Jan-Owe Wikström

Per Gessle’s parallel universe in Hallandsposten

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As it always happens before a tour starts, Jan-Owe Wikström from Hallandsposten did an interview with Per Gessle this time again.

There was a sneak premiere of the Gyllene Tider tour at Leif’s Lounge in Hotel Tylösand last Thursday, release of the new record “Hux Flux” the following day and tour premiere of Gyllene Tider at Brottet in Halmstad on Friday. It is the present.

New solo record already completed for release next year, premiere of the Gyllene Tider movie in 2024 and then also premiere of the musical in Malmö, based on Jane Fallon’s novel “Got You Back” with Roxette’s songs as a basis. It is the future.

Come along into Per Gessle’s parallel universes.

This is how the industry works today. Everything must be planned a year in advance. Least. It’s studios, venues, hotels, staff and everything around that needs to be booked, so it’s important to always be one step ahead.

Per and Jan-Owe are sitting in Per’s house in Sandhamn which, surreally enough, turns 30 this year.

The summer of 2023 lies ahead of Gessle and Gyllene Tider. A new tour awaits. Even though everything was really over that evening on the pontoon outside the Opera House in Oslo on 18th August 2019. Until a red, rectangular Bo Diddley model Gretsch guitar in the fall of 2021 changed everything again. And Hux Flux was Gyllene Tider back.

For some reason, I usually come up with something new when I’ve got a new guitar and these songs screamed for “Gyllene”.

But if he hadn’t suffered from tonsillitis and new covid regulations hadn’t been introduced, there might still not have been a comeback.

That’s how it was. In November, at the end of my 2021 acoustic concert tour, I got tonsillitis and had to cancel the last concerts in December. And when they were to be implemented in January instead, new pandemic restrictions came and everything was moved until April.

That gave me a lot of time to spare, so between December 2021 and April 2022, this album was created. I recorded demos together with MP, where we worked in a completely new way. Since we had so much time this time, compared to the recording of the last record “Samma skrot och korn” in France, we devoted a lot of time to the guitars. We went back, tested, redid and tested again.

Then, when everything was basically ready, we sent the material out to the band. Some songs were just finished in form, but not arranged, then everyone got to make their mark and that’s where Anders came into the picture, who modernized the sound on some.

The rest was recorded at Staffan Karlsson’s Sweetspot Studio outside Harplinge. And the result: an energetic pop album full of string guitars and of course – Farfisa organ.

I was doing the acoustic tour at the time and in parallel also finished PG Roxette, which was an ’80s-90s synth-based pop record. So this became an outlet to play that kind of totally dying guitar pop that I’ve always loved. Old fashioned, a bit punk and edgy where the song “Gammal kärlek rostar aldrig” almost sounds like Plastic Bertrand and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.

It’s difficult to balance between silly and fun, but I try to get on the right side of the line because Gyllene should be a little more fun, a little more kick-ass, which isn’t always easy when you’re 64.

I noticed in retrospect that on the previous Gyllene album from 2019 I had too many songs that were better suited for me as a solo artist. A little more sophisticated and more serious. Gyllene sounds best when it becomes a little more classic power pop, a little more 3-chord fireworks!

And actually, this time I haven’t written a single song that didn’t make it.

Just like the previous record, “Hux Flux” is also available as a vinyl LP in several colors. But the song order on the vinyl version differs from the CD and streaming.

Yes, on an LP there are two opening tracks and therefore you always want a strong, exciting ending on side A to get curious about side B. Otherwise, with the CD and not least streaming, it has easily become that you featured too much music. The LP format is perfect.

The fact that Per still buys vinyl records is due to one reason in particular:

It’s for the album covers. Then I usually play the records on Spotify anyway because it’s easier.

At the same time, he misses the romance of the physical records.

I come from a generation that has a romantic view of the record itself and therefore it is so difficult to accept that it hardly means anything anymore. Without the album covers, the music becomes much more obscure and is consumed in a different way. Most young people probably listen to even more music than my generation did, but they don’t always know WHO they are listening to. Or what the songs are called. Or who wrote and produced. Everything has become one big anonymous stream of music since streaming took off.

In the past you went on tour to promote the records because it was on the records that you made money. Now it’s the other way around. Major tours are very lucrative. Few people care when old artists release new material because it’s the old hits that the masses want to hear. I can only look to myself and have no idea, for example, about the last decade’s Elton John, Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney records.

