Per Gessle

Interview with Per Gessle and Lena Philipsson about the Roxette In Concert tour in Blikk, Hungary

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Blikk did an interview with Per and Lena on Friday via Zoom. The Roxette In Concert tour’s first autumn show will happen in Budapest on 4th November.

Blikk: – The return of Roxette surprised everyone. Why did you feel like you had to continue with the band?

Per Gessle: – For many, many years I couldn’t decide what to do with Roxette, so this is a really big step for me. Then a few years ago I realized that I was a little sad that I couldn’t perform the songs that I had written for Roxette over the course of three decades. I tried to find a way to continue, but I didn’t really know what to do. In 2024 I made a Swedish album with Lena on it. When we worked together in the studio, I realized that she had the ability and the knowledge to sing Roxette songs. I just felt that out of all the people I had met so far, she was the first one who could really do it. I thought about it for a while, and then I met Lena and I presented my idea to her, which made her completely pale of course. But then we just tried it. We rehearsed some acoustic songs with some of the members of Roxette and they sounded great. Lena was a really good choice, she sings these songs just amazingly.

Blikk: – Lena, what was your first thought when Per asked you to join this project? It’s quite a challenge to step into Marie’s shoes.

Lena Philipsson: – It’s definitely a challenge. And it’s not that easy, because I know that when I go on stage, I’m not the person people really want to see. They want to see Marie, but unfortunately she’s not with us anymore. So someone else has to sing the songs, and that someone is me. In that sense, it’s a bit complicated. At the same time, Per’s request was flattering, almost impossible to refuse. And then, once I said yes, from then on, I just tried to focus on what I had to do and do my job as best as I could, considering the uniqueness of the situation. I really wanted to keep the original version of the songs as much as possible, so as not to cause any confusion for anyone, because it’s already a big difference to see a different person on stage, who might move differently and look different. It was important to me not to change any of the songs, but to show respect to Marie, Per and the fans by keeping the original. Our South African premiere was of course quite nerve-wracking. I tried to pay attention to the atmosphere in the venue to get a feel for what the band was doing, what we were doing on stage and how the audience was reacting. That’s where I started. But I think the feedback was positive from the very beginning. And from there, everything just got better and better.

Blikk: – We’ve seen other bands continue working with a new singer – most recently with Linkin Park. What do you think is the most important thing for it to work well?

Lena: – I can only speak about our own situation – for me it’s about showing respect for the music. I mean, I try to blend in, because it’s Per’s project, and I try not to take control of it. Just pay attention to the mood and listen to what the flow dictates. I don’t know how to explain it – you just have to be yourself as much as possible, instead of trying to be someone else. Give yourself and be honest in what you do.

Blikk: – Do you remember when the moment came when you felt comfortable in this role?

Lena: – After the second concert, I felt that everything was OK, that it was working. Now I can go out and be myself even more, giving myself more space. So it happened pretty quickly. The band, Per and I were working together for the first time – as musicians, we had to get to know each other on stage. But in terms of the setlist and the things that happened on stage, as we played together, it got better and better. So I think I got used to it pretty quickly.

Blikk: – Which song is the hardest for you to perform together?

Lena: – I would say “Spending My Time”, because it’s just me and Per on stage. He plays the guitar while I sing, which is very stripped down and revealing at the same time – so that’s an important moment. Also, singing “It Must Have Been Love” is very important to do perfectly, but I’ve learned it pretty well. Now I have more favourites: I really like “Listen To Your Heart”, for example, it’s pure joy for me to sing it, and I don’t think of it as complicated anymore. I just want to do a good job. We’re over the difficulties.

Per: – I think the best thing about the whole line-up is that we have a lot of fun and we feel good together on stage. The band members are also very enthusiastic. Lena’s presence and being able to perform the songs again is very inspiring for them. I tried to gather all the key figures from Roxette’s past, like guitarist Jonas Isacsson. Clarence Öfwerman, our producer, is still with us. I think that ultimately it is a tribute to Roxette and its legacy, and for that to happen we have to enjoy what we do. For me that is the most important thing, because if we have fun, the audience will have fun too.

