & Co. and all appearing on and providing support off stage, as well as everyone using Swish and any other ways to support Ukraine! At the end of the show it was announced that more than 60 million SEK was collected. [Update on 4th April: Contributions continued to come in on Sunday and the total collected is currently 75.805.615 SEK.]

Stills are from the gala video.

Start of the PG Roxette era

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An era is over. Another one is born.

With the birth of PG Roxette, Per Gessle will continue the adventure he and Marie Fredriksson began, just over 35 years ago. Together with members from the classic Roxette band and a sound echoing somewhere between “Look Sharp!” and “Joyride” Gessle returns to the musical peak of his life – with a new album and plans for a tour.

Per Gessle says:

Since the 80’s, my whole life has been spinning around Roxette and to this day it’s still what excites me the most. There are millions of people out there who still love the band so of course I want to keep our music alive.

Years have passed and Per Gessle has been torn between different visions. The Roxette we once knew no longer exists, but Per strongly felt he wasn’t ready to bury Roxette for good. He still has so much to give, so many more songs to write. Most of all, Roxette brings him nothing but pure joy and energy.

After all there are only two options with Roxette: Either to put the lid on or to continue in some shape or form. At first, I wasn’t sure which way to go but as time passed by it became clear that I want to continue this fantastic joyride. I want to keep the legacy of Roxette alive. I’ve written almost every song Roxette has recorded over the years and they mean the world to me. Hence, I feel this is the right decision. I’m so proud of this body of work and I love working with these people.

Because even if PG Roxette surely marks the beginning of a new era, there’s also a lot for the fans to recognize; both in the new music and in the people who’ve created it. For the recording of the upcoming album, Gessle gathered the classic Roxette band – Jonas Isacsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Magnus Börjeson and Christoffer Lundquist with the aim to make a classic Roxette record.

When I started to write, my ambition was to try to create a sibling to ”Look Sharp!” and “Joyride” – and that’s actually exactly how it sounds. I’ve wanted to create a modern production, but with the typical Roxette trademarks.

In 2016 Roxette did their very last concert. Three years later Marie Fredriksson passed away, after her battle with cancer for 17 years.

A Roxette without Marie sheds light on a burning question: Who can fill the shoes left by one of the greatest pop singers of our time?

Simple answer: No one can.

Instead, Per is joined by two other singers very well known to most of the Roxette fans; Helena Josefsson and Dea Norberg. Both have been in the inner circle of Roxette for years.

It’s impossible to replace Marie and that was never my intention. Our Roxette era was an unbelievable fantasy that we got to share together. I’m excited to be able to continue this journey, but in a different way. Needless to say that if Marie was still here, we’d be doing this together.

Next up is the release of the PG Roxette album and eventually a tour with both new music and old Roxette material in the setlist.

I’m super proud of all the amazing recordings Roxette did and the new material really feels incredible. It’s not always that easy to re-invent yourself when you’ve been doing this for as long as I have with a huge body of work as a result. Sometimes you feel you repeat yourself, but then suddenly you tread on unfamiliar ground and you get curious in a wonderful way. That’s when I feel this is my life, this is what I do best, this is where I belong.

The PG Roxette album is set to release mid September, with a first single out end of May.

Per is working with PG Roxette alongside his upcoming unplugged tour in Sweden, which starts April 21.

Pics by Fredrik Etoall

To be among the first ones who can listen to PG Roxette’s upcoming single in May, don’t forget to follow PG Roxette on Spotify!

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).