Releases

CONTEST: Per Gessle – En vacker bok

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Anders Roos, photographer and publisher of Per Gessle’s tour photo book, En vacker bok offered us 3 copies for a contest. All 3 copies are signed by Mr. G! So here is your great chance to get hold of it if you don’t have it yet!

In order to participate, answer the following questions correctly:

  1. How many gigs were there on the En vacker kväll tour (except for the pre-premiere show at Leif’s Lounge)? – 21
  2. How many different opening songs did the tour setlists have and which of them was played as an opening song most often? – 2, På promenad genom stan
  3. In which town was the front cover photo of the book taken? – Grebbestad
  4. Each En vacker bok contains a print-out photo. How many different print-out pictures exist? – 4

Send an e-mail with your name, address and the correct answers to the questions to rxbcontests@gmail.com until 23:59 CET, 30th December 2017. The lucky winners will be announced shortly after. Answers to all questions can be found on RoxetteBlog. 😉 Good luck!

Contest terms and conditions:
– In order to participate, you have to send an e-mail to rxbcontests@gmail.com with name, address and correct answers to the 4 questions. We will consider all e-mails we receive until 23:59 CET on 30th December 2017.
– 3 winners will be picked randomly among those who have participated and sent the correct answers.
– You can only participate once, any attempt to participate twice or more times will lead to your disqualification.
– Prizes won’t be paid out in cash. Prizes will be sent by registered mail only once.
– Winners will be announced on this website, on our Facebook page and will also be notified per e-mail. You’ll be required to answer the e-mail confirming your address.
– RoxetteBlog.com will not enter into any correspondence regarding the result of the contest and is not liable for any damages, loss or expenses that may result in connection to the prizes.
– All submitted data will only be used for the purpose of the contest and in case you are among the lucky winners, to send you the prize.

Update on 1st January 2018: The 3 winners are: Guy Nir, Ilya Volkov and Andreas Christodoulou. They were notified via e-mail as well.

Per Gessle – En vacker bok – the tour photo book

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It seems there won’t be any tour without an official tour photo book being published after. And I love this fact! When Per Gessle’s En vacker kväll tour started we could already see photographer Anders Roos being around and I met him at several concerts, so it was quite obvious there would be hundreds of thousands of photos taken and I was already hoping for a fat photo book. Why I love when Anders is in charge of taking pictures is because, I think I already mentioned it in my RoXXXette On The Road review, is that he sees with the fans’ eyes. I mean Per and Co. appear in the pictures exactly how we see them. Anders grabs the perfect moments and provides all of us with an everlasting memory of a beloved tour.

The book comes in soft cover with folded tabs and it has 1 print-out picture inside, between the cover and the first page. There are 4 different print-outs existing. The book consists of 160 unnumbered pages and includes tons of cool shots. The only text appearing in the book is Per’s Gessleish intro in Swedish. He writes about how it all started with the rehearsals, about the band members and Anders Roos, as well as the lovely memory of the tour. The intro was written in November 2017.

The cover photo is an action pic taken in Grebbestad. Even if it was more of a ”ballads tour”, which is well reflected on the live CD, you’ll see quite some action pics in the book. I was a bit sad that Tittar på dej när du dansar didn’t make it many times on the setlist, but at least the dancing PG pic from the soundcheck in Dalhalla made it into the book. Woohoo!

My favourite pics in the book are especially the ones taken from above the stage and of course the backstage or travelling shots. Places where a fan can never really get access to. There is a good ratio of Mr. G photos, band members, crew, crowd, stage set, gear and also Good Harvest and Lars Winnerbäck were caught by Anders’ camera.

There is no PG book without PG drawings. As he says, those popping up in the book were drawn when it was raining. Among some new art and tussilagos, the ”fake guitarist in an 80’s band” drawing pops up here too.

A funny part of the book is a drawing of Per with a guide by make-up artist Åsa Elmgren of how to tape Mr. G’s in-ear system on the man himself. The one who has to do it doesn’t have an easy job, I must say. Haha.

How the photos and drawings appear in the book is designed by Pär Wickholm.

I must mention the paper quality of the book as well. The pages are not as shiny as in the RoXXXette On The Road or the Att vara Per Gessle books, so you don’t really need to wear gloves to turn the pages. Thank God! Haha.

All in all, just like the live CD, the tour photo book is also a great souvenir from this summer for all who were there at any of the gigs and there is also a lot to see for those who didn’t have the chance to attend the EVK tour.

If you pre-ordered or had the chance to go to NK in Stockholm today, you could get your copy signed. If not, then you can still order the book at Bengans (they still offer signed copies) or Bokus (signed copies are sold out there) or CDON (no signed copies there).

 

Per Gessle – En vacker kväll – the live album

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Per’s live album from this year’s summer tour was released on 8th December. We could be sure about the live record being out soon when Christoffer shared a short video of mixing it at the end of October. When the news came out that the material is recorded in Borgå, Finland, I was a bit surprised that it was more of a Swedish summer tour and in the end they release an album recorded in Finland. But suddenly, it dawned on me that it was the very last show of the tour and being in the crowd, I remembered how awesome and emotional that last gig was on 26th August 2017. Now, listening to the album, I would say it was a PERfect choice. Fab PG, fab band, fab crowd, fab vibes!