Blikk: – What’s the goal of the project, besides playing old Roxette songs? Are there any plans to write new songs in the future?

Per: – No. I think the point of Roxette is to perform old songs. That’s all we do. By the way, we have made music together before, and maybe we will in the future, but I don’t think we will do it under the name Roxette.

Blikk: – You will also perform in Budapest in November. You just mentioned “Listen To Your Heart” – this is the song that probably every Hungarian knows, because from 1990 onwards a political party in Hungary started using it for its campaign and other events. Sometime around 1992 you said in an interview that you had heard about it. Were you ever worried that people would automatically associate your song with a party, forgetting its original message and content?

Per: – Well, first of all – looking back – I don’t like it when people use songs without permission. In the past, we were not asked about it at all. What happened in Hungary is a very unique situation, I have never experienced anything like this anywhere else. We have always tried to stay away from politics, because we don’t fully understand the countries and their political situation. I think if anyone had asked me if I would license one of my songs to a political party or movement, I would have definitely said no, without taking a stand for the left or the right. Because that’s how I operate and that’s how I work. I think copyright should be respected and the person who owns it or wrote the song should be asked first before they use it. That’s what I think.

Blikk: – There was a case a few years ago –  the same party used your song at a political event, and they even uploaded a video of it on Facebook, but because of copyright, that video was removed. Have you heard about that case?

Per: – I didn’t know about that, but I know that our record label, Warner Music, took legal action against it, because for them it’s the same situation: copyright infringement. You can have any political views, but ultimately it’s about how laws and rights work. As I said, I don’t have any other experience, so I can’t give you any other examples – it’s a unique thing. And I don’t really like being in the middle of things that I didn’t choose.

Blikk: – Let’s get back to the concert. You’ve been touring for a while now, how is the audience reaction?

Per: – We’ve done 25 shows so far, and they’ve been just fantastic. When we started, we were still wondering what happens if it doesn’t work out? On the one hand, what happens if people don’t buy tickets? On the other hand, what happens if they don’t like Marie being replaced by someone else? So many things could have turned out differently, but it turned out the opposite. Even the most dedicated fans have started to get to know Lena, appreciate what she does, and everyone leaves the concerts with a smile on their face. We have a huge catalogue of songs that people have grown up with and that have become part of their everyday lives – I think that’s just amazing, and it’s also a very rare thing. It’s really fantastic that I’ve found a way to carry on Roxette’s songs and that they are accepting it like that.

Blikk: – What message do you think the audience will take away from the fact that Roxette’s legacy lives on?

Per: – I don’t know if there is any specific message. But I’m a songwriter after all – I started writing songs when I was a teenager and I still do that basically today. I feel lucky to have had so much success all over the world in my life, and if my music and lyrics still mean something to so many people globally, that’s really fantastic. I hope that the people who come to our concerts get their reward from us on stage – something that adds value to their lives and that we can be a part of. Some people got married to our songs, some people gave birth to their children, and some people listened to “Joyride” on their way to school. These are just small fragments of some people’s lives, but we are part of them. It’s amazing to see that our music means so much to others.

Find the dates and links to ticket sales sites HERE!

Per Gessle on Nordic Rox – August 2025

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Sven Lindström and Per Gessle are counting down the Top5 songs on their Swedish best of the ’80s list on the August episode of Nordic Rox. The guys recorded this show in Halmstad on a sunny day.

The first song they present is Girl Of My Dreams, a somewhat unique Swedish recording of a power pop classic. Per thinks it must be the last recording ever made by Dwight Twilley who unfortunately passed away not long ago. He was singing on a track by a Swedish band called Helikoptern, which means the helicopter. It’s a great track, and Dwight Twilley has always been one of Per’s big favourites. Sven thinks he was a fantastic songwriter and his ’70s and early ’80s stuff are amazing. Per agrees. It was a song by Bram Tchaikovsky from 1979. They are one of those forgotten heroes from the power pop age in England.

