TV

Per Gessle at Late Night Concert

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Late Night Concert is a collaboration between Live Nation and TV4, which premiered this spring and was recorded at an empty Gröna Lund. The format was born out of the current situation when live music has fallen silent when concerts have been forced to scale down and is based on the idea of spreading live music out into the country and home to the TV couches.

The second season was recorded at Cirkus in Stockholm without an audience and is broadcast on TV4. The program can also be seen on TV4 Play and C More.

Per Gessle’s Late Night Concert day was 16th December. You can watch it HERE (if you live in the EU or can use VPN)! When we are on tour, we expect more and more people to attend the shows and now… we can be happy for concerts where there is literally no one in the audience. How weird this 2020 is. At the same time, we can be grateful that at least this way we can enjoy Mr. G’s performance. Who knows when it will be possible to go on tour again.

Per chose to perform an unplugged set and what a great decision it was! It’s not the first time he plays unplugged. We all remember MTV Unplugged from 1993. It happened at the same place, Cirkus in Stockholm and Mr. G was wearing a similar wild cat shirt. Now there were less instruments and no John Lennon sunglasses.

Helena Josefsson, Clarence Öfwerman, Christoffer Lundquist and Magnus Börjeson joined Per on stage. They played 9 songs (2 Roxette, 1 Gyllene Tider, 6 Per solo).

Setlist

  1. På promenad genom stan
  2. Småstadsprat
  3. Listen To Your Heart
  4. Tycker om när du tar på mej
  5. Ömhet
  6. I din hand
  7. Segla på ett moln
  8. Honung och guld
  9. It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)

All songs sounded wonderful in this arrangement. I’m a fan of rock concerts and jumping in the crowd, but hey, I want this acoustic set in real life! Not the first time I’m dreaming about an acoustic tour, but now I crave it even more. I mean Per’s vocals were so emotional and Helena was singing beautifully and Clarence, Chris and Magnus were playing so softly, all that absolutely fit the intimate atmosphere. 3 songs put me into tears. Listen To Your Heart… before you tell her goodbye… Gosh… Then Segla på ett moln for whatever reason and then of course, It Must Have Been Love. Oh well, music and its effects. It was amazing to hear songs live from Per’s latest solo album, Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig.

Between Småstadsprat and Listen To Your Heart Per talked about his MTV Unplugged 1993 experience. He said he played Cirkus several times, but he remembers most of all the MTV recording. They were the first non-English or non-American band that was invited to play on the program. He remembers that he was wearing a leopard shirt back then and that’s why he is wearing a leopard shirt now, to celebrate it.

Before playing Ömhet, Mr. G talked about being isolated due to the pandemic and that he thought to record an album based on his old material written in the 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. His idea was to play all instruments himself to make it as personal as possible. He tried to breathe new life into those old songs. He thinks it became a pretty cool album.

Before It Must Have Been Love, Per talked about the story of it. He says it’s a super special song. It started out as a Christmas song in 1987 and it was a success in Sweden. The story behind is that their German record label advised them to write a Christmas song so they might get airplay on German radio, because they couldn’t manage it with their debut album, Pearls of Passion. So they recorded IMHBL, presented it to the German, but they didn’t like it. Then in 1990 they were asked to cooperate in the soundtrack of a movie then called 3000. They were travelling around the world with Roxette then and didn’t have time to record a new song. They thought to use IMHBL, just changing Christmas day to winter’s day in the lyrics, recorded a new intro and mixed it differently. The title of the movie was changed to Pretty Woman and became a huge success. IMHBL became Roxette’s probably biggest hit.

The concert was beautifully recorded from great camera angles. I could have lived without the ads in between the songs and it’s always better to see the support acts before the main act comes on stage, but other than that, concentrating solely on the PERformance itself, it was really a fab recording.

Dear Covid-19, don’t you dare ruin our 2021 as well! Besides many other things in a so called normal life, we need tours too!

Thanks a lot to Live Nation and TV4 for bringing Per Gessle into our living rooms and thanks Mr. G & Co. for the beautiful interpretation of these 9 songs. We want more of this! I just had to watch it again right after it ended. And I guess I will give it some more plays. Did I mention it was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L.???

Stills are from the program.

Per Gessle’s opinion about the recordings:

Had a blast recording the Unplugged Late Night Concert at Cirkus in Sthlm. My favourite players and singers around me. Wunderbar.
Missed you guys out there, of course, but that’s the way it is on Mother Earth right now. Hope you liked it too and didn’t find too slow or too cozy. I wanted it to be intimate since we couldn’t interact with any audience.
If you missed it I’m sure you can catch it on TV4 Play. Love to you all! Stay safe + sound! /P.
For those outside the EU, TV4 uploaded Listen To Your Heart to their YouTube.