Jan-Owe is curious how Per has managed to “survive” despite the fact that the music industry has completely changed, both in terms of listening, consuming and the way of writing.

I don’t know. I’ve tried both to try to develop myself and my creation in the digital world while at the same time “going backwards” sometimes and staying with the acoustic and organic in my music. I’m interested in both ways because they bring out different sides of me and my creativity. I absolutely believe that as long as you have fun and work consistently, a certain amount of success will come naturally. But of course, if you want to reach the top of the charts around the world, all the stars must be aligned. It is completely out of my control.

Jan-Owe asks Per how he knows if a new song fits his solo project, PG Roxette or Gyllene Tider.

I actually try to write as little as possible. But I always have the antennas out. Sometimes an idea pops up when I’m strumming the guitar in front of the TV and I save the idea on my iPhone. When I’m working on a project, I go through everything I’ve collected and use some for what I’m working on at the moment. This is a pretty typical scenario how I write songs. I do puzzles.

I almost never sit down and write lyrics or complete songs if I don’t have a project going on. That way, I almost always know from the start what I’m looking for.

For the audience, Hux Flux, the album is brand new. But for Per, MP, Anders, Göran and Micke Syd, it is already fifteen months old when Per reveals which minute is the most important at a concert:

It is the last 30 seconds before the concert starts and the first 30 after it has started. Then the expectations are maximized and that is why the first impression is so extremely important.

There are more songs that can be played live this time compared to the last record. But at the same time, over the years, we have built up a treasure trove of songs that means we can’t skip “Leva livet”, “Tylö Sun” or “Sommartider”. People expect them as they have such strong nostalgia value and many have lots of memories and connections to those songs.

Then the old songs are on so many playlists. It’s the same with Roxette, we’re constantly increasing on Spotify. If we release a new single, it gets 30-40,000 streams in the first few days, while “It Must Have Been Love” gets 400,000 streams on any given day. Then you think: Why can’t people listen to the new song instead? But it doesn’t work that way.

That Gessle, when “Hux Flux” was finished a year ago, would take it easy and wait for it was not on the map either. Instead, he has spent the winter and spring completing his new solo record, which he just finished with a planned release sometime in 2024.

I wanted to finish this record before I enter the Gyllene bubble that lasts until September.

Per gives a hint of how it sounds:

It has a bit of a summery Mazarin feel. I play many instruments myself but have the help of many new acquaintances. It’s a super exciting project.

The start of filming for the new Gyllene Tider film is in the pipeline with the band bringing the cast to the stage at the sneak premiere at Leif’s Lounge last week.

It starts filming in August with a premiere next year and if the film is as good as the script, it will be awesome. The film is not a documentary depicting Gyllene’s enormously long career, but is about the early years, from when I meet MP and we form Gyllene Tider until 1982 when “Sommartider” is released. A lot of anecdotes and craziness run past, it really was a special time that I hope can be portrayed in an equally special way.

In autumn 2024, there will also be a premiere at Malmö Opera for the musical with Roxette’s song catalogue based on the novel “Got You Back” by the English author Jane Fallon and reworked for a musical script by Klas Abrahamsson.

I have met her a few times and she is fantastic. To my great surprise, I have discovered that my music works perfectly in a musical context. I’ve never been particularly interested in musicals because the style itself can be very pompous and slightly annoying. It’s never been my thing. But songs like “Spending My Time”, “Crash! Boom! Bang!”, “It Must Have Been Love” and not least “Listen To Your Heart” work superbly with a large orchestra and grandiose arrangements. They are big melodies with strong and intense emotions.

So I’m grateful that it happened. Back in 2015, we got the first offer, but it always turned out that the script wasn’t good enough. Up until now. Because this is a wonderful way to nurture Roxette’s music and the ambition is also for it to go abroad.

However, whether there will be a solo tour in the summer of 2024 before then remains to be seen. Per cryptically smiles and says he can’t say anything about it. But in Per Gessle’s parallel universe and future calendar, it may already be inscribed, Jan-Owe says.

Hallandsposten interview with Per Gessle about Gyllene Tider’s new album and tour in 2023

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Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per for Hallandsposten after the news about Gyllene Tider’s 2023 comeback came out. It all started with a newly purchased guitar, Mr. G says.

I bought a new guitar just over a year ago and when I do that, plug it into the amplifier and start playing, it usually automatically turns into a new song. And this one definitely screamed for Gyllene Tider.

