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Per in NYC: Son of a Plumber tour, US compilation for Roxette

Written by Helene2000 on November 10, 2005 to .

NEW YORK (UPDATED) - While being in New York with his wife Åsa, son Gabriel and manager Marie Dimberg, Per gave an exclusive interview to Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet’s Per Bjurman. In this interview he mentions that his new album Son of a Plumber is a very personal album that he sees as kind of last will and testament.

  Per and co. are in New York to get a decent Roxette collection released in the US. And while being there he also checks the interest in Son of a Plumber. Per Bjurman, Aftonbladet’s man in New York, likes what he hears. He says that these lyrics sound very personal. “Yes,” Per says, “I really wanted to do an album that’s me. The lyrics are mainly about me and my life and they feel very important. At least to me.” Per continues, “We never had a target group in mind when we did this album, and that was very liberating.”

  Bjurman asks if Per wants to go back on a big tour now that he’s reconquered Sweden, twice. “Let me put it like this; if I hadn’t made this album in English I hadn’t made it at all. Because another summer in Sweden wouldn’t have worked. But now when it’s done, it’s of course nice if someone outside of Sweden wants to hear it.”

  Regarding a possible tour Per says the same thing as he said to TDR. “We’ve discussed it. If the album is received well abroad it would be nice to do a little club tour. We would play a little bit of everything. No Roxette stuff though, that wouldn’t work without Marie.”

  Per also mentions that he won’t push Marie into working. They haven’t had time to talk but he has read that she’s fine and that she may want to work with Roxette again. “Great to read that. I won’t stress her though.”

Thomas Evensson contributed to this article.

Translated from Aftonbladet, this is how Per feels about some of the songs:



C’mon

“It was almost impossible to find a first single, because there isn’t really a song that represents the album. But we took this glamrock song as one of two A-sides because you can’t tell it’s me. So people can get a feel for it, regardless of their relationship to me. I sing in falsetto for the first time. It happened that way when I wrote it… and it was fun to sing it that way.”


Jo-Anna Says

“The other A-side of the single is on it because… well, if you vomit when you hear “C’mon” maybe you can like this instead. Ha ha! It’s a sort of a McCartney-song. We’ve had long discussions about what to really think about him. I’m more of a Lennon man myself, but like his early solo stuff.”


Kurt - The Fastest Plumber in the West

“An instrumental, with film score touches. It’s a little spaghetti western-ish. And Kurt, the plumber, that’s of course my dad. Thought he needed a tune.”


Waltz for Woody

“Another instrumental, dedicated to Åsa. She’s called Woody. I really don’t know why. It’s just the way it is.”


I Like it Like That

“The strongest chorus on the album. And now that you mention it maybe it is the one that sounds the most like ’classical’ Gessle.”


Hey Mr DJ (Won’t You Play Another Love Song)

“Sounds like Chicago, no? These songs very easily turn into parodies and we were in bad shape for a while there, but I think we got through it. It sounds very lovely.”


I Have a Party in My Head (I Hope it Never Ends)

“My favorite from the album. It turned out just the way I imagined it. It feels very special.”

45 comments

I wonder what would be on this compilation other than what was on the US edition of DBUTGTC?
A Thing About You & Opportunity Nox?

I think Edel went under so the collection previously available in the US isn’t anymore.

But does anybody in the US need another compilation CD from roxette? I think Per should only concentrate on promoting his new album over there.

Yah yah yah! another Compilation! in 20 years, the following description is in dictionarys about the word compilation: “A word that was found by the almighty G. He earned almost 200 million dollar with this beautiful word”

well, at least there is something happening in the US.....

I don’t want another compilation either, but the US doesn’t have one, you have to consider that. Don’t Bore Us sold about 50,000 due to piss poor management. 50,000 out of 300,000,000...

so when does he come back from NY? this weekend I’ll be in sthlm, so...don’t know, didn’t hope for bumping into him, but still...it’ll be sad knowing he’s on another continent...

Thi is the perfect time to release a Roxette compi,lation, now when LTYH and FLAF has become hits as covers... Do some TV commercials and say “Roxette: the creators of Fading Like a Flower and It must have been love”... also Centre of the heart as single would be nice...