Per Gessle interview on Dzien Dobry TVN, Poland

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Dzien Dobry TVN, morning show on TV in Poland asked Per Gessle for a video interview that was broadcast this morning. You can watch it HERE! After an intro talk about Roxette’s success and Marie’s passing away, Gabi Drzewiecka interviewed Mr. G.

Gabi tells Bag of Trix is not only a huge thing for fans, but for all the people, because it contains much material that hasn’t been released before. She is curious how Per decided to release it. Per tells in spring he started going through the archives and he was surprised there was so much stuff they haven’t released yet. He found the Abbey Road Sessions from 1995, some songs that were released on CD singles back in the days and now that we are in a streaming world they are not there anymore. Some are very special, because those are from the times when they were very young and they took their first steps singing together and finding things out together with Marie. He thinks it’s just great to hear.

Gabi asks Per about Marie and says it hit the world that she passed away a year ago. She is curious how Per has been during this past year. Per tells they have known each other since they were in their teens in the 70’s, so it’s been a long journey. It’s hard of course, but he is reminded of Marie every day. She was ill for a long time so they knew the day would come, but you can’t prepare for that. He thinks most people who lost their family members or close friends know what he is talking about. She is very much missed, but he is very proud to have been working with her for so many years. And she is still among us with her music.

Gabi tells Roxette stayed in Stockholm, Sweden to record. She asks if they were stubborn to stay there. Per says Marie was the stubborn one. Their record label wanted them to move to Los Angeles or at least to London, but Marie sticked to staying in Stockholm where she had her friends and family. Per was thinking maybe they could go more into the centre of the music world, but in the end he thinks it was a wise move to stay in Sweden.

Gabi asks if staying in Stockholm maybe protected them from the craziness and madness that could have happened. Per thinks it could be. He still works together with the people who they started to work with in the 80’s, so he thinks this stability really protected them from the craziness in the music business.

Gabi is curious if Per knows how to rest. Per tells he is doing his best. Gabi tells there is Roxette, Per’s family, his hotel, so many to do, but she is curious where is the time for doing nothing. Per tells he is trying not to work all the time. When you have the work you love as an artist it’s a way of life. He doesn’t feel like he is working, but he is probably working all the time. He laughs.

Gabi thanks Per in Swedish for the conversation and Per wishes merry Xmas.

Stills are from the TV program.

Thanks for the technical support, Tomasz Wysocki!

Per Gessle interview on Canal 13, Argentina

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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.

Per Gessle – Late Night Concert at Cirkus without audience

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Live Nation and TV4 follow up the acclaimed TV format Late Night Concert with a second season. This time we get to see some of Sweden’s most beloved artists perform from Cirkus & Hasselbacken in Stockholm without an audience, with a completely new extra stage. The program is broadcast on Wednesdays and Thursdays in December with a final on Christmas Eve. All six episodes of the second season can be seen on TV4, TV4 Play and C More.

Late Night Concert is a collaboration between Live Nation and TV4, which premiered this spring and was recorded at an empty Gröna Lund. The format was born out of the current situation when live music has fallen silent when concerts have been forced to scale down and is based on the idea of spreading live music out into the country and home to the TV couches.

In the second season, which premieres on the second of December, artists such as Agnes, Miss Li, Jill Johnson, Per Gessle, Myra Granberg, Carola, Astrid S, Victor Leksell and others will appear. In addition to a strong line-up with some of Sweden’s most well-known and playing artists, the program will be broadcast from the classic concert arena Cirkus in Stockholm. New for the season is also the brand new stage “It’s Hits”, which summarizes the music year 2020 when some of the most appreciated artists and songs on Spotify in Sweden take the stage.

“After this summer’s success, we have been overwhelmed by tributes from viewers who appreciate the new concert format. It’s great that we have managed to deliver a high quality and innovative concert experience. TV4 loves music and it is a brilliant example of a unique program format born during this pandemic “, says Jonathan Nordin, Executive Producer at TV4.

“Late Night Concert has not only been extremely appreciated by viewers and artists, it has also created new hits. Zara Larsson’s and Carola’s duet “Säg Mig Var Du Står” which was born in the program has topped the lists on Spotify with over 10 million listens and is already a modern classic “, says Peter Björklund, Marketing Partnership Manager at Live Nation.

Late Night Concert is recorded at Cirkus without an audience and is broadcast on TV4. The program can also be seen on TV4 Play and C More. More artists are announced on an ongoing basis. Partners in the program are Coca-Cola, Karl Fazer, Mio, Polestar, Sonos and Spotify.