In connection with the upcoming shooting of the Gyllene Tider movie, which is planned to be released in 2024, Per, MP, Göran, Anders and Micke Syd have also met more often than usual. Per told the guys he had written two damn good GT songs and wondered if they should record them. No one said no, so it spurred him on and he wrote ten more.

Almost a year ago, Per and MP went to the Tits & Ass Studio and recorded them. Then in spring the rest of the band joined the recording in Sweetspot Studio in Harplinge. The result is: twelve songs that Per is very proud of and satisfied with.

It’s catchy, uptempo, 2.30 and breathes vinyl and it’s the best GT record we’ve made. A completely different energy compared to “Samma skrot och korn”, which was made to play live.

The previous album was recorded in twelve days at Studios La Fabrique outside Saint-Rémy de Provence, down on the French Riviera. Now it was on home soil with the band themselves as producers.

The difference was that back then everything should be ready when we left. Here, we have been able to listen to and change and screw things up because we own the studio ourselves.

After all, everything is so easy with this band. No prestige, no egos but – magic. I can’t put my finger on it, but Anders and Micke play together in a different way than with other musicians, I sing in a different way in Gyllene Tider, MP’s guitar sounds a certain way, Göran’s organ… yes, everything becomes Gyllene Tider.

The record was ready in spring 2022 and it will be released in spring 2023. And yes, the title of it is Hux flux. Just like one of the songs’ title and the name of the upcoming summer tour.

While Per already during the recording of Samma skrot och korn in France felt that the band was too good to stop even then and the same feeling emerged during the tour in three of the other members, Micke Syd was adamant that this would be the dignified farewell. Per explains they respected and bought it and also thought it would be like that.

But while I never want to recklessly put myself in a hopeless or possibly fatal situation and I never say never, I understand how Micke thought. He is a good, spiritual guy who lives in the moment and then felt that we would finish on top when everyone was alive and in good health. At the same time, Micke is the one who is out the most and plays GT songs in various contexts, so when the record and tour came up, he was almost the first to say yes.

Per also believes that the corona pandemic probably affected everyone more than you think.

Yes, I can only speak for myself, but it gave you a different perspective on everything. You are more thoughtful, appreciate what you have and it became a different way of thinking, a different pace. Like, for example, my acoustic tour. I don’t think it would have come off otherwise. Not now anyway.

On 7th July next summer, Gyllene Tider will be at Brottet in Halmstad again for the premiere of the Hux flux tour. They booked the venues last summer because nowadays you have to be out in good time. Partly for the ticket sales vis-a-vis other artists, partly so that the venues are free.

If Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg will join the band like the last tour, Per doesn’t want to reveal.

And of course there might be more than one concert at home in Halmstad and maybe the grand finale won’t be in Ullevi in Gothenburg.

Of course, it depends on how big the interest is, and then the neighbouring countries will come into the picture as well. But we are heading towards a recession, so the goal is for the tickets to be as cheap as possible, even though the costs are triple. Rather that people can afford it and that it becomes a public celebration.

And this time the word farewell is not mentioned…

Per Gessle interview in Hallandsposten

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Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per Gessle for Hallandsposten before the PG unplugged tour reaches Halmstad this weekend.

Mr. G says they couldn’t dream of such a tour when the band gathered at his apartment in Stockholm to rehearse for Late Night Concert on TV4 and Guldscenen on Mix Megapol. Then it was mostly to get to meet and play at all when everything was shut down due to the pandemic.

The summer gigs in Tylösand opened new doors. In fact, I haven’t dared to do this before. I mean, standing at Wembley or Ullevi is one thing. Then you can “hide” behind the large production, the volume, the lights… Here it is so naked and stripped down and a much bigger challenge.

It’s more text-based, more my songwriting instead of hit cavalcades from Gyllene Tider and Roxette. And that’s why I’ve never had this kind of response before. The audience really sits and listens and takes in, is attentive. It is intimate and private and sometimes so quiet that I could have heard a plectrum fall to the floor if I had used one. In a large arena, the audience stands and watches a performance, a show. But here the audience is a part of us just as we are a part of the audience. A little campfire feeling, as well.

Regarding the tour Per tells Jan-Owe:

It’s not as happy-go-lucky as it was last summer when I could come up with a song in the afternoon which we then quickly rehearsed and then played in the evening. Now there are a little bigger scenes, a little more structured, real lighting by Robert Kelber and a little more decor by Åsa in the same style without removing the intimacy, the warmth.