Iconic by Maja Ivarsson is next. It’s her latest single from her solo project. She is the lead singer of The Sounds, a great band that is out touring now in Sweden. Paint A Picture by The Hives comes next. It’s their latest single. They have a new album coming out in the fall and there are a few tasters from that. This song sounds excellent.

You Can’t Hurry Love by The Concretes is played next. Then comes Midnight Prayer by Bad Cash Quartet from Gothenburg, a song from 2003. Per loves this track.

After that, the guys play Fancy by Svenne & Lotta. It’s from one of Per’s favourite albums. He loves this song that was written by Bobbie Gentry. There are so many versions of it out there, but this is actually one of Per’s favourites. Lotta was born in the States, and you can hear that she really loved this style of music. She was a great singer in that era and she is still a great singer. This song is from 1970 when they made this cover. When PG was a kid, he had this song and he still loves it today. It made Sven think a little bit of Dusty Springfield’s Son Of A Preacher Man. It’s the same vibe. It’s a great track with great lyrics, and Per is really happy that they found it to play it on Nordic Rox. Sven says Svenne Hedlund was the singer and the godlike pop star in the Swedish ’60s, in the same group that saw Benny Andersson from ABBA on keyboards. That band was The Hep Stars. PG’s favourite band when he was 6 years old.

Getting down to the countdown, Sven and Per start with one of the biggest bands to come out of the Swedish punk rock movement: Ebba Grön. They made an album in 1981, Kärlek och uppror. It means love and revolution. It was a big album, which made them sort of mainstream. The opening track, 800°C is at a well-deserved fifth position on the ’80s countdown. Per thinks this track is really wonderful.

Magnus Lindberg was one of Per’s label mates back in the days when he had his power pop group, Gyllene Tider. Magnus started out in the ’70s playing in a Swedish band called Landslaget, and then he turned into a singer-songwriter in the late ’70s and made a couple of albums that were really nice. Then it got sort of electrified, more energized on this album. He was really affected by the new wave scene and suddenly in 1981 he released this sort of new wave-ish style album called Röda läppar, which translates into red lips. It’s still a great album. He is a great writer, a great singer and he had a great band as well. Per says, unfortunately, he is not with us anymore, but we can still listen to his music, thank God. Sven wouldn’t say that it’s 100%, but he would assume that this might be the US premiere for Magnus Lindberg. They play Röda läppar in position number four. A wonderful song that stood the test of time pretty well.

After a solo artist, the guys are moving into the band territory. There is a great band from Stockholm in the third position. Reeperbahn had a couple of great tracks in the early ’80s. The single, Lycklig (happy) is from 1980. It was just a single, it’s not on any album. The band was really influenced by the band Television. They even looked like Television. Per likes them a lot and thinks they were really strong. 1980 was just when they got started with Gyllene Tider, and Reeperbahn was a great competition. Sven remembers Per once said that he thought their albums sounded really great, their early ’80s stuff. PG wanted to sound better on the recordings. Mr. G says that was always the issue with his band, that they didn’t sound good enough on the records. Never satisfied, haha. In the analog days, before the whole digital thing happened in the ’80s, you could really tell the difference between recordings made in Sweden versus recordings made in London or LA or New York. They didn’t really have the same equipment, or the knowledge for that matter. Sven says, except for a certain group in Stockholm, starting with A and ending with A. Per says ABBA sounded great, but if you listen to their early stuff from the mid-70s, it sounds very Swedish. After the digital revolution happened in the mid-80s, they played on equal terms. But Reeperbahn always sounded great and this song sounds fantastic even today, Per thinks. A song that definitely makes you happy.

Another band from Stockholm from 1980 is Docent Död (Dr. Death) on position two. Sven says, when he heard that group’s name, he thought they were an unlistenable punk band, judging the name. They had bands like Grisen Skriker and he thought that Dr. Death was in the same league. But it wasn’t. Per says they were a power pop thing and they made their debut in 1980 with an EP. Solglasögon (sunglasses) is one of the tracks, and it’s still one of Per’s favourite tracks ever coming out of Sweden, it doesn’t matter which decade you are talking about. A great lyric, a great band and a great attitude. Sven agrees. The song has a really funny lyric about this guy who keeps wearing his sunglasses everywhere. A lyric of the kind that is worth taking the effort to learn Swedish. Haha.