Broadcast times – Late Night Concert winter 2020

Wednesday 2/12 23:00, Late Night Concert Part1 – Carola, Mariette, Samuel Ljungbladh
Thursday 3/12 23:00, Late Night Concert Part 2 – Miss Li, Myra Granberg & Newkid
Wednesday 9/12 23:00, Late Night Concert Part 3 – Agnes, Madi Banja & Sandro Cavazza
Wednesday 16/12 23:00, Late Night Concert Part 4 – Per Gessle, Astrid S & Victor Leksell
Thursday 17/12 23:00, Late Night Concert Part 5 – Jill Johnson, Robin Stjernberg, Smith & Thell
Christmas Eve 24/12 20:00, Christmas Concert – Late Night Christmas

Concerts are appr. 45 minutes long. The show will probably be available for watching in Sweden only.

Photo by Patrícia Peres, GT40 Tour, Fredrikstad

Per Gessle on Efter fem on TV4

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Per Gessle appeared on Efter fem on TV4 today. Program leader Tilde de Paula Eby started with telling that many say ”Roxette is the soundtrack of my life”. Roxette has 4 US No. 1 hits, sold 80 million records, there is a new release with Roxette’s so far unreleased songs and a new solo album by Per Gessle. Many things are going on. Per says it fits him perfectly. Tilde asks her colleague to continue. Axel says it’s not too easy to summarize Per Gessle’s career in two minutes, but he tries to.

We go back 40 years in time and Axel shows a pic of Gyllene Tider as the first band Per broke through with. Then he started Roxette with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and they broke through internationally in 1989. They reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts with 4 of their songs. Per’s most memorable solo album is Mazarin from 2003. Now he released a new solo album, Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig.

Per says he is very proud and happy about all of these. It’s a long career. Tilde says Per is the type of person who is always working on something new, but she is curious if Per looks back on his past experiences every now and then. Per says not intentionally, but when he e.g. hears Roxette songs at the airport or wherever, he is of course reminded of all what happened. But he doesn’t start reading books about himself.

Tilde asks Mr. G if he is excited when he hears his own song on the radio today. Per says he can’t listen to Sommartider. If it comes on the radio, he turns it down. Haha. He says of course, when he hears any of his songs on the radio he is proud.

Tilde asks Per to tell her about his new album. Mr. G says it was recorded thanks to the pandemic. He was isolated in Halmstad, he didn’t have much to do, so he went to the studio and he had the ambition to play as many instruments as possible himself and record an album. He didn’t have new songs though, so he started digging in his archives. He found stuff he liked from the 80’s and 90’s mainly. He found songs that were forgotten, songs that were recorded in quite clumsy versions and songs he gave to other artists. He tried to find 12-13 songs that still feel relevant. The album is very much acoustic and sparsely produced. He tried to play as many instruments as possible, so there was a little hey-ho in between. He also asked help from local musicians in Halmstad. He thinks it turned out to be nice.

Tilde asks Mr. G what he thinks about himself when he is listening to his songs from the 80’s and 90’s. He doesn’t know, but the songs get another meaning when he sings them now as a 60-year-old. So a love song he wrote when he was 23 gets another meaning. When he sings it now, it becomes sentimental, it feels like looking back on his youth. The text gets a different point of view and that’s exciting.

Tilde is curious if Per was nervous or if there was anticipation when he released this latest album with songs from the past. If the feelings were the same as his experience in the 80’s when he released them. She also asks if it feels safe for him. Per says he feels safe, otherwise he wouldn’t have dared to play those instruments himself. It feels different now than back then. Also it was different with their international career. Back then they were checking the positions on radio charts. Those times are over for him.

With Roxette he also releases almost 50 songs now. Per says those are mostly unreleased demos or songs that disappeared when streaming became popular. There is also an acoustic session from the 90’s from Abbey Road Studios. There was more material than he thought he would find. It will come out on 4 volumes.

Tilde asks Per how he feels when he goes through the Roxette archives or watches the pictures in the video of Let Your Heart Dance With Me. Per tells the clips in the video were recorded by his wife who travelled with them on tours. It’s great fun to see them. That was an incredible journey. They had their heydays between 1988 and 1995, then Marie had her second child so they took their first break.

Tilde says Marie passed away almost a year ago. She asks Per if he still feels the same grief. Per says there is emptiness, but he is reminded of Marie every day. Them two are Roxette. When he sees all the pictures of themselves or is checking the archives, he is happy. It’s a fantastic journey they did together and it’s only the two of them who could chat about it. He misses it, but he gets happy everytime he hears Marie singing. She was fantastic.

Per always has ongoing projects, but this Swedish album wouldn’t have been released if there was no pandemic. Tilde says it must have been a lot of work to go through the archives and rewrite songs. Per says it’s much fun. He has yet another project besides all the others. Mr. G is working on an English album. He is recording it now. It will be released when it’s ready and it’s ready soon. It might be out next spring. It’s an exciting project for Per. Tilde asks if there are Billboard songs on that album in the making. Per smiles and says he doesn’t know, no, but we will se… One more No. 1 wouldn’t be bad.

Stills are from Efter fem.