There are many new songs added to the setlist. Take for example “Ljudet av ett annat hjärta”. Christoffer (Lundquist) suggested that I play it alone with just an acoustic guitar. But it didn’t work so I suggested that Clarence (Öfwerman) at least plays the special loop on the piano. At the premiere in Linköping, a girl sat at the front and at first didn’t realize that it was that song until the loop came. Then she sat and cried out through the song, out of happiness, because it turned out to be her favourite song. It was a bit difficult to play, while it was great to see how music can really touch.

Jan-Owe tells Per he has probably never seen him so relaxed and comfortable on stage in terms of the talking in between songs.

I have, honestly, never had any real small talk, but here it becomes a natural part of the show. But it’s the same when I’ve been to concerts of Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon… They never tell anything but it’s mostly a lot of clichés. Imagine McCartney had told an anecdote or story about how “Back in the U.S.S.R.” came about! I went to see Bruce Springsteen on Broadway in New York a few years ago. It was him and an acoustic guitar, but the concert was based on his biography. It was magical, but he is probably also one of the few who can do it.

Jan-Owe asks Per how he intends to take this concept further.

There are no direct plans, but it would be fun to do the same with Roxette songs and maybe take it abroad. This tour is more based on my Swedish material because it goes more into the heart here at home.

Regarding the pandemic, being able to come out and play and meet the audience again has of course provided new fuel.

You really notice how hungry people have been and see how happy they are.

From 1st December, covidpass is required to enter the concerts.

That’s super difficult. I see no major difference between being at Gekås, a restaurant or a concert. But the important thing is that everyone must be careful.

The guys are talking about Joyride’s 30th anniversary as well and it turns out that the days off between the concerts are not really free, but booked with interviews for international media.

Talking about future plans, much is already in the pipeline for next year.

Yes, next year is packed – things will happen.

Per says cryptically.

Jan-Owe says that in parallel with the fact that Per, before the acoustic gigs, was in the studio and tested about forty songs acoustically together with Mats “MP” Persson – who now also handles the sound on the tour – of course one or two new songs were written. Per tells that he wrote songs both in Swedish and in English, as usual.

Regarding Gyllene Tider, Per says it’s a nice little pop band… They met, but didn’t talk about this concept.

Jan-Owe asks Per about his touring plans. Mr. G is still low when it comes to plans for major tours abroad.

There is still a pandemic going on so I’m not very keen on travelling right now. The last time was in February 2020 when I was in Miami, but it’s not fun to travel these days, walking around being careful.

This week there were news that Per is being offered to buy Ferrari’s new model, Ferrari SP3 Daytona. One of a total of 599 copies, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the list. Per says he saw that in Hallandsposten, but he himself hasn’t received any confirmation yet.

Admittedly, I received an invitation to the presentation of the car in Maranello in Italy, but I was on tour. Though I still had not gone anyway because it is still pandemic times. Then I knew that if you bought the latest model, Ferrari Monza SP2, you also have priority for the next model.

Jan-Owe tells that maybe it’s high time that Per shows his cars instead of hiding them. Mr. G says he has actually thought about doing it on a beautiful day. Maybe not now, but in a few years, he hopes. Today all cars, most of them Ferrari, are parked and stored in various places in Sweden.

This type of cars has become a form of investment just like art and real estate. The problem is that they have become so expensive that no one dares to drive them anymore. Partly because of sky-high insurance, partly because a few miles on the meter means they can drop in value. But cars are there to be driven. And seen. I mean, think of an old Aston Martin or a Volvo P1800 from the 60’s – they are beauties, pure art. And great fun to drive.

Gyllene Tider 2.019 – en sista refräng

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When earlier this year, months before the GT40 tour it turned out that there would be a book about Gyllene Tider written by Jan-Owe Wikström and photographed by Anders Roos, I knew the end result would be fab. This duo created another wonderful book, Alla tiders Gyllene Tider 6 years ago, but not only that. Jan-Owe already wrote a book about the band and another about Roxette many many years ago and actually, he wrote the very first Hallandsposten article about a young band, Gyllene Tider more than 40 years ago, on 8th July 1978. He has been following the guys ever since. Anders’ work we also know from other Per Gessle related projects. His amazing photos we could see from several tours and studio sessions over the years.

Jan-Owe and Anders visited the Golden Guys in France when they recorded their last studio album, Samma skrot och korn and were following them on their farewell tour to catch and eternalize the magic around this boy band 40 years after their break-through.

