The Daily Roxette

Roxette World Tour 2011 schedule

Debriefing of Per Gessle

Written by tevensso on September 15, 2010 to and .

SKÅNE - The Daily Roxette has reached Per for a short debriefing after the successful "tour":

Per, you've just landed after the tour, or as you called it - "merely a handful of concerts".  How do you feel now, better or worse than when we talked before?

Oh it's been a wonderful "tour", so many hi-lites, so few downers. The very last show in St. P. was outstanding. Marie in top shape, Chris finally becoming the rock god he really is and the whole band kickin' serious ass. But all the shows have been great. It's a beautiful band, we really love to play together and I'm sure it shows. It's really really hard to stop playing live now!!

Did everything meet your expectations?

Rox has suddenly become much bigger than expected! Example: last time we played Moscow & St. Petes in 2001, we had around 5000 people per show. This time we had 9500 + 11000. Amazing!! What's cool is that Ozzy Osbourne played the same St. Petersburg-venue the night before us and had 6500 people, Sting performed the night after us and had 6000… And we had 11000… The interest in what we do is growing rapidly and it feels fab of course.

How was the audience?

Oh, without the crowd it could never have worked out! We're totally driven by the response from the audience. You know the Carlsberg-slogan? “Probably the best beer in the world”?? We're saying that about our fans: probably the best fans in the world!!!!!!

How was Marie?

Marie was great. Her hi-lites were Halmstad, Stavanger and St. Peter. She needs to take it easy and rest a lot and unfortunately she had a cold when we played Moscow and that affected her, of course. But all in all, she has impressed us all. The future is so bright, we gotta wear shades.

How was the band?

I cannot praise this bunch of people enough. Not only do they play World Class Power Pop but they're also great to hang out with and that is very very important in my book. And newcomer Malin is a good sport. Even Pelle is nice. Sometimes.

How were you?

Pretty tired after 45 minutes every show. Have to work out some more… Otherwise, I'm lovin' it!

How Do You Do!

Oh, that became a showstopper. We didn't realize how big that song really is. Extremely fun to play.

Best show?

St P.

Best memory?

My bodyguard in Moscow who took his job very seriously…

Worst memory?

The strange and negative media coverage from the Danish concert. We left that show feeling really good. It was a magic night for both ourselves and the crowd. Trust me.

All the shows were recorded for future generations, what are the plans, if any? DVD, Blu-ray? Live album?

We have it all down, let's see what happens…

On a side note, how did it feel to be on stage with the boys in GT again?

Cool, they're such a great band. We rehearsed 12 minutes before the Halmstad gig… it sounded fab immediately. One of these years we have to do something together…

I think UN is writing a declaration about that as we speak. The crowd in Halmstad just lost it when GT came on stage…

Well… We are the boys next door…

Indeed you are! Word has it Roxette is planning a real tour for 2011, what can you share with our readers?

We'll let you know pretty soon what's going on. I'm sure no one will be disappointed.

That's good to hear. And now you're back in damp Skåne, mixing, recording, filming no less. The  guys in the band tell me they run when they hear you coming with the camera, what do you say about that?

That's the game. To grab them in their underwear or killing a cat or something. I have my ways…

How is the studio work going? I saw a Tweet that the first single may be delayed until 2011?

It's going great. Almost done. Have a few biz deals to sort out before we can release something. The album sounds really cool and we're all very happy and positive about it.

Isn't it about time to put out a few seconds teaser on the web?

HEHEHEHEHE

And with that Per slams down the receiver on the phone, with that weird laughter echoing in my ears…

52 comments

pwbbounce (moderator) said on :

Great comments from Per as usual! Love the comment about next year and that no one will be dissappointed!!

With regards to the chance of the single being released next year instead, that wouldn’t bother me at all. The song will have more chance of success away from the Christmas market anyway. Delay until 2011 I say!

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abysmo said on :

Ha ha Tev, it was really fast finding Mr. G. Thanks for another good work. ;)
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tevensso (moderator) said on :

“I have my ways”... ;)

CRIZ said on :

I just love this Gessle-guy and his humour!

Thanks for this cool interview Thomas!

Sascha said on :

Very cool interview again, fun to read. Thanks for that!

Roxerally said on :

Nice words Tev... time for Per and Marie to take a short break before hitting that studio again eh!

ettexor said on :

thx tev!!! great works!