The guys are at the rightly honorable number one position. Sven says Per looks very embarrassed and explains that Per has got red cheeks now and he just wants to go out of the room and disappear somewhere. Per says it’s because Sven talked him into this and put a Roxette song, Roxette’s breakthrough song on the number one position. PG says he is much more modest than that. Sven laughs and says he leaves that uncommented. Haha. Regarding The Look, Sven thinks it’s hard to find a song that did a pop job as good as that song. It was Roxette’s breakthrough in the States without even being released there. It’s an amazing thing. It paved the way for four US number one songs. Per says it became the first number one in 1989. All the record labels turned Roxette down, including EMI. So this was brought to America through an exchange student who was in Sweden and picked up the Look Sharp! album that Roxette just had released. He became a big Roxette fan and when he went back to Minneapolis, there was a radio station, KDWB, with a show where the listeners could bring their own records and get them played on the air. So he brought the Look Sharp! album to the radio station and they of course didn’t play it. So he went back after a week to bring it home. Then fate came in and just when he was going to take the record back at the reception, the program director was there as well. He became interested in the record sleeve that looks like a newspaper. So the program director asked the exchange student what’s that and the exchange student said, it’s a Swedish band and he left the record there to put it on the air, but they didn’t play it. The program director thought they should listen to it, because it looked really cool. So they started to listen to the first song off the album and that was The Look. The program director loved the song immediately and said, let’s put it on the air. So they started playing it and the phone started to ring all the time. People wanted to know what song it was. They wanted to hear it again. That’s how Roxette got its first thing going in the States.

That is an amazing story, Sven thinks. Roxette had four US number one singles in the coming years. It was in Billboard magazine that there are 18 persons in history who have written more than three American number ones on their own. And out of those 18, only four people are from Europe. It’s Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, George Michael and Per Gessle. Per says he is in good company.

The funny thing as well with the track The Look is that most of the lyrics Per wrote down just to keep the melody going and he didn’t ever improve on it. Per explains that he had bought a new synthesizer and he tried to learn how to program it. He started working on very simple things and he came up with this idea. To remember the rhythm of what he was doing, he just made up lyrics. Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer, she’s a juvenile scam. Just to remember the rhythm. He recorded it and then when he checked it out, it sounded really cool. Then he did the second verse in the same style. It was in a sort of I Am The Walrus gobbledygook style, which is fun. The idea with Roxette was that Per was a writer and Marie was the singer, so it was really weird that Per was singing on the breakthrough song. That changed of course over the years, because Marie was an amazing singer. So that song broke every rule in every way. That’s how it works in life, isn’t it?

Tin Foil Hat by The Men is played, then Big Girl by Peg Parnevik and The Next Place by Weeping Willows.

Sven and Per thank the listeners for joining them and the show ends with Cigarettes by Anita Lindblom, as usual.

Pics are from PG’s archives

Thanks for your support, Sven!

Interview with Per Gessle in Cityliv

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Joakim S Ormsmarck did an interview with Per Gessle for Cityliv magazine in Halmstad. Read the original Swedish article HERE!

Roxette is back on stage in Halmstad. With two sold-out concerts, the city is once again filled with fans from all over the world who want to experience Gessle’s treasure trove of songs here at home where it all began. But it is a tribute to Roxette – not a new Roxette – that is now taking the stage.

It has been 36 years since Roxette last performed at Brottet. The pop duo’s breakthrough was still quite fresh at the time, and the concert at home kicked off the Look Sharp Live! Tour, which was to last until the end of the year with all stops from Hunnebostrand to Milan and Brussels. A lot has happened since then, not least the fact that Marie Fredriksson is no longer with us. But Roxette is still Per and Marie, Per makes that clear when he talks to Joakim.

