Tour

Per Gessle Unplugged Tour – #11 – 25th April 2022 – Jönköping

by

The original date of the Jönköping gig would have been 14th December last year, but for known reasons, it was postponed until last night. The venue greeted us with a PG Unplugged sign already at the entrance of the concert hall building. Inside, at several places, there were monitors showing a pic of Per and Helena from an earlier unplugged concert.

When PG & Co. entered the stage, Per talked to the crowd and said they are happy to be in Jönköping and that they are glad the audience chose them instead of the hockey match that was played in the arena next to the concert hall. After playing the Nashville songs, PG asked the crowd if everything was fine and if they wanted to know the scores from the match. Half of the audience shouted yes, half shouted no. Haha. Christoffer asked what teams are playing and Per replied „HV against PV” – he said he has no clue. The crowd was laughing. Per told he was at one hockey match in his life in the 70’s or 80’s. It was Halmstad Hockey Club’s match and they lost, actually against HV (the Jönköping team). The crowd gave it an applause. Later Per asked the crowd again if they wanted to know the scores, then the audience shouted no. PG said 1-1. Haha.

The band sounded great and the crowd was clapping along several songs, even singing along. The jokes and anecdotes also worked very well on this audience, they laughed a lot and applauded the guys and girl loudly.

Per had some issues with his throat, but it turned out it was because of too much smoke on stage. Once he went off stage and asked the tech guys to make it less, because it was irritating his throat. He asked for more warm ginger tea as well. Keep your throat safe, Mr. G!

Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, Tuffa tider, It Must Have Been Love, Vilket håll du än går and Sommartider were the highlight songs in Jönköping.

Before the first encore, the crowd didn’t stop clapping until Per and the gang came back on stage. Per said they would play a little more and someone in the crowd shouted „one more hour!”, to which Per reacted „one more hour? Would be a pleasure, but I have to go home to watch the hockey on YouTube or somewhere.” Haha. They started playing Födelsedag.

After the first encore, everyone stood up and cheered the band and they didn’t sit down and didn’t stop clapping until the gang was back again soon. Everyone sat down for Vid hennes sida, but Sommartider became a standing song of course. And even if När alla vännerna gått hem became seated, the audience was up on their feet again before Per, Helena, Clarence, Magnus and Christoffer took a bow.

The match ended at the same time as the concert, so it was quite tough to get out of the parking area, but who cares. It was a wonderful evening!

P.S.: For those, who are interested, HV71 (local team) played against Björklöven (from Umeå) and Björklöven won 3-1. Oops. Nevermind. Those who chose the concert won a lot!

Next stop is Kalmar on 26th 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 on Facebook:

Thanks Jönköping for a splendid Monday evening. We had a blast, could go on forever!! Soooo many people in spite of the hockey game going on around the corner. See you all soon again. Lots of love from PG + band!

And on Twitter:

Thanks for a splendid Monday evening, folks. Amazing to sell out this place in spite of the hockeygame going on around the corner. Loved every minute of this. See y’all soon again!

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

by

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

by

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 Unplugged Tour – #9 – 29th November 2021 – Halmstad

by

When a week ago I was on my way back home from Göteborg it was the day when there was the second Göteborg show. It felt very weird that I was flying away while PG was on stage, so after getting back home I quickly rescheduled my tour plan – not to feel too depressed again, haha –, because Halmstad #2 wasn’t in my original plans to attend. But what a good decision it was to go and see this concert too! It absolutely topped the first Halmstad gig! Both the band and the crowd were in top shape and worked very well together.

The crowd reactions were cool, last night you could also feel that all Halmstad people are proud to have such an artist as Per, born here. Everyone enjoyed themselves both on and off stage, the audience was singing and clapping along the songs. The anecdotes were also appreciated with laughter and applause.

Before Det hjärta som brinner Per told the anecdote about Gyllene Tider playing on this stage in 1979 when they were invited by Ulf Lundell on his Ripp rapp tour. Just like yesterday, Mr. G remembered the small mugs on stage which he thought contained water, but after drinking from them it turned out it was vodka.

After Micke N-S brought Per his ukulele on stage, PG told the story of how he got hold of his first ukulele. He read in a magazine that George Harrison from The Beatles had tons of ukuleles. Per thought it’s a good idea and he also bought an ukulele. He joked that they sold 3 pieces for 300 SEK, it was in a basket at the checkout, just like Dumle (chocolate-covered toffee) usually is. The same day he wrote a song, the only song he wrote on an ukulele so far. He said he has no ambition to write another one. Haha. Tuffa Tider is always fun to hear live. When the band finished the song, Per stood up and took a round around his chair to sit back. He said they had seated gigs in summer and 4 of 5 in the band had problems with their back after that. Christoffer added they had prostate problems too, so now they have to sit. Everyone laughed.