ChrisWilliams said on :

some welcome and interesting comments from Per. What a shame the article begins with, “after the successful (not) tour” - To an English native, this could very well imply that the tour was unsuccessful :-/

In fact, it was that bizarre opening sentence that popped up on my facebook and made me read the article :o

tevensso (moderator) said on :

I realize that now, the meaning was of course that it wasn’t a tour. I’ll edit it and see what we can get.

tomos85 said on :

According to a book published by ex-Official Roxette Fan Club just after Room service tour, there was about 12,900 people on Moscow 2001 gig and 10,607 on St. Petersburg gig... so who’s right? PG now or Fan Club then? In other words it would mean that both gigs were as much popular ;)

FLICKA said on :

AMAZING!!! =) interview, thanks for making it
The Tour really was successful

I want to see them in my country some day,
it may be possible by 2011

is one of my biggest dreams to see them live in concert here in my country Peru
They came to Peru in 1995, but I was only 4 years old and could not go......
now want to see them!

ROXETTE!!! Come back to Sudamerica
ROXETTE!!! Come back to PERU

PLEASE ;)

gyllene_tjej said on :

Thanks Tev! Noone can beat you at the great interviews you conduct!
and thanks Per for your sense of humour!

————
Gessle: Det spelar ingen roll vad som skrivs, bara bilden är bra :D

Sascha said on :

So good luck for the biz deals! Not for the money, but best possible support from the music biz. Roxette deserves it!

RobS said on :

Thanks for the updates :-)

Per’s answer to a possible 2011 tour is very interesting. “We’ll let you know pretty soon what’s going on. I’m sure no one will be disappointed.” No straight up “not happening” or “can’t say anything”, instead it leaves you very positive that there is obviously something being planned.

What could it be??

Still nothing firm on any live releases though :-(

Katya said on :

I wonder if we could get some reports on the Russian concerts from those who were there! Would be very interesting to hear, because reviews in the Russian press are very confusing. E.g. Kommersant, a leading business newspaper, was extremely negative about the Moscow concert at least, while AIF (this is more of a tabloid) praised the same concert as outstanding and a real comeback.

Jud (moderator) said on :

thanks Tev! :)
___________________________
Marie Fredriksson Online
Be strong, speak true

realrain said on :

Concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg were excellent! It was a very good support for the fans. Marie and Per were great!
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http://allroxette.ru/

Claire said on :

Cannot wait to see them live again hopefully in the UK if not Germany has always been high on my list of places to see a Rox concert!

first girl on t... said on :

Marie had a cold in Moscow? We didn’t notice it! She was great! And I just have to say that her performance of Perfect Day was so emotional that the whole audience shouted Marie!Marie!Marie! That was so touching! And Per performed better than in the past, much much better! Moving and dancing all the time! No wonder he was so tired! Respect! And thank you Chris for kalinka-malinka! He was really on fire! I guess all tickets were sold for Moscow concert because when me and my friend arrived to Moscow on Sept 10 we went to buy a ticket for my friend and there were only a few tickets left. When we came to the venue an hour and a half before the concert there were people asking for a ticket so I guess Megasport was sold out. Also 11 000 was for Moscow not for St. Petersburg. BTW I was so sorry for supporting act because people were shouting Roxette Roxette all the time:). The concert was fantastic! I will never forget it! Thank you Per, Marie and the band! Please come to Russia again!

first girl on t... said on :

Oh and I forgot to thank Tev for the interview! Thank you very much!

adrimedsilva said on :

Hello!

I posted this comment in other topic (about russian press) and i post again.

Cheers

Adriano

http://spb.kp.ru/daily/24555/731615/ (in russian)

Roxette concert in Moscow: - old men take place!

Elena LAPTEV - 10.09.2010
Roxette - not the group, which necessarily have to go - such as Rolling Stones in there or the same U2. Not great, say so. But the sign for the current generation of thirty years. Go it was only necessary for the memories - the first slow dance, kiss, yes the very first disco. But not for good sound and cool show. But, strictly speaking. Roxette not pretend it. Everything was more than modestly. A huge poster with Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, so a good light - that’s all.

From the first chord it seemed that the whole parsley ventured for the sake of one man - Marie. And what Gessle, who is friend with Fredriksson from time immemorial, is ready to embark on a tedious round of the cities and villages - only because his partner in Roxette was happy and knew that she is still loved by the audience. Soloist Roxette suffered several years ago, surgery to remove a brain tumor. They say that after this, she will never be the same. Looking for Marie, it’s easy to believe. It was really hard - it does not actually moved, sang, it seemed, with great difficulty and without emotion, half do not even try to pull it out. As soon as the concert began, it seemed that everyone - hit will not be any songs with the old, “corporate vocals”. But no - sold out to the middle.

Were almost all the major hits of the group - «It must have been love», «The look», «Joyride», «Fading like a flower» and others.

