Marie Fredriksson has died

by

We are very sad to share this press note from Marie’s management with you. All our love to Marie’s husband and children as well as her beloved ones.

Marie Fredriksson of Roxette has died

It is with great sadness we have to announce that Marie Fredriksson of Roxette has passed away in the morning of December 9, following a 17-year long battle with cancer.

Marie was born on the 30th of May 1958 in the south of Sweden, starting her musical career in nearby Halmstad where she became friends with future Roxette companion Per Gessle. Following a successful solo debut in 1984, Marie Fredriksson became one of Sweden’s most loved and successful artists. In 1986 she teamed up with Per in Roxette with the ambition to reach outside Sweden, and together they started a historical journey that in the coming years would make them one of the biggest pop acts in the world.

The debut single ”Neverending Love” followed by the album ”Pearls of Passion” in 1986 made them stars in Sweden, but international recognition would have to wait until the single ”The Look” from Roxette’s second album ”Look Sharp!” in the spring of 1989 opened the doors to a massive international breakthrough. It was their first No 1 single on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and would be followed by ”Listen To Your Heart”, ”It Must Have Been Love” and ”Joyride”, as well as numerous worldwide radio staples like ”Dressed For Success”, ”How Do You Do!”, ”Sleeping In My Car”, ”Dangerous”, “Fading Like A Flower” and many more.

The massive success with sales of more than 80 million records paved the way for several worldwide tours, cementing Marie Fredriksson’s reputation as a sensational live performer. She owned the stage, commanded the band and had the audience in the palm of her hand. As great as she was in the studio, the stage was her natural habitat. This unique artistry and energy helped to create a lasting bond between her and millions of passionate fans around the globe.

In 2002, Marie was diagnosed with a severe brain tumor, receiving an aggressive treatment that took its toll but ultimately was successful. Thanks to her extremely strong fighting spirit, Marie by 2009 was able to start a gradual return to the world’s stages. The unlikely second coming of Roxette resulted in several new albums, and tours that again put the duo in front of screaming, smiling and crying crowds all over the world. During the comeback years Marie was an amazing trooper, overcoming the many rigors of touring in order to meet her fans on stage again and again. But by 2016, the show was finally over when Marie´s doctors advised her to stop touring and focus on her health.

Marie leaves us a grand musical legacy. Her amazing voice – both strong and sensitive – and her magical live performances will be remembered by all of us who was lucky enough to witness them. But we also remember a wonderful person with a huge appetite for life, and woman with a very big heart who cared for everybody she met.

Per Gessle comments:

“Time goes by so quickly. It’s not that long ago we spent days and nights in my tiny apartment in Halmstad, listening to music we loved, sharing impossible dreams. And what a dream we eventually got to share!

Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours. You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years. I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour. All my love goes out to you and your family. Things will never be the same.

P.”

Marie Fredriksson’s husband Mikael Bolyos and her two children Josefin and Oscar kindly ask for respect in their grief.
The funeral will take place in silence with only Marie’s closest family present.

Stockholm, December 2019.
Dimberg Jernberg Management

Gyllene Tider – Detektiv is out!

by

Gyllene Tider’s last surprise in their 40th anniversary year is to release a limited edition 7″ vinyl single in 500 copies on 6th December! Their new song, Detektiv is going to be on side A and 2, so far unreleased song versions, Tuff tuff tuff (som ett lokomotiv) and Du måste verkligen skämta will appear on side B. The B-side won’t be released digitally, but Detektiv is already out today on all streaming sites (Spotify, Deezer, iTunes).

Detektiv is not a completely unknown song to hardcore fans. It’s the Swedish recycling of Detective Jones. The guys recorded it in France for their last album, but as Per says, ”it’s an uptempo one, very catchy. But it didn’t fit the album. We’re old fashioned.” So it became a left-over song from Samma skrot och korn and is now out separately on single and on the compilation album. It’s nice to hear the detective story now in Swedish. Funny thing is that he doesn’t have a name in the Swedish version. Could have been Detektiv Johansson?

Tuff tuff tuff (som ett lokomotiv) was recorded in the rehearsal studio in Harplinge on 1st January 1981. Per’s comment to this song was: ”You may wonder how New Year’s Eve was…” Someone had a cold, that’s for sure.