Already by looking at the cover, one can be sure that what’s inside is of high quality. The front cover shows a pleased and proud gang in 2019, while when you turn the book around, the back cover shows a young, promising band in 1981. Wonderful. And this time travel appears inside the book too.

I don’t know how others start reading it, but to me the book shouted out for a start from the end. Which is actually the beginning of all. You will read about all the important years in GT’s life, how MP and Per met and decided to become pop stars, how Anders and Micke met and how Göran with his Farfisa came into sight and how all 5 of them got together to establish one of Sweden’s, if not the greatest bands ever.

In between the historical happenings over the decades, the break-through, early tours, studio sessions, the break-up, the come-backs detailed by Jan-Owe one can read a couple of fan stories about what GT means to the fans. Stories from the ’80s, about Gyllene songs being played at weddings or even funerals, hunting the guys and their autographs. Things what only fans can understand.

Besides all these, you can also get to know what albums and bands had an impact on Per, MP, Micke, Anders and Göran and what their Top10 GT songs are. The lists are not so different, but there isn’t one single song that you would find in each band member’s Top10. How strange.

After the past, you turn the book around again and arrive to 2019. The Intro and the Outro, before and after the very last Oslo gig give a great frame to the whole GT40 farewell. The chapters guide you through the complete process from what happened between the last concert on the GT tour in 2013 and the first thoughts of an anniversary tour, through the creative process of recording a last album and creating the set for the last shows, till the very last performance of the greatest Swedish band of all times.

Besides the Golden Guys’ feelings and actions, their stories of how they met their wives and how their families (their parents and their close families now) supported them over the years, the book also tells you about other important people around the band. You can read about what BoJo’s (Bo Johansson, Live Nation tour leader) job is on a tour as per logistics and organizing all details, what the head of crew has to do and that a gig couldn’t happen without the best crew. You get to know how Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg came into sight for this last tour and how they contributed to the shows, but you can also read about veteran Fredrik Lilliestråle Stéen and Micke Syd’s friendship that resulted in the fact that GT invited a group of policemen, firefighters and ambulance, as well as defense veterans to thank for their service at each GT40 concert in Sweden.

The fans’ part in 2019 is represented by a handful of hardcores. Thomas Evensson (an essential establishing member of TDR) is there from almost the very beginning of Gyllene Tider. You get to know how he got involved and became the creator of the non-official GT website. You meet Bradley Coverley from Australia, who represents all the non-Swedish speaking fans from around the world and shows that distance is nothing when it comes to your idols. Jan-Owe and Anders travelled together with Sandra Knospe who saw now more than 250 GT, Roxette and PG related concerts in her life and travels thousands of kilometres on each tour to follow the band to as many places as possible. She can also compare how touring life of a hardcore fan was in the ’90s and how it is nowadays. Nowadays I join her in this ”craziness” and travel together with her. The GT40 tour was the first one for me when I had the chance to attend each gig and added my reviews show after show on RoxetteBlog.

In the book, almost all stops on tour are present. The emotional ending in Halmstad with all the TACK signs held up by fans couldn’t be left out either. Including the tears on and off stage, of course. Per’s words to the crowd at the last concert in Sweden: ”Thank you for following and supporting us for 40 years. Without you, we would be nothing.”

Anders Herrlin is right about what GT’s essence is.

Gyllene Tider is like a mud pie. There are lots of different recipes for mud pie, but here I, Micke and MP are the bottom of the cake with our own way of playing together, while Per’s voice and Göran’s Farfisa are the topping on the cake. However, how much you add from each element, that recipe is a secret and is locked in a safe in Harplinge.

This book is really a must have for all the fans, but also a good reading for anyone who has ever bumped into Gyllene Tider’s music. How Jan-Owe writes down the discussions it feels like you are there with guys in the studio in France or the final rehearsal before the premiere gig or at the concerts themselves. And the photos taken by Anders Roos give you a visual to all this, so you have kind of a movie playing in front of your eyes.

Yeah, now we need a DVD too. To be able to relive the GT40 magic as many times as possible.

 

 

 

 

Per Gessle’s Sommartider – interview in Hallandsposten

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Jan-Owe Wikström did an interview with Per Gessle in Mr. G’s home in Halmstad and it was published in Hallandsposten on June 20th online and on June 30th in print. The guys were talking about Gyllene Tider’s farewell tour and Per’s summer feelings.

