single

Roxette – Help! (Abbey Road Sessions November 1995)

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On 15th November 1995, Roxette recorded 4 acoustic tracks at the Abbey Road Studios in London. Those songs were 3 Rox hits (The Look, Listen To Your Heart, You Don’t Understand Me) and a wonderful cover of The Beatles gem, Help! All 3 Roxette tracks were already released on the You Don’t Understand Me single and YDUM also appeared on the Anyone single later. Help! (Abbey Road Sessions November 1995) is released digitally for the first time on 8th May, but earlier it was released on The RoxBox. Marie’s vocals are stunning! Listen to it on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube or other digital platforms.

Per about the single:

In these days of seclusion and confusion this digitally unreleased pearl is very much needed. Roxette paid homage to The Beatles on a sunny day in November 1995 at the Abbey Road studio in London. “Help!” is the first taste of the “BAG OF TRIX – Music from the Roxette Vaults” album series that will pop up when you least expect it. Enjoy!

Parts of the Abbey Road recording sessions can be seen in the documentary, Really Roxette. The album sleeve photo of Marie and Per was taken by Marie Dimberg in 1989 when Roxette was in London to appear on TV with The Look in Top of the Pops. You can see this picture in Sven Lindström’s book, Roxette – Den osannolika resan tur och retur. The famous Abbey Road crossing is still very popular. You can wacth it online all day long via a live cam on the studio’s website. The album sleeve itself would deserve a physical release and the song would definitely sound fantastic on vinyl.

The Beatles released Help! (written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney) in 1965 and it was No. 1 both in the UK and in the US. After 55 years, it still sounds amazing, even if John told in an interview that he regrets a bit that it became too fast, because they tried to make the song more commercial. I’m quite sure he would have liked Roxette’s slow version.

APRIL FOOLS’ DAY! – Per Gessle to release a metal EP

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APRIL FOOLS’ DAY – As Per informed yesterday on his Instagram, he has been in the studio since days, working together with metal producer S. Karlsson. Mr. G(oth) is entering a new genre! It turned out the guys are working on a metal EP that will include 4 songs and will be released digitally on 1st May. 2 weeks later, on 15th May there will be a bonus single released on vinyl. The bonus single won’t be available on streaming platforms. Once the pre-order links to the very limited edition single (200 copies!) are available, we will let you know.

EP tracklist

  1. Goth Look    3:57
  2. Listen To Your Thrash    5:28
  3. It Must Have Been Black    4:18
  4. Hell Ride    4:23

Vinyl bonus single

A. Growling In My Car    3:46
B. Growling In My Car – T&A Demo – 21 September, 2019    3:12

Photos are from Per’s Instagram (1, 2)

Per Gessle (feat. Helena Josefsson) – Around The Corner (The Comfort Song)

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When a week ago Per informed on his social media sites that new music was coming, most of us probably thought of anything else but what he actually released today. The cover and the short snippet he shared 2 days ago made it clear what it is about. It became a very personal, heartbreaking, yet heartwarming song. Around The Corner (The Comfort Song). The comfort song. Wonderful lyrics, beautiful melody, vocals by Per and Helena matching the feelings.

Listen to it on , , , YouTube or any other digital platform. Mr. G informs that in a couple of weeks the song will be out as a vinyl single as well. Update (13th March 2020): The vinyl single is out in 1500 copies. Side A – Around The Corner (The Comfort Song), side B – Kissing Is The Key (2019). You can order it at , or . Watch the lyric video HERE.

Per’s heartfelt comments related to Around The Corner (The Comfort Song):

Music is an extraordinary thing. It can bring a smile to your face and create so many wonderful images in your heart and mind. It can also help you through grim times. Some songs even feel like they were written just for you, especially for you. Isn’t that strange? Or maybe it just means we’re all the same?

I finished writing ”Around The Corner” the day after Marie died. Three days later my mother-in-law died. Death was on the plate. I wrote it for me. But I guess I also wrote it for all of you out there. We are many who lost someone dear and don’t really know where to go.

I spent an intense afternoon in the T&A Studio with MP Persson on December 16th. Two days later Helena Josefsson jumped on a northbound train and joined us for some singing. I didn’t really listen that much over xmas but the first week of January 2020 I sent what we’d done to Clarence Öfwerman who wrapped it up with some beautiful sounds and poured even more love over it.

Here it is, my comfort song.

P.

Around The Corner (The Comfort Song)

Hold a candle to your heart / Let the shadows on your face
Rock you gently with their grace / It’s been a long and lonely day

I don’t know what you’ve been through / You have to continue to care about you
Things have to end to start anew / No one can change those rules

In the dark the earth keeps on turning / Craving for some morning light
It takes the backroads, fools the night / It knows the sun is burning
Somewhere around the corner / Around the corner

Do get some rest, you need it bad / Sometimes the laughter just makes you sad
Sometimes the joy can make you so scared / It’s been a long and lonesome day

I can’t tell what you’ve been through / But I won’t ever stop telling you
Some things have to go to start anew / I know it I’ve been there too

In the dark the earth keeps on turning / Longing for the morning light
It takes the backroads and fools the night / It knows the sun is shining
Somewhere around the corner / Around the corner

Words & Music by Per Gessle
© Jimmy Fun Music

 

Front cover and A side of the single

 

Gyllene Tider – Detektiv is out!

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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

 

 

Per Gessle about Gyllene Tider’s new single

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Swedish Radio P4 Halland did an interview with Per Gessle about Gyllene Tider’s new single, Jag drömde jag mötte Fluortanten. Listen to it HERE! Reporter Camilla Hentschel and Per are dissecting the lyrics.

First they are listening to this part of the song:

Varje svartvit tangent / Spelade covers av Kent / Morfar Ginko han gungade i vimlet

Camilla asks Per about the rhyme ”tangent – Kent” and Per says it’s a clever one. They are discussing how differently they pronounce the word ”tangent” (= key, like on the keyboard) and Camilla is curious why Kent ended up in there. Per tells it’s like an abstract dream sequence and as in many of his songs, the lyrics are hopping from one scene to another. Each verse has its own profile. One verse can be written in ”me” form, the other in ”he” form. There can be different perspectives.

The other part they are listening to is:

Pö om pö blev vi vänner / Men av ren reflex blev jag ett måndags-ex

Camilla thinks it’s fantastic, because it’s like a journey. Little by little we became friends, then it turned into something more and out of pure reflex I became a Monday ex. Per says he tried to describe when the expectation is blown away by weak self-confidence. It’s a bit sad. The guy wanted so much and in the end he felt he became a Monday ex. That was it.

Sing along HERE!