Per worked for two. Tried with might and main to please the hall and support Marie in all possible ways. It seemed as if he tries to fill the stage to distract attention from virtually motionless figures of his co-worker. When she managed to pull a high note, saluted her, showing the room - He says: Hey see what kind of good! Curled like a snake, dancing like Elvis in his youth, which, of course, very bribed the hall. Which, I must say, the duo took a very worthy - clapping, when necessary, sang all the songs. Maybe a few people were grumbled - they say, Roxette-it is not the same, but in general everyone was happy, which is felt. At the scene are constantly flying flowers, which Marie is very carefully collected and piled in a corner. It seemed that every bouquet she is really very important.

It is worth noting backing singer with a tambourine. If you’ve seen the popular web video, “How nice to leave the theater crowd”, then you can roughly imagine what was going on there. A girl with a tambourine burned so that it sometimes seemed that sober so would not work. Which, of course, it is unlikely - the foreigners in this regard, people faithful.

Group twice reached the “encore” - shows that they enjoyed a warm reception from Moscow. In fact - despite the fact that Megasport holds a sufficient number of people, but that night there was a chamber, an intimate setting, something that had never been able to get the musicians in the “stone bag” - the Olympic, which occur most frequently these concerts.

tevensso (moderator) said on :

Sorry, but I really don’t understand it. :(

RobS said on :

So it’s not just me then?!

CRIZ said on :

long live Google-translation....*sarcasm off*

ROFL!!

abysmo said on :

Still big support when some Swedish / Norwegian / Danish needed. Part you can understand, part you can surmise. But it’s simpler to translate into English first, cos Slavonic languages are more complicated then English, so it’s almost imposible (as you can see) to get some meaningful text. :)
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RoxRoom.wz.cz

arnie said on :

It’s not been translated properly by google but as far as I can understand it’s not a good review.
The reporter stated that the show was mainly for a thirty generation and you could have enjoyed the show if you still keep back memories about your first kiss, slow dance, disco... and that was all. Roxette is not a band that follows the steps of the Rolling Stones or U2 and they didn’t deliver a good sound or an abrupt show.

He also commented about Marie’s shape and her terrible cancer story, the fact of doing concerts in so many cities and the hard work Marie did on stage, singing and barely moving, but without emotions (that was really cruel :-( ) ...

I’ll try to understand the rest of the review later....

pwbbounce (moderator) said on :

I might be biased, but I really don’t understand what these reviewers are seeing. Is it the same band??

Check out the YouTube Video of LTYH from St Petersburg. The ending is amazing! I really have never heard Marie sing the ending like this before. So much power in her voice still it brings goosebumps!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG50ZvRy6Lw

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Lars-Erik_Olson (moderator) said on :

Very nice work Thomas!

adrimedsilva said on :

Arnie

I know that google translations are bad, but I didin´t think that review was good or bad I though there was a mixed reviews.

It´s true, the first part means what you said, but one notice the reporter said: “Marie will not be the same, and it´s easy do believe”, and tells about Marie´s sequels. He talked, too, the show was modest and all band support Marie. Although some people complained saying “Roxette is not the same”, the most people got satisfied and that was the feeling.
He talks that Per moves a lot to compensate Marie´s difficulties to. The band appeared twice in the end of show and were ovationed by crowd.

I didn´t understand about Malin (backin vocal) comments, but I think he found her “funny”.

Cheers and sorry for bad translation.

Doctor said on :

Moscow and St-Petes concerts were fantastic! Sold out and loud! Marie and Per were great, Chris Kalinka-Malinka man made us all rock!
Please, don‘t try to understand that kp.ru article, as it is hardly understandable in Russian )) Unfortune-ly, there are journalists that write because they have to, when good journalists write because they want to. Though, even in this hard-to-understand article there is no criticism at all (Katya, hello!). Other media reports were good and excellent!
As to the fans, they continue to praise heaven, and they want more! :)) I guess, Marie and Per want too :))

roxulikeababy said on :

How awesome that Roxette is back together! But if anyone reads this who has the power to do anything about it, FYI–there are still fans like me in the US who would fly across country if Roxette would play just one show here. After being a fan for almost 20 years I’ve never gotten to see them live. It’s definitely on the bucket list.

Sunshine is a lady who rox u like a baby!

bradhdyd said on :

From what I’ve heard of the Moscow show on the net, I agree with the cold, I didn’t even notice it. I thought Marie sounded truely amazing, as good as she’s even been, if not better!! Go Marie!! Perfect Day my goodness, pure heaven!! So’s Silver, IMHBL, Fading, Things and Church rock also!! Please Please release a DVD/Blue-ray of this tour!