It’s not that I’ve restarted my band with Lena, but the tour we’re on now is a tribute to the song catalogue. Roxette is me and Marie, but since she can’t be there, this is simply a variation. A bit like Queen with Adam Lambert or like Jon Stevens in INXS… Stevens was actually our opening act at some of the shows in Australia and he played a lot of INXS songs, it was fantastic.

Joakim has managed to do this interview during a break on the tour and Per is home in Halmstad for a few sunny days before it’s time for the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland before the summer tour ends with two shows in Gothenburg and two in Halmstad.

Joakim is curious if it is nice to have a break or if it disrupts the rhythm.

Good question actually. It’s both. You lose a bit of that flow that you get when you play every other day and we haven’t played that much together yet. We have only done eighteen shows so we’re still working on getting to know each other on stage. At the same time, it’s really nice to have a few days off for the sake of your throat, plus it’s great to land here when the West Coast is at its best.

The tour started in February in Cape Town, South Africa, Australia and parts of Europe have been completed. After the gigs in Sweden this July, there is a break. Among other things, Per will be working on the musical based on Roxette’s song collection, which will be staged in the autumn at China Theatre in Stockholm. But after that, it’s the tour that counts again.

Joakim wants to know if touring is still as much fun after all these years.

It’s actually more fun now than it was at the beginning. With Gyllene, you were terrified at first. We had done six gigs before we were number one on the charts, so we were constantly fighting against people’s expectations. We learned the hard way, you could say. It was really only during the Roxette era that I started to relax more on stage. With Gyllene, I was the one who would be at the front singing, but with Marie we could share everything.

To the question how he feels the tour he is on now is different from the previous ones, Per replies:

The big difference is that we are not trying to be number one on the list with a new album, but this is a tribute to the Roxette catalogue. We are playing a fantastic treasure trove of songs that very few artists can put their fingers on and that makes it special. We don’t want to promote new music, but play the old.

If Roxette releases new songs:

No, I don’t think so actually. I would like to make more music with Lena, we released “Sällskapssjuk” together last year and I would like to continue that collaboration, but it will not be under the Roxette label.

However, there is a lot of material that Marie and I did that has never been released, studio and live recordings. So there will be more from the original Roxette.

On this year’s tour, Per has gathered musicians who have played and worked with both Roxette and Gyllene Tider, as well as his solo albums. Among others, Jonas Isacsson, who was already on the first albums, is back as a guitarist.

When Jonas plays his solos on “Listen To Your Heart” or “Queen Of Rain”, it’s like time has stood still. It sounds exactly as it did before. It’s pure pleasure.

Joakim asks Per how he puts a band together for a tour like this. If he sits down with the phone book and starts calling around.

It’s a bit like that, actually. The idea of Lena as a singer came when we recorded “Sällskapssjuk” in the studio. She has exactly the power in her voice that Marie had, but in a different way. So we had a meeting and I told her my thoughts. We tested a few songs and when she decided, I started thinking about who I should include in the band.

Per says that his aim was to include as many of the original band members as possible. Jonas Isacsson and Clarence Öfwerman have been with them from the beginning, Christoffer Lundquist was already on the “Have A Nice Day” album in the late ’90s.

Pelle Alsing is no longer with us, but Clarence and Christoffer suggested Magnus Norpan Eriksson, because they thought he played quite like Pelle. I don’t agree with that at all, but he plays really good pop drums and that’s exactly what we need. Especially in songs like “The Big L.” and “How Do You Do!”.

Joakim is curious about how long Per has contracted the band and if there will be Roxette in 2026 as well.

Yes, there is a big world out there with South America, Asia, North America and so on. What has been said now is that we are doing 2025 and 2026, and then we will see. It could be that we do the spring and then we skip it or it will be spring, summer and autumn.

But before that, two packed concerts at Brottet are ahead, and there is no doubt that Per is looking forward to delivering here on home ground.

