The Daily Roxette

Roxette World Tour 2011 schedule

Rox Britannia launched

Written by roxeteer on January 11, 1999 to .

The UK division of the official fan club has launched its own web site. The site is huge and it looks great, too.

Per, 40: “Time for liposuction”

Written by roxeteer on January 11, 1999 to .

“Turning 40 doesn’t mean me a shit”, says Per, 40. “The important thing is that your life has contents.” Per thinks that when one is tired and fed up everything’s lost. “I was about to become like that. I was fed up with the future and tired of the music business. I felt like Pete Sampras, burned-out and discouraged.” Fortunately, an angel saved him. The angel is called Gabriel and he’s the 17-month-old son of Per and Åsa. “Suddenly I noticed that I needed something to my life. After Gabriel was born I felt like a totally different person. I’ve got my purpose: a family.”

Per doesn’t think the new album would be a of test of Roxette’s popularity. “This is the best [album] we’ve done. […] Marie sings better than ever. I feel myself super cool, I don’t think anyone’s going to ask ’why did you still make an album?’ It’s just the opposite, I think we’re going towards a very intensive period.”

Per isn’t afraid of the criticism even though the new single hasn’t get very good reviews. “We have written 40 songs, recorded 19 and 14 are on the album. Five of them are strong single candidates. It’s entirely a matter of chance which will be the first single. You can’t know if it’ll be a hit, you can’t see it in advance.”

“[My singing voice] is an absolute disaster. But I have to admit that I sing quite well on the new album…”, says Per. He would like to have the voice of John Lennon or Otis Redding or Steve Marriot (Small Faces).
Per is asked on Aftonbladet how he’s going to spend his birthday. “Åsa has arranged something, I have no idea what it is going to be.”

Five questions to Per:


  • Drugs

    “I’ve never been a teetotalist. But I’m also a little shy to try anything new. I’m the kind of person who likes to have the control. It can be useful in this business.”
  • Abba

    “A definitive role model. They were naturally superb, I can see it now. But I didn’t like them when they were pop. I specially hated ’Waterloo’.”
  • Picasso

    “The greatest artist of the 20th century. […] He gave the impulse for my interest in art.”
  • Diapers

    “Changing diapers is overrated entertainment. But a Nobel prize to the one who invented the T-shaped diapers!”
  • Plastic surgery

    “Hmm, I think it’s time for a liposuction soon.”

The “Picture of the Day” in Aftonbladet is a funny picture of Per and a champaigne bottle. (Maybe he does need a liposuction, what do you think? :-)

“Wish I Could Fly” single track listing

Written by roxeteer on January 11, 1999 to .

The track listing of the new single is not a rumour anymore as it’s also available on Boxman’s site.


Cheaper single (probably in a cardboard sleeve)

  1. Wish I Could Fly
  2. Happy Together

More expensive single (probably in a plastic cover)

  1. Wish I Could Fly
  2. Happy Together
  3. Wish I Could Fly (demo)

Multimillionaire Per Gessle

Written by roxeteer on January 10, 1999 to .

According to Aftonbladet, Per’s fortune