Sven Lindström and Per Gessle continued their Top30 ’90s songs from Sweden series in the December episode of Nordic Rox.
The guys are counting down from position No. 25 to 21. Sven mentions at the beginning of the show that Per has a brand new single. It’s released by a duo called Per and Lena. PG confirms, but Sven keeps the listeners waiting. Good things come to those who wait, he says.
They kick off the program with some garage rock from Stockholm. Ain’t Coming Home by The Sewergrooves is played. Hemingway by Girl In Red is next. Then comes I’m Gonna Dance by The Mo and l.o.v.e by SHY Martin.
Woman & A Child by Mikael Rickfors, taken from the Judas River album in 1991, kicks off the five songs on the ’90s countdown.
The guys are moving on to a great song that Per really likes. It’s by Andreas Johnson. He used to sing and write songs in the band called Planet Waves. Sven asks Per who made an album called Planet Waves. First Per doesn’t realize what the question was referring to, but after he got it, he says it was Bob Dylan. Sven smiles and says it was just some quick pop quiz here. Mr. G continues that Andreas Johnson had a big solo career starting off with this particular album called Liebling in 1999, just in the final hours of the ’90s. This song that the guys chose was a big international hit for him in Europe. In France, for instance and in England as well. It’s called Glorious produced by Peter Kvint, a great Swedish producer. The song has a chorus you just can’t forget, according to Sven. Per thinks it’s wonderful, it stood the test of time. Sven says Per thinks that the chorus takes over everything and the verse is rather… not bland, but… Per tries to put it into words and explains that you need a neutral verse to get a chorus like that. He thinks it’s an amazing chorus. No wonder it became a major hit.
Sven and Per go into some Swedish lyric songs. Coming up first is a song called Lilla fågel blå (Little Bird Blue) by a songwriter and artist called Staffan Hellstrand. It was a big song for him, his biggest hit so far. Sven adds that it was backed by Swedish garage rock kings, The Nomads, which gave it an edge as well. PG thinks it’s a great song.
The tension rises, the guys are heading for No. 22. They picked Broken Promise Land by Weeping Willows. It sounds a bit of melancholy and that’s basically what it is, Sven says. Per agrees. It was their breakthrough song in 1997. They are still around, making new records, touring. Sven saw the lead singer Magnus Carlson on Swedish television a couple of days ago, so they are very much active.
No. 21 is a song by Marie Fredriksson. It’s another Swedish lyric song, a beautiful ballad called Tro. It can be translated into „faith” or „belief”. Marie made a solo album in 1996 when Roxette took a break. They took a four-year break after 1995, when they finished touring and Marie had her second child. She made a solo album and Tro was the first single. It was also part of a film and it was a really big hit for Marie. It’s a really wonderful song, an amazing song, Per thinks. Sven agrees and he says Marie tried to squeeze in a Swedish solo career between all the Roxette commitments, which were basically taken up all the time otherwise. Per adds that she wrote Swedish stuff that was not really in the pop style. She wanted to do things in Swedish as well. She never felt comfortable writing English lyrics anyway. She had lots of other things on her mind, which was great.
And that wraps up the Swedish ’90s list for this time. On the next show the guys are entering the top 20. So it’s going to be exciting further on.
James by Ex Cops, I Believed by Maria Jane Smith and Sweet Jackie by Sugarplum Fairy are played.
Then comes Bad Blood by Per + Lena. It’s the new single by Per and Lena Philipsson, who is singing with Roxette these days. It’s a little new piece of music that they put together over the summer season. Mr. G thinks it’s cool. Sven thinks it’s a great track and it sounds very inspired. Per says they were inspired and it was great fun making it. He co-wrote it together with a guy called Alex Shield. PG has been working with him a bit in the past on different projects. It’s got a sort of a Stonesy vibe to it. Per likes it and he also likes how Lena is singing on it. She is really cool, Sven thinks. He promises to sit down with Per and Lena to discuss the current tour and next year’s activities, which will be quite a lot. They will still be touring. It’s a big world, Per adds.
Sven and PG thank the listeners for joining them and they say goodbye. The show ends with Cigarettes by Anita Lindblom, as usual.
Still is from the Bag Of Trix talks recorded by Anders Roos.
Thanks for your support, Sven!