Another compilation?
I dont want it thanx!!

So bored!!!!!! :S

stuff the per stuff i want more of the roxette stuff lol, i should bloody think not performing roxette without marie aswell, you dont see marie doing it on her solo tours
Could you imagine per trying IMHBL live Ow my god lol

what label would release roxette in US with success ? would they include all there hits or just the US hits ? why not put the ballad/pop hits albums togeather in the US for release that would be best. Great track listings new songs, and design.

Here’s hoping things will go well and get Roxette back in the spotlight again. We all know it’s been way too long!

Yes!!!! Great news!!!!!
Not beacuse it’s another compilation, but because this means rox comeback!!! and they started in the USA!!!!
Something big is comming....

I wonder if he is there for more than just a 1 album compilation deal for Roxette considering the 20th anniverary next year?

agreed, from a fan point of view another hits box doesnt mean anything...

but then, it would be a commercial release. to sell and get Roxette back in the picture over there... if there is no label, there is no CDs on the shelf!

what bothers me about the article is that Per has to know about Marie by reading about her and her interest in getting back to Roxette... dont these people have mobile phones??!

Per said “it would be nice to do a little club tour in Europe in SPRING”...

(Was was “spring” left out of the report? Sure, nothing’s fixed yet but still...)

Well, Per has talked to Marie some days before Marie’s interview (read it at “Ask Per”). He’s been quite busy with SOAP since then.

For sure the new rox compilation isn’t meant for the die-hard fans. It’s for all the people who love Roxette’s hits but lost sight of them. So I welcome the new compilation! It’s a good development. Still I thought TBH was silently released in the US..?

Good news.

Anything, and I mean anything, from Roxette is welcome.

xoxoxo

Another compilation album in the US, why not?

We don´t have to buy it; it´s what it´s: a compilation just for the US market...

relax....

I really see no reason for a compilation album in the US. I’ve recently been in Boston, Philadelphia and Miami’s record stores (like Tower Records, Borders, etc.) where I could find stacks of Ballad Hits, suggesting me that nobody is quite interested in Rox anymore. In a few stores you could buy Ballad Hits with 14 US...

“Why was SPRING left out?” Well, why not??

I agree with Robbie. I don’t think they really need to push a compilation here anymore. It would be great to see Per do a small club tour if his album does good abroad. I would definetely go to a handful of shows!

I’m confused... :) :(

Seven songs, how odd, the same number of songs usually on an EMI sampler... :S

I welcome a new US greatest hits. With decent promotion it could be huge, not like DBU 2000 that noone bought ( coz noone knew about it..)

I like the comments he made about his songs. Really curious now!

That’s the kinda of news i haven been waiting to read and hear. I was talking about it with my brother yesterday. It’s so cool! I don’t know if you guys understand me, but for us Roxette US fans it’s really cool. It’s been so many years since we got decent here. So this, of course, is great news. Exciting news to say the least.

So, if I understood the news article correctly, a decent Roxette compilation is going to be released here sometime in the near future. And also, SOAP could also be released here if there’s enouhg interest. Wow! Hopefully there will be.

I don’t even know what to say. It just feels so great and special. Hoping everything goes through well and it all happens.

Take care!
Carlos E., New York.

“In this interview he mentions that his new album Son of a Plumber is a very personal album that he sees as kind of last will and testament”.

I don’t think this is good news.

Usually people make their last will and testament when they think the end is near.

Does this mean Per/Roxette will quit soon?

I really hope not.
Maybe I am being to negative now.

But on the other hand:

“They haven’t had time to talk but he has read that she’s fine and that she may want to work with Roxette again. “Great to read that”

This might prove the opposite, meaning roxette will continue! Hope this is true and not my first thought.

How one article can give 2 different signals to me.
Confusing!