It is of course special to play here in Halmstad and at Brottet where we have played with Gyllene in recent years, but Roxette has not played there since “Look Sharp!”. So it will be really fun.

All interview text is written by Joakim S Ormsmarck for Cityliv Magazine in Swedish. Here it is a translation by RoxBlog.

Interview with Fredrik Etoall and Per Gessle in Tylösand Magazine

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Joakim S Ormsmarck had a busy interview period and he also met Fredrik Etoall and Per Gessle to ask them about their collaboration. The result of this conversation was published in Tylösand Magazine.

When Fredrik Etoall discovered the camera at the age of 16, it was like the missing piece of the puzzle. Finally, he could express himself and capture the moment that he always lives in the middle of. Two years later, after finishing the media high school, together with a friend they took a car down to Höganäs to see the legendary photographer Christer Strömholm’s exhibition. A trip that would change his life.

It was fantastic. We insisted on getting an internship and I stayed there for periods until Christer passed away three years later. There I got to learn the craft for real, manage Christer’s legacy, retouch prints by hand and work with the images that would be passed on to buyers around the world.

This is where Fredrik and Per Gessle crossed paths for the first time when it dawned on the young photographer that the picture he was working on was going to Per Gessle and his hotel in Tylösand. A hotel filled with photos, he had to go there at some point…

My first memory connected to Per and Roxette is “Look Sharp!” on vinyl. I was eight years old and my mother had bought the record. We listened to it and danced at home in Vänersborg. But what caught my attention the most was the cover, the glamour, that’s where I wanted to be. On tour around the world.

Per interjects:

A fantastic cover. It was Mikael Jansson who took that picture!

For those who know his photography history, Mikael Jansson is a well-known name who has created iconic images over the past thirty years that have been published in all the major magazines around the world. It almost feels a bit typical that he was the one who took the picture for the cover of Roxette’s international breakthrough. Surrounding himself with the best photographers has become something of Per Gessle’s signature. Not uncommon at the beginning of their careers.

To Joakim’s question regarding how Per and Fredrik found each other, Fredrik replies:

In the fall of 2011 I worked with Icona Pop and made the video for “I Love It” which was very different from everything else that was being made at the time, rawer and less tidy. We had almost no budget, but the song and the video were a total hit and I followed the group around the world. In the middle of this, Marie Dimberg, Roxette’s manager, got in touch and wondered if I wanted to shoot the band for their album “Travelling”.

Per continues:

I thought it was fun to work with Fredrik right away. He’s a nice guy and he made sure we looked awesome in the pictures, hahaha. He has a feel for good light and a little fix, but not too much. He has the eye and there’s almost not a single picture that’s been published by Fredrik that isn’t good.

Fredrik laughs:

Thank you, I’ll send you money via Swish for the compliments.

About the photo session, Fredrik says:

We had lots of different things to do. When it came to picture four, Marie couldn’t take it anymore. Then I thought, damn it, it went wrong and I didn’t get any pictures at all. But it turned out that we still managed to take some pictures that still live on.

Per adds:

What Fredrik managed to capture with Roxette there and then were pictures of us that we hadn’t really done before, it was special in a way. Take this picture, for example. I have my black nails and yawn, Marie is standing in the background looking a bit uninterested. It’s a really lovely picture from that session.

In retrospect, everyone who was there that day agrees that something happened there and then. A special connection and trust were created, which led to new collaborations. Over the years, Fredrik has worked with Per and Marie solo as well as Roxette, PG Roxette and Gyllene Tider.

Per remembers:

When we made PG Roxette, we worked for two days. But we didn’t use anything from day two, because we had such a great first day with an incredibly good amount of material. It’s different when it’s just me. It’s easier. When I felt like I wanted to change pants, I just went and got another pair of pants. Or when Fredrik had an idea that I should have something that matched the curtain in the room, we solved it. It’s that simple.

Fredrik agrees:

That’s true, every session is unique. There is a big difference between working with one person or with a whole group, then the dynamics in the group become so important. I have been on jobs on other occasions where there may have been some fuss in the group before I came, and then it is so clearly noticeable. With Gyllene it has been a lot of fun, because there are five such different personalities who together become what is so special.