Even if I would have loved to hear a real complete show on this live CD and most importantly, Ljudet av ett annat hjärta and Spegelboll, the 2 biggest party songs, I see why they’re not there. The album has its flow and even with only 13 tracks it feels like a whole show. I write 13 TRACKS and not 13 SONGS on purpose, because Segla på ett moln and Queen of Rain were played only as intros and Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång wasn’t a complete song either, but played after Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) for a crowd sing-along.

On Första pris I can so see Malin-My rocking the violin, on Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) I can see the crowd dancing together, 2 to the left, 2 to the right, the whole band’s acting on stage, Per’s Gessleish moves, his facial expressions while singing Tycker om när du tar på mig… Oh, the tour feeling is coming back!

I’m very happy that It Must Have Been Love has made it to the album. However, I think it was no question for anyone it would end up there after all. Angel-voice Helena makes it very special. Not only this song, but her voice is killer on Varmt igen and Tycker om när du tar på mig as well.

Honung och guld, being recorded in Borgå is this way the version where Per and the band performed it together with Good Harvest. Nice having them on the album too.

It’s a pity that the vinyl release didn’t work out in time, but I’m very sure that this CD is a wonderful tour souvenir for all who were there not only in Borgå, but at any of the shows on the EVK tour and also a lovely release for those who didn’t have the chance to hear these songs live in person.

As the Halmstad concert was fully recorded for SVT’s future program on TV, I just hope that we will get that later on a DVD. No matter how much time after the tour and how many new projects are in sight for next year. It can come hand in hand with the English release of Per’s Nashville project in spring 2018. We don’t mind! 😉

This is how the songs were in the setlist (leaving out the ones that didn’t make it to the album):

  1. På promenad genom stan
  2. Vilket håll du än går
  3. Segla på ett moln / Första pris
  4. Min plats
  5. It Must Have Been Love
  6. Honung och guld (together with Good Harvest)
  7. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) / Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
  8. Varmt igen (with Queen of Rain as intro)
  9. Tycker om när du tar på mej
  10. Småstadsprat

And this is the live CD tracklist:

  1. På promenad genom stan – 3:35
  2. Vilket håll du än går – 3:17
  3. Segla på ett moln – 0:50
  4. Första pris – 4:47
  5. Min plats – 3:04
  6. It Must Have Been Love – 4:52
  7. Honung och guld – 4:16
  8. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) – 2:29
  9. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång – 1:46
  10. Queen of Rain – 1:52
  11. Varmt igen – 4:39
  12. Tycker om när du tar på mig – 4:50
  13. Småstadsprat – 4:01

P.S.: For anyone else who is missing Spegelboll a bit, click HERE 1 and HERE 2, head to GessleHomeVids. Almost the complete song from Borgå is there. 😉

You can still order the live album and tour photo book at or and you’ll get your copies signed!

Pic by Patrícia Peres taken in Borgå – 26th August 2017

 

Per Gessle to sign tour photo book and live CD

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“En vacker bok” and “En vacker kväll” are to be released on 8th December. If you want them signed, you can meet Mr. G in Stockholm on 18th December (Monday) at 17.30 pm. He will be at the NK department store (Hamngatan 18-20, Stockholm) to sign the tour photo book and live CD.

In case you don’t have the chance to be there, you can pre-order the album and book at or and you’ll get your CD and photo book signed!

Per Gessle live in Gothenburg 2017 – photo by Anders Roos

 

 

Marie Fredriksson releases “I Want To Go”

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Press release from Cosmos regarding Marie’s single “I Want To Go” – which is out today!

Marie Fredriksson explores new musical territories on upcoming single

The Roxette singer is back with the single I Want To Go where she’s followed her love for blues and country music.
It’s out November 17th on Amigo.

Listen here

Earlier this year she surprised her fans with the jazz song Alone Again, teaming up with some of Sweden’s most prominent musicians on the subject. This time, Marie Fredriksson will immerse in the american music tradition on her new single I Want To Go.

The original song was written by J.B. Lenoir, a remarkably overlooked gem that almost sunk into obscurity. Now, more than 50 years after it’s birth, Marie Fredriksson reinvigorates this blues classic with a modern production and an unmistakable presence.

I first heard this song about 25 years ago and I just loved it.
I have kept it close to my heart ever since and to finally release my own version of it feels amazing.

– Marie Fredriksson

I Want To Go is out on Amigo on November 17th.

The “listen here” link takes you to a page with links to the digital song on streaming/download platforms like Spotify or Amazon and to an “official audio video” on YouTube.

Picture by Tina Axelsson

Disclaimer from Marie’s label: There is a small, but not trivial error in the press message where Marie Fredriksson is called ”the former singer of Roxette”. 
Marie Fredriksson is still, of course, the singer in Roxette. We’re truly sorry about any confusion this might have caused.