Per says first they, the guys in GT didn’t think about this tour to be the last, but when they started talking about it, it made sense. Now that all 5 of them are healthy and in good shape and want to end Gyllene Tider at a high level, it doesn’t seem to be a bad idea. They don’t know what will come in 6, 7 or 10 years and they don’t want to go on tour when any of the band members is not there. Then it wouldn’t be Gyllene Tider anymore.

From the article it turns out that besides the 5 Golden Guys, there will be 2 backing vocalists on tour with them: Malin-My Wall and Dea Norberg. Per explains that Tom Petty also had backing vocalists on his last tour and The Rolling Stones also have them. It feels a bit new, but also it saves Per’s voice and widens the sound partly at the choirs and partly because Malin-My can also play the violin and other instruments.

That the guys would go on a tour and celebrate their 40th anniversary was clear already after the last show in 2013. Since GT was formed in 1978 they wanted to do a tour in 2018, but as Per went on a solo tour in 2017 (130,000 people saw him) and he played several Gyllene Tider songs, then he toured with Per Gessle’s Roxette in 2018, also some shows in Sweden and it’s a small country, they postponed it to 2019.

Even if they knew that 80-90% of the setlist will consist of their old songs, they wanted to make a new album. They recorded it in France. Per says the idea was to create an album that shows the band members have all grown up and they are either close to or already turned 60. They are older, more matured and more experienced. They wanted the album to sound like GT today, not like they sounded back in the days. It can be a little embarrassing when a band tries to sound like 1980 while it’s already 2019.

Jan-Owe mentions an article that was published on 25th July 1985 about GT’s break-up, but he says it was rather a longer break. The the guys came back in 1995, 2004, 2013 and now in 2019. Per says 1995 was the first time they realized how big they became in Sweden. Their hits survived and he had the power via his international success with Roxette.

Now it’s time for another tour that will take the band from Malmö in the South to Piteå in the North with Stockholm and Gothenburg in between, where the concerts were moved to bigger venues (Stockholm Stadion and Ullevi). The 51 songs the guys took on the rehearsals have to be narrowed down to 25-30, including 18 must-play songs.

Jan-Owe asks Per what he thinks makes GT attractive through all generations. Per says the only way to survive as a band for 40 years is never to be trendy. Then they can come back time after time, as they did.

Jan-Owe also asks Mr. G about how it will feel to play the last song on the last concert. Per says he doesn’t know, they won’t die or stop playing.

 

Per’s summer feelings

Childhood summers: ”Far too short. Always.”

Teenage summers: ”I spontaneously think about Fammarps Mushroom Cultivation. I was biking there from Villshärad and weighed mushrooms during some summers. We were 2 guys and more than 300 girls. Good enough.”

Adult life summers: ”Tour. And more tours. And even more tours.”

An unforgettable summer: ”The GT-25 tour in 2004. Awesome. That summer we had more than 25000 people in the audiences per night. How did it really happen?”

The summer I absolutely want to forget: ”There weren’t any bad summers. Or if so then I blanked them out.”

Being on a summer tour: ”Intense.”

The best summer song: ”Summertime by George Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. A masterpiece.”

The best own summer song: ”Juni, juli, augusti, På promenad genom stan and Min plats. They are OK.”

The best summer concert in Halland county: ”My memory is short, but Wilmer X was awesome the last time they played in Solgården at Hotel Tylösand. I wish I could say Sex Pistols in Östra stranden in Halmstad 1977, but I wasn’t there. MP and I were sitting outside in his Amazon. We didn’t dare to go in.”

The best own concert in Halland county: ”Gyllene Tider on Stora torg in Halmstad 1995 was special. That was the first time we realized how big we became in Sweden. Our hits survived and I had the power via the international success with Roxette.”

Professional expectations before summer 2019: ”To be able to say hi to the crowd.”

Private expectations before summer 2019: ” To be able to say hi to family and friends.”

Why to choose Halland in the summer: ”It’s Sweden’s front side.” (”Sveriges framsida.” -> it’s a Swedish idiom and is associated with the West Coast and Gothenburg. The reason is the geographical situation, which allows direct connections to the international shipping routes via the port. /PP)

This is how summer smells: ”Chips och grill. Näst intill.” (Part of the lyrics of (Kom så ska vi) Leva livet meaning ”Chips and grill. Almost.” /PP)

Pic of Per Gessle is taken in the studio in France by Anders Roos.

 

Thanx for your support with the printed version of the interview, Anne Rosvall!