As we informed you some days ago, you could tweet your questions to Per on Live Nation Australia & New Zealand’s Twitter account. Per replied to 14 questions so far.
It’s not yet known if he continues to answer the remaining Qs or if new ones are coming, but we will keep our eyes open and let you know if he does so. Article will be updated then.
Q: – Per, how do you deliver a song like I’m Glad You Called? I mean clearly it was an emotional hell that break up!
Per: – There are of course bits & pieces of me in those lyrics. But I’m a writer, I make things up.
Q: – Per is there any song from a previous album that you regret not choosing as a single?
Per: – LS, Joyride & CBB had lots of potentials. Sleeping single. Paint. WSL? & more. Tough competition.
Q: – What makes a crowd exceptional to you?
Per: – Every crowd is great. Rox-fans are glowing with positive energy. How could you not love that?
Q: – Hello! Will Roxette be re-releasing any rare songs like “I Want You” in the near future?
Per: – Not IWY. It was made with other artists & belongs to another rec. company. But other fun stuff might pop up.
Q: – 24 years wondering what will be the perfume that he uses? Time flies.
Per: – Perfume is good for you. I change a bit. Bottega Veneta got some nice ones for guys like me.
Q: – U talked about re-release old roxette’s vhs and DVDs. It will happen? When?! Looks promising!
Per: – Hope so. Everything is kinda upside down at the moment with the EMI/Warner-merger. One of these years.
Q: – Can you please do that epic mashup of ‘crash boom bang’/’anyone’ again please?
Per: – Yea, that was cool. No promises though…
Q: – Are there songs that are tricky to do live? Have u ever tried 1 that u couldn’t make work live? If so, which?
Per: – Most early ones are tricky because they were made for the studio, not necessarily to be played live… You have to re-think some songs to make them work live w/ a band w/o using computers & other devices.
Q: – Can we expect high-tech lighting or any mind blowing, dramatic stage production changes in 2015?
Per: – Cirque de Soleil here we come!
Q: – When you tour do you find it hard to adjust to the different timezones?
Per: – No, it’s fine. As long as you get some sleep you’ll adjust pretty easy.
Q: – Per! Do you plan to tour for many more years? Will Roxette be neverending?
Per: – Yes, both Marie and myself love to tour and perform so I’m pretty sure we will continue.
Q: – Do you ever see photos uploaded to social media of yourself with fans and wish you could have a retake?
Per: – Every day!!!
Q: – So glad you are coming back to Oz! Can we expect some surprises like maybe some unreleased songs in your shows?
Per: – We start rehearsing in September so until then I don’t know. But we’ll try out some different stuff for sure.
Q: – Per, what out of all the Roxette albums is your favourite one?
Per: – LS! is cool because it just came down from the sky. It was created without fame, fortune & expectations.
Some more answers were added on 25th June:
Q: – Does it blow your mind that there are so many hard-core fans in distant lands (New Zee) after all these years?
Per: – Yes, never take it for granted.This biz eats acts for bfast=to have global fans after all these years is fab!
Q: – Tell me your favorite Roxette lyrics, the ones that mean the most. I need ideas for a tattoo!!!
Per: – I’m living in a box but I’m out when opportunity nox!
Q: – G’day from Oz Per! With all your frequent F.L.Y.I.N.G, have you ever thought of buying your own private Jet?
Per: – Hahaha. Good one. Of course. Per Air!
Q: – When you sit down to write, do you write both melody & lyrics or does one come first (usually)?
Per: – Both work for me. I usually start with music but sometimes a phrase or an idea for a title makes me tick.
Q: – What is the biggest advantage of playing live? Are there also disadvantages?
Per: – Live = very different from being in the studio. All songs are written for the studio so you have to make them work live, which can be tuff.
Q: – Per, what song took the longest to piece together (vocals, music etc)?
Per: – Most of In My Own Way was written in 84 but only finished in 2010. Very unusual=I’m fast when writing.
Q: – Per do you like the You don´t want love production? You think in the next Rox album will inc a song like this?
Per: – I really enjoy some EDM music. Definitely you’ll hear those influences in the future. But in our special way.
The Swedish rockabilly trio JLT (John Lindberg Trio) just released a new album called “DiG iT!” which features the song “Still In My Car”, co-written by Per Gessle (music). Per initially wrote the song in Swedish under the title “Kvar i min bil”, as you may have already guessed, and now the trio has written English lyrics to it. The song is the trio’s new single as well.