You analyze too hard.

what they should do in the states if they wanan do the us fans justice, seriously, is release a mini box of ” new material” that wasn’t available in the states. Hand, room service and the unplugged album, another compilation doesn’t stand a chnace if they aren’t here to promote it. Its very odd per seems to have been shut out by marie and her family, very odd

I know almonst all you are full of compilations. There were 4 last years. 2 don’t bore us..., ballad hits and pop hits but it could be a very good sign to Roxette and also to Son Of A Plumber.
If he want’s to release somehing in US it means that Roxette will continue. I see things in this way. He’s interested in international Roxette career again :D
I don’t care if he want’s to release another compilation. Us fans don’t have a nice one. If I were from US now I’d be jumping a lot. It’s fantastic!

About Son Of A Plumber I’m sure he knows he has a lot of fans all over the world. Maybe he’s not sure if people will be interested in this new album and this travel is very important. Maybe a world Son of a Plumber Tour??? Who knows????? Iauuuu!!!

Let’s dream!!!! :D
Hugs,

Great news!!!
As Qrox says: It means Roxette will comeback!!! Simply GREAT!!!

hrm....

I’m willing to have another go with helping to promote out here in Utah *lol* I got all sorts of stuff from Lars to do that as a RNAF’er and I’m willing to do it again for SoaP. I can e-mail the station manager at one of the stations who is a Roxette fan and see if he can get air time for whatever’s released, as long as it’s approved through the right channels.

Nice news once again.

About time the USA gets a decent compilation, and maybe even a SOAP release.

And 2 instrumentals can’t wait :-D

By the way: did Per forget that he sang “sakta mina steg” completely in falsetto? :-O

Isn’t this crazy? I ordered my SOAP digipack last week.
And, if there’s SOAP release in the US, I’ll end up having two ablums. Hopefully, the version released here has something different. Otherwise, I’ll have to go and buy the jewel case version.

You know, gotta help sales over here. Life has some crazy twists to it. :-)

Carlos E., New York.

@superbullie:Yes!, but I do not understand it... :/

I wouldn´t mind too much on Per talking about SOAP being a very special and personal album. I remember quite well that that´s the same he said about mazarin: Keyphrase then was “I can´t get any more personal than this”.
And as he seems to forget the things he said after a while, every solo-album is personal and special to him, I guess. :-)

I really hope something good is gonna happen now, but I remember reading the same kind of comments and excitment around “The world according to Gessle” album, in 1997. A possible international solo career, US release, promo tour... but nothing happened in the US, and we had only a silent worlwide release (and the similiar happened with Marie´s “The Change” album). If SOAP was being released under a different label, this would be easier to believe...

Well let´s hope for something different this time... maybe we´ll see SOAP charting the Billboard?? If so, I´ll maybe put my credits again in EMI.

Regarding the possible-new Roxette compilation for the american market, of course this is great news, but why don´t releasing “The Ballad His” & “The pop Hits” there (in a decent kind of release...)? There´s no need to do another compilation!...:s

I know it may be too late for Roxette to rebound here in some people’s eyes, but I still love them here in the U.S.A. Next to John Mellencamp, they are my favorite music group of all time.
I pay close attention to what gets airplay out here. While top 40 may not be where Roxette succeeds, they would absolutely dominate the Adult Contemporary charts. Take a song off the end of the ballad hits “Breathe”. That song is the one I play every time I get in my car. It is beautiful. They are famous for “power ballads” and if that song was released, it would reach #1 on the A.C. chart rather quickly. In summary, if Per can get it done here in the states with the type of promotion they so richly earned and deserved, then lets get er dun!!! God Bless! -Pete

Yes, Breathe is fantastic song. Reminds me It Must Have Been Love a lot. Let´s Breathe be a single in the US.

I still find TBH on the racks from time to time, but I haven’t seen DBU for ages.

I agree with coyboy—if there’s another release in the US, let it be somethinging worth buying. Rare tracks, Unplugged, live tracks. Die-hard US fans have bought DBU—either the original or Edel editions—and TBH & TPH when they were released. The only material that’s not on the Edel is the Room Service tracks.

If there is a new Greatest Hits compilation, and they want wider interest in it, they’ll need to release a single for promotion. I’m not sure that’s in the cards. But DHT’s LTYH was a hit here. You never know.

Great comments esp about Jo-Anna Says. No dear Per, no vomit after C’mon!!!

I agree with girl7twenty7 :)

Hope it be so!!

I wonder if a date is in mind for a US release!

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