Before It Must Have Been Love, Per asked the audience what they think about the fact that it’s soon Christmas. The reaction wasn’t too positive from the crowd’s side. However, whole Halmstad is covered with Christmas trees all around the streets, on the main square, there is Christmas music playing all day in town, the Christmas lights are also up and beautiful.

Before Min hälsning Per told he thought to finish with the next song. He said it’s Monday after all. The audience wasn’t happy about the idea, of course. Haha. After telling he wrote this song originally for Gyllene Tider, he introduced MP, responsible for the sound at the show. The crowd was cheering him loudly. Christoffer started playing a different song though, so Per stopped and told him it’s not that song. Chris said there are so many from the past 43 years. Haha.

When Per & Co. went off stage for the first time, the crowd gave a standing ovation and didn’t stop clapping their hands until the band was back on stage.

After Listen To Your Heart – dedicated to Marie and Pelle –, the crowd didn’t stop clapping for a longer while. Per put his hand on his heart and thanked the audience for their response.

After the first encore it was standing ovation again and all in the crowd wanted more. Obviously, the gang wanted more too, so they came back for the second encore.

Before Sommartider Per stood up again and he didn’t even have to suggest the audience to stand up too, we all were up on our feet by the time he would have finished the sentence. At last, a crowd that stayed standing for the very last song too. Before När alla vännerna gått hem, Per said he hopes to meet the audience again. Someone shouted „in Kalmar”, haha. Mr. G appreciated it.

After PG & Co. took a bow and waved goodbye to the audience, they were also applauding the crowd and then Per stopped at longtime fan Sandra Knospe and asked her (not loudly, but writing the number in the air with his finger) if it was already her 300th show. Not much left until then, but her 300th will happen in Malmö.

Next stop is Karlstad on 8th December!

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 show:

Thank you Halmstad for a truly amazing Monday night. So proud to be part of this band. So blessed to get this feedback from you guys and gals. Wow!!! Speechless! /PG.

Per Gessle Unplugged Tour – #8 – 28th November 2021 – Halmstad

by

Halmstad’s first show, just like Göteborg’s, got sold out so fast that an extra gig had to be added for the next day, so in Halmstad there are also two concerts at Halmstad Theatre. Last night’s gig was the only one on tour that was set to start at 18:00. It didn’t turn out why.

It was great to see that couple’s reactions who were sitting next to me. At each song they were first listening if they could find out which hit PG & Co. started to play and when they realized which song it was actually, they had quite some aha moments. They enjoyed the show a lot, just like everyone else in the crowd. You could feel that it’s Per’s hometown and he is loved here. Halmstad is proud of him. They liked the anecdotes a lot – could put the places Per mentioned on the map to be able to imagine the stories Mr. G told about and they awarded the band with long applauses in between the songs. When Per mentioned Marie, the audience gave a loud applause too and also when Helena was singing.

Before Det hjärta som brinner Per mentioned that Gyllene Tider played exactly on this stage. In 1979 they were invited by Ulf Lundell. Per thinks it was Ulf’s birthday, he was on his Ripp rapp tour. Back then they were at the same record company. GT came up on stage for the extra and played Roadrunner at that Ulf Lundell concert. MP stayed on stage after that and played (Oh la la) Jag vill ha dig too. Mr. G remembers that there were small mugs on stage and after singing, he drank from one of them because he thought it was water. It was vodka… Haha.

The crowd had the loudest reactions to GT hits and Mazarin songs. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta, It Must Have Been Love, Vilket håll du än går and När vi två blir en were the most appreciated tracks on the set.

When the guys and girl went off stage for the first time, the whole audience gave a standing ovation and shouted „en gång till”. When they entered the stage again, Per asked if the audience likes the sound. We shouted yes and he said we have to thank it to MP, because he is doing it. The crowd cheered MP.

After the first encore it was standing ovation again and no one wanted to leave, they wanted to hear more from Per and the band. And so they came up on stage again.

Before Sommartider Per stood up and suggested the audience to stand up too if they want. Of course, they wanted. There was a big party with everyone singing along and clapping. After Sommartider all in the crowd sat back into their seats for the last song, but only to give yet another standing ovation at the very end of the gig.

The only disturbing thing was that some people thought it’s fun to go out to the toilet and come back several times during the gig. Of course, they were all sitting in the middle of the rows. But this couldn’t take away the joy Per and the band brought to Halmstad and the audience’s love towards those guys and girl on stage.

Come back tomorrow and we do it again! 2nd Halmstad gig is next on Monday!

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 show:

Wow and wow again. A pretty pretty pretty decent Sunday in Halmstad. Early show today at 6 pm but we had a blast. Fab feedback from the beautiful crowd. This theatre is full of memories for me and MP (today masterminding the FOH-sound). I’m so grateful to finally have been able to perform here. Last time I was on this stage = november 1979! Thanks all for coming, new dice tomorrow, folks!