Summer is long gone, but oh what a vacker summer we had! Per Gessle went on a most fantastic solo tour and of course, some beauty guitar picks came hand in hand with the concerts. We first got to see the new set of Mr. G’s plectrums in May (white, black, red) and couldn’t wait to stand in front of Per in the audience and catch some plecs. Fortunately, a huge amount of picks were produced, so many fans got lucky at each show.
Sandra Knospe has all the latest guitar picks and she sent us her photos and trivia, so now the PLECtionary is updated. The new picks are No. 109-117 and you’ll find a funny extra pick from the past that Sandra just got hold of. It’s No. 172. Check out the PLECtionary HERE!
For obvious reasons, during the past few months there weren’t as many plectrum updates as used to be, but then in July something popped up on a certain Instagram account. Per Gessle posted a picture of a guitar pick saying ”New guitar pick, flipside!”. We all started wondering what the text (What’s been played with this pick stays with this pick) and sealed-lips emoji on the plectrum could refer to and it didn’t last too long to find out it had surely been produced for private gigs.
We had to wait 2 months to see where the pick was used and it turned out it was the only occasion Per played it. It happened at a birthday party at A.b.b.e.y. R.o.a.d. S.t.u.d.i.o.s. Wow! It must have been an awesome feeling to play at such a historical & magical place.
What the pick (1; 2) says is not completely true though. Of course we don’t know the full setlist, but we know the band played The Look and more importantly, they also played Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång). Huh? Who would have thought that Per would EVER play THIS song at THAT place? Yep, it was a Swedish business man’s birthday party after all, but still! It’s just amazing!
Fortunately, Mr. G was generous enough to share the pick with the greatest plec collector among Roxers, Sandra Knospe and this way the PLECtionary could be updated. Woohoo! Check it out!
We asked Sandra how she feels about having this item in her collection:
I remember that Per mentioned in the interview about the guitar picks, that he considers it a mission to help me find Plectrum-Nirvana. And I also remember how shocked (in a positive way) I was when I read this back then. That alone was more than I ever could wish for. Of course I didn’t dare to believe that he actually would make it true. But he really did. More than just once. And I still can’t believe it. I am so happy and grateful that he helps me to keep the collection complete. And it also makes things so much easier. It sometimes is like pulling teeth if you try to swap a missing pick with somebody, esp. such rare ones that have not even been played at public events. So thank you again, Per, for being such a kind person and also for making the hunt much easier. I can’t find the right words to explain good enough how much I appreciate that. But I so do!!!
Huge thanks again for the updates, Sandra and much appreciation to Mr. G for making it possible!
The last time the PLECtionary got updated was in August 2015, right before the last show of the European tour leg. Now one tour leg later, an update is due again. We hoped for new picks for the South African shows, but we couldn’t be sure there would be any new plectrums until Per posted the photo of the guitar pick they designed especially for South Africa (Roxette FB, Per IG, Roxette IG).
It wasn’t clear at first sight whether it was only one pick and Mr. G showed the 2 sides of it or it was 2 different picks, but soon it turned out they got back to the roots, making it more limited, so it’s only one pick with the South African flag on one side and GESSLE ON THE ROXXX on the other side. Looking good! Haute couture, as the master says.
Sandra was there in South Africa and she could now take photo of it to include the plec (No. 107) in the PLECtionary. More than that, thanks to her we can also add Per’s guitar technician’s, Micke N-S’s new pick (No. 108) and in the meantime Sandra could obtain one of the Night of the Proms plectrums (No. 26) she had been looking for since a long time, so it’s now in the PLECtionary as well.
Besides these 3 new additions, you will find a separate section for the misprinted picks. The misprinted ones mean something went wrong during the production and e.g. the design or the text is missing on one side. With this update you see 2 misprinted plecs, No. 77 and No. 96.
The last time we updated the PLECtionary was 5 months ago. The XXX tour’s European leg did deserve some new Per Gessle guitar picks, so it’s time for another update. Mr. G posted on Roxette’s Facebook page on 28th March that they had just ordered new plecs for the then upcoming tour leg. The picks were ready in time and he posted a photo of the new beauties some days before the first European gig in Milan.
Aaaah at last! My new guitar picks!!! Enjoy and grab one flying like a rocket at the shows, folks!!! /P.
Reading the word rocket I thought immediately of a real gem on The Per Gessle Archives and this went on and on in my head ”Picks are everywhere / catch a rocket in the air / be ready when they’re there / like a rocket in the air!” Oh well… Grabbing a flying plec is really not that easy, but not impossible at all. There are many lucky Roxers who will surely pop til they drop having a Gessle pick in their collection and there are many who still can’t believe they obtained a pick touched by the hand of Per.
I thought it was convenient to say a big THANK YOU to:
….
DUNLOP CUSTOM PICKS
for those custom made picks I do my best to spread around the globe with mixed results. Hey, you’re pretty good at catchin’!! To my defense, those red acoustic guitar picks are so thin, they won’t fly…..
Sandra Knospe is of course both handy and lucky, so the PLECtionary gets its update. Sandra found the time in between heavy touring and her also busy non-Rox-World-related life and now before the last show this year in Europe she took the photos and shared the trivia she knows about the plectrums. Check out the PLECtionary and look for the guitar picks No. 100-105! It also includes a new print of the latest Professor Lundquist pick. At No. 157 you’ll find another new item, a Mister Magnus pick. You know, he’s the viking member of the band whose fave Rox album is Baladas en español. Vikings don’t need customized plectrums. Haha.
Huge thanx again for the updates, Sandra! Your collection looks more and more eXXXquisite!
So, one more gig is left for this year and you have the chance to confirm that Per is right when he says we are pretty good at catchin’. Once you catch a pick you have to take care of it though. The print on them is a little bit dangerous. Good luck, you all!
Pic by Sandra Knospe
Per is talking about the plecs and more in this interview.
If you are interested in reading some more about Sandra’s collection, check out the interview with her.
The last time the PLECtionary got updated was eXXXactly 3 months ago today. Let’s celebrate it with adding some more picks to it!
Since the 2014 picks weren’t really used (check in the PLECtionary, why), it was evident Per needed new plectrums for the New Zealand – Australia leg of the tour. He shared a photo of his new guitar picks one day before the Auckland show. We could all agree on these were fitting NZ-Oz quite much and that they are hilarious with the funny texts on them.
Sandra Knospe decided to see the band live in Australia in February and during the concerts she attended she could collect all the latest Per Gessle plecs, as well as one Christoffer pick and one Micke N-S plectrum. After getting back home, she found the time to take the pics of all the beauties and tell the trivia she knows about them, so 8 plectrums are added this time to her already stunning collection. Check out the PLECtionary and look for the guitar picks No. 92-99!
There are plenty of the picks produced for NZ-Oz, so maybe there are enough left for at least the European leg of the tour. The designs are fitting Australia more, but of course we’re happy to catch them in Europe, too. 😉 (Update on 28th March: Per says there will be new picks for Europe.) 7 weeks left until the tour goes on! Woohoo!
Huge thanx for the updates, Sandra! We’re eXXXtremely happy that your collection is growing and growing!
Photo by Sandra Knospe
Per is talking about the plecs and more in this interview.
If you are interested in reading some more about Sandra’s collection, check out the interview with her.
It wasn’t clear at first sight whether it was only one pick and Mr. G showed the 2 sides of it or it was 2 different picks, but soon it turned out they got back to the roots, making it more limited, so it’s only one pick with the South African flag on one side and GESSLE ON THE ROXXX on the other side. Looking good! Haute couture, as the master says.