Du måste verkligen skämta is a late jam session from the recordings of Finn 5 fel! down in Skåne. It’s a very… ehm… Per says it’s ”old fashioned stuff made with 90% joy + 10% wine!” Haha. You will have to judge it yourself once you hear it.

The limited edition single is already sold out in all webshops, but rumor has it there will be a few copies available in record stores in Sweden on release day. All three songs are much fun, so it’s worth trying your luck with obtaining 1 of those 500 copies.

Those who are not able to get hold of the physical single can enjoy Detektiv online and on the GT40 Hits! Made in Halmstad compilation being out also on 6th December. HERE you can check the details of that release.

Now, sing along!

Detektiv

De reste fort
En enkel plan, de ville få det gjort
De såg en kvinna på kvarterets krog
Hon märkte knappast att en slägga slog
Man hittade henne i en hög i en skog

Ännu ett fall för vår detektiv
Han zoomar objektiv så du kan sova
Ett SOS till vår detektiv
Hans styrka är massiv så du kan sova

Det fanns en man
Han skrev på nätet, allt var nästan sant
Sen föll han ner ifrån sitt trånga rum
Från sin balkong och grannen hon är stum
Allt är ett stort mysterium

Ett typiskt fall för vår detektiv
Han zoomar objektiv så du kan sova
Ett SOS till vår detektiv
Han visar nio liv så du kan sova

I vår stad
Där mörkret gömmer mörkermän
I vår stad
Han kikar vid en persienn

Ännu ett fall för vår detektiv
Han kryssar av motiv så du kan somna
Märkta ess för vår detektiv
Trimmad och effektiv så du kan somna om

Vår detektiv
Vår detektiv

© Per Gessle/Jimmy Fun Music

 

 

Gyllene Tider – GT40 Hits! Made in Halmstad

by

As we probably all expected, Gyllene Tider will release a greatest hits album in a few weeks. To make it more exciting, the guys decided to add 2 songs they never released before. One of them is Filmen om ditt liv, which is from the recordings of Finn 5 fel! and Detektiv, which is a leftover song from Samma skrot och korn. Per already talked about the latter one in the GT interview I did with him a couple of months ago before their farewell tour, after their last album came out:

PP: – You recorded 15 songs of which 14 made it to the album. What happened to that one missing?

PG: –  Hahaha, it will probably come out before xmas. It’s an uptempo one, very catchy. But it didn’t fit the album. We’re old fashioned.

So, it will indeed be out before Christmas as it seems. The release date is 6th December. And as an extra bonus, Du är en gangster, älskling! will also be included. So far it was released only on GT’s Halmstads pärlor compilation album.

The greatest hits album will be out on double LP and double CD. The vinyl will contain 24 songs, the double CD will contain… yeah, you guessed it: 40! The digital version will probably list the CD’s tracks.

Tracklist of the vinyl (double LP)

LP 1

Side A

  1. Sommartider
  2. När vi två blir en
  3. Gå & fiska!
  4. Flickorna på TV2
  5. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
  6. Filmen om ditt liv

Side B

  1. Detektiv
  2. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
  3. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän
  4. Tuffa tider (för en drömmare)
  5. Kung av sand
  6. Du är en gangster, älskling!

LP 2

Side A

  1. Juni, juli, augusti
  2. Det är över nu
  3. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
  4. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly
  5. Faller ner på knä
  6. Tylö Sun

Side B

  1. Bäst när det gäller
  2. Skrot och kron
  3. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
  4. Det hjärta som brinner
  5. Billy
  6. När alla vännerna gått hem

Tracklist of the double CD

Disc 1

  1. Flickorna på TV2
  2. (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet
  3. Sommartider
  4. När vi två blir en
  5. Gå & fiska!
  6. Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
  7. Man blir yr
  8. (Dansar inte lika bra som) Sjömän
  9. Detektiv
  10. Det hjärta som brinner
  11. Tylö Sun
  12. Kung av sand
  13. Juni, juli, augusti
  14. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång
  15. Det är över nu
  16. Skrot och korn
  17. Filmen om ditt liv
  18. För dina bruna ögons skull
  19. Revolver upp
  20. Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly

Disc 2

  1. Bäst när det gäller
  2. Billy
  3. En sten vid en sjö i en skog
  4. Singel
  5. Faller ner på knä
  6. Tuffa tider (för en drömmare)
  7. Allt jag lärt mej om livet (har jag lärt mej av Vera)
  8. Vandrar i ett sommarregn
  9. Fån telefon
  10. Du är en gangster, älskling!
  11. Det blir aldrig som man tänkt sej
  12. Honung och guld
  13. Break Another Heart
  14. (Hon vill ha) Puls
  15. Jag drömde jag mötte Fluortanten
  16. Kärleken är inte blind (men ganska närsynt)
  17. Chrissie, hur mår du?
  18. Teaser Japanese
  19. Teena
  20. När alla vännerna gått hem

You can already pre-order the album at Bengans, Ginza and CDON.

 

Per Gessle nominated as Hallandian of The Year!

by

It’s the first time that Halland Marketing Association (Marknadsförening i Halland, MiH) in cooperation with Hallandsposten and Hallands Nyheter will award a prize to Hallandian of The Year. To receive the prize, the recipient must have done good publicity for Halland county and worked publicly for the county’s best.

There are 6 nominees who were chosen from a list of 40 suggested by Hallandsposten readers earlier this autumn. It was difficult to pick these 6 people. They all did great PR for Halland over the years in their own way.

Nominees

  1. Janne Andersson – coach of the Swedish national soccer team
  2. Linnea Henriksson – singer, songwriter
  3. Boris Lennerhov – CEO of Scandinavia’s largest department store Gekås Ullared
  4. Kålle Gunnarsson – producer, director (theatre)
  5. Per Gessle – one of Sweden’s most successful artists and songwriters, musical genius, world artist
  6. Lisa Lemke – freelance food creator, food stylist, pizzeria owner, television chef

The jury’s motivation for nominating Per: “One of Sweden’s most successful artists and songwriters. A world artist and musical genius who has gilded many people’s lives with Roxette, as a solo artist and as a front figure in Gyllene Tider for 40 years. This summer’s successful farewell tour GT40 attracted a record number of visitors. Per has received several prestigious awards such as Grammys, Rock Bears and the King’s Medal. Per is one of three Swedish artists who topped the Billboard charts, the most powerful in the music world. In addition, he writes songs for a wide range of other artists, owns Hotel Tylösand and produces his own wines and champagne with a local touch.”

To vote, you have to send an SMS with this text: “HP ÅH Per” to the number 72010 in Sweden. You can vote until 29th November and the gala where the winner will be announced is held on 19th December in Halmstad Arena. Hallandian of The Year will be awarded a unique painting by Halland artist Dagmar Glemme and his / her photo will be installed at Halmstad Airport. The idea is to place all future winners’ photos there too.

Good luck, Mr. G!

Gyllene Tider – GT40 – PLECtionary update

by
Collage of the recently added picks by Sandra Knospe

It’s nice to update the PLECtionary each year, because that means there is a tour each year. This time it was Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour that provided us with some additional guitar picks. Per shared a picture of his new set of 7 GT40 plectrums mid June and then we could start working out our pick-catching techniques for July-August.

Many fans were lucky enough to get hold of some of the plecs Per threw to the crowd during the gigs or before leaving the stage at the end of the shows. Sometimes even Micke Syd helped Mr. G in distributing his picks from the stage. Haha. This time MP was also in the mood to throw his own picks at the concerts, so those who were standing on the left in the audience had a good chance to become the new owners of MP’s plecs.

Sandra could of course obtain the plectrums and we are happy that she found the time to take pics of them and provide us with info she got to know about each of these little plastic beauties.

7 new picks are added to the PER GESSLE’S GUITAR PICKS – GYLLENE TIDER section, 6 picks are added to the MATS MP PERSSON’S GUITAR PICKS section and 1 pick has been added to the MIKAEL NOGUEIRA SVENSSON’S GUITAR PICKS section as well. Anders uses non-customized picks, so his pick from the GT40 tour is now added to the OTHER RELATED GUITAR PICKS section. Check out the PLECtionary HERE!

Thanks a million for the updates, Sandra!

Pic by Patrícia Peres taken in Karlstad 2019