Fredrik tells Joakim what Marie Fredriksson has meant to their collaboration. How her elegance and power combined with humility led to a special relationship.

When I photographed Marie for what would be her last solo album at Grand Hotel, I took the picture of her standing in the window looking out towards the castle. It’s one of my absolute favourite pictures. It symbolizes both freedom and strength, how she carries both herself and me in that picture.

All interview text is written by Joakim S Ormsmarck for Tylösand Magazine in Swedish. Here it is a translation by RoxBlog.

Thanks a lot for helping out with the physical copy of the magazine, Chrissie Röhrs!

Interview with Per Gessle in Hallandsposten about the Roxette In Concert tour

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Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per Gessle for Hallandsposten almost ten years after Roxette’s last concert in Halmstad. Per brings the Roxette band for two gigs at Brottet.

Then it was with Marie Fredriksson, now he performs with Lena Philipsson.

Lena has grown into the role in a fantastic way. Marie can never be replaced, but Lena really does it in her own way so we are not a cover band. In addition, Jonas (Isacsson) is back, who is very much Roxette’s guitar sound.

15,000 people saw the concert on July 22, 2015 at Örjans Vall, which would be Marie’s last with Roxette at home when the following year she was forced to step down due to health reasons and then tragically died on December 9, 2019 from the consequences of her illness.

To keep Roxette’s song collection alive, including four US number-ones, Per went on tour in 2018 under the name Per Gessle’s Roxette. But it was in connection with the recording of the duet album Sällskapssjuk that he realized that Lena Philipsson was the right person to take the place next to him on stage.

Since then, Roxette has had two concerts in South Africa, nine in Australia and ten in Europe before the tour reaches Sweden; Gothenburg on July 23 and 25, and Halmstad on July 26 and 27.

Out in Europe, Lena is a completely unknown name, but the fans have received her in a fantastic way. But here at home, Lena is a big name in her own right, so it will be very exciting to see her meet her home audience.

I mean, there’s a big difference between her today and the first gig in Cape Town, and that’s how it should be. Because it’s on stage that you grow together as a band and learn how everyone behaves, what roles they take. You can never work that into rehearsals, and it’s the same with the social side – that it works there too.

Then we have deliberately included some songs that Marie never sang live. “What’s She Like?”, which is very strong in the musical, is one that Roxette never played live before. Likewise “Vulnerable” – mostly because I thought it was boring to sing, but the audience loves it, hahaha.

During the journey, he has also received confirmation of how strong Roxette is as a band with sold-out concerts in most places.

Yes, we are reaching a new audience, which is fantastic. In January 2024 we had 10.4 million unique listeners a month on Spotify, now we have 17.8 million, which is almost a doubling with 70 million listens every month.

To Jan-Owe’s question what he thinks the reason behind is, Per replies:

On the one hand, it’s a treasure trove of songs that shouldn’t really be possible to fail with. On the other hand, we represent a kind of music that is becoming increasingly rare, because pop music is no longer made in the same way, with a bridge before the chorus or a key rise. And that benefits people like me – especially with the song catalogue that we can build on.

I saw a documentary about Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys who recently passed away. It would have been impossible for him to have a hit today, when most things are artificial and programmed with many songwriters for each song. And it will get worse with AI.

When Roxette reaches Sweden, it will be standard concerts, while in Europe it has been about festivals where Roxette has in many cases been the headliner.

It’s different to play at festivals. Partly because it’s a shorter set, and partly because the audience is there for many different artists, unlike when it’s pure Roxette concerts where everyone has come for us. So if you play a lesser-known song, some people go and buy beer.

Initially, the second Halmstad gig was the end of the tour, but it is already clear that there will be a continuation in the autumn with gigs in Linköping and Stockholm in Sweden, among other places in Europe.

Yes, for each gig, five new offers appear, so the schedule will be filled afterwards. Because if you want, this is just the beginning of the continuation…

Pics by Åsa Gessle