Jakubek said on :

Does Roxette still have a deal with EMI? Per mentions that he has a few biz deals to sort out before they can release something. I was wondering if they may sign a contract for new album with new record company or they still have some CD’s to release as a part of the old agreement with EMI?

tevensso (moderator) said on :

That’s an interesting question. Per has hinted at this several times lately. My guess though, is that they will resign EMI/Captiol.

tomos85 said on :

They should stay with EMI at least in Scandinavia, but in other parts of the world Sony Music woud be a good option. Keep fingers crossed!

arnie said on :

The PC album was released in UK under the label Sony Music

Raëlian said on :

Yes, it was released by Sony Music. Some people blame EMI for not promoting the records, but Sony didn’t make a difference at all. Fact is the UK is a tough market for Roxette, no matter what label is in charge of distribution/promotion.

Sascha said on :

I don’t think a label change at this point of Roxette’s career would do them a big favour. If EMIs situation doesn’t get worse of course. It looks like they always had a good partnership with EMI Sweden, incl. artistic freedom. EMI UK/headquarter is another thing of course! But are labels eager to sign 50+ pop acts nowadays? Could Roxette lose influence/control over their back catalogue?

Do you remember the rumors from early 2009 about Roxette negotiating with labels, weeks before the NOTP announcement? Wonder if there was substance to that.

tevensso (moderator) said on :

Per owns the rights to all his songs (except for one) so I imagine the back catalog shouldn’t be a problem.

Sascha said on :

Yes, the publisher rights for the compositions. But the recorded songs, the masters? I think only the songs after 1997 when they established their own labels: Fundamental, Gessle Music, Roxette Recordings/Productions, Elevator Entertainment.

tevensso (moderator) said on :

Not sure about that, but hopefully he’s taken care of that as well. Worst case is EMI would keep the rights to release records as well.

JoyRidErno said on :

>Per owns the rights to all his songs (except for one)

Just curious.. What is this one song? :)

Sascha said on :

One of the first album. I think So Far Away or From One Heart To Another. Have to check the booklet!

tevensso (moderator) said on :

From One Heart yes. Because it was written for the Swedish Eurovision song contest. (Skepp utan roder - Ship without rudder) Per didn’t write the lyrics. The song was never used in the ESC.

pwbbounce (moderator) said on :

Well, you learn something new everyday!

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CoyRoy said on :

I’ve seen quite a few clips now from Roxette’s Russian shows, and I must say Marie is TOPS!!! To sing like that WITH a cold is phenominal!!!!

@ TEV: I don’t now how much contact you have with master Gessle, but can you give my message to him so he can maybe read it to Marie???

My message to Marie: Dear Ms Fredriksson...I’ve seen you millions of times on my television (videos, concerts, etc), and I’ve seen you become a diva in your own right. You deserve to be called a diva and a mircale for the simple fact that you have presence (on stage too) whenever you enter a room, and all eyes are on you. And now, after your fight with death, you came out larger than life!! And who cares about what the media might say about you now? All I want to tell you is that us, your fans, will always be behind you (and in front of you), hanging on to your lips as you sing for us. You have our un-ending support. Your voice is soothing and your presence is Godly!!
We admire you from a distance and we sallute you!! You are a fighter and you are living proof that God exists. Thank you for being with us still - better than ever!! God bless you, Marie Fredriksson. PS: Can’t wait to sing along to the new Roxette album.....

Thanx!

tevensso (moderator) said on :

Per reads this so he has already likely seen it. :)

CoyRoy said on :

that’s good news..

DH said on :

Half the world away, I’m reduced to tormenting Roxette fans because I have the RoxBox and they don’t!

DH said on :

Half the world away, I’m reduced to tormenting Roxette fans because I have the RoxBox and they don’t!

Doctor said on :

Well...
3 weeks ago I came back from Mega Sport Arena voiceless & breathless )
It is 3 weeks that every Rox song on a radio makes me smile ear-to-ear.
Today I came to another department to sign a paper and saw a girl who was staring at some point on the wall. There was How Do You Do! on. I asked: “you were there too?” She nodded ))

I am sick and I definetely don‘ want to recover )

mr jefferson said on :

With the recordings of the new Roxette album finished (www.snowfish.com/pergessle), I think it’s high time for yet another of Thomas’s legendary interviews with our dear Mr G. Can’t wait for the first single to be released!

PS: I’ve written to Marie Dimberg about Roxette appearing on “Wetten, dass...?,” but I didn’t have a reply. I’m still very much in favour of Roxette performing in front of some 9 million viewers, though.

Keep the radio on ’cos this is the perfect song

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