Roxette

Per Gessle joined Canal 13’s morning show in Argentina via a video call from his office in Stockholm. Longtime fan, Tomas Dente interviewed Mr. G and after complimenting Roxette, Marie and Per, he asked PG how it is possible that even if they are so successful around the world, they could still keep a low profile, not having any scandals, being so down-to-earth, being always so nice and kind to the fans. Per told he thinks it has to do with the fact that they come from a small country and both Marie and he come from a small town and they’ve always been outsiders in the music industry. The music industry was America and the UK at the time, so they always remained humble and felt honoured that the world was interested in what they were doing.

Since the first hit in 1986, Neverending Love, their fans remained as much fans as they were the first day. It happens only to big bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Roxette. Why Per thinks it happens, Tomas asked. Mr. G thinks it’s because their music comes from traditional pop based on the 60’s and 70’s, being melody-oriented and those melodies continue to communicate for a very long time. Also back then, pop music had a more important role in the society than today. Today there are many more options of entertainment.

Tomas always tells every musician he does an interview with that he is a big fan of Roxette. He told 2 anecdotes. One of them is when he interviewed Bryan Adams, Bryan told Tomas he regretted giving the same title (Room Service) to one of his albums as Roxette. The other is about Duran Duran. When he interviewed them, one of the guys told him that he was mailing with Per. Tomas asked if Per has any big musicians who he is keeping contact with, if he is a friend of a big star. Per said not really. He bumps into people here and there. He has a lot of friends in the US and he was at a birthday party last year where he bumped into Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards and the Cheap Trick guys. He remembers he bumped into the guys from Duran Duran. In the old days they met e.g. at TV stations. On a personal basis, he doesn’t really have such friends.

The host asked Per about Diego Maradona, if he heard about his passing away. Per said it was on the news everywhere and there was a 3-hour special in Sweden the day he died. He was a legend. Per is a soccer fan too. He comes from a small town in the West coast of Sweden and they have 2 soccer teams. Per is even sponsoring one of them.

The hosts asked Per if he remembers how he found out Marie passed away, where he was and who let him know. Per says he was at home in Stockholm and it was Marie’s husband who called him. It was a terrible news to get. Marie was ill for 17 years but you can’t be prepared for this news when it’s about someone that close to you. Per lost his family members in the recent years and also Marie. Tomas was curious how he deals with the sadness, if he believes in God. They know that Marie believed in God. Mr. G said he lost his mother, brother and sister and he is the only one left in his family. He said it’s very sad, but he thinks you have to go on with your life. He has his own family now, he has a son, you have to continue your journey. It of course affects you in many ways though. It hits you in your dreams and he is always reminded of Marie, she is still around, when he hears Roxette music for example.

Tomas shared a personal story at the end, that when his mother was dying, he had no job, no money and 2 days before his mom died, he promised he would go very far in his career and one day he would do an interview with Roxette and now his dream came true. The host and Per applauded him, they thanked each other for the interview and Per wished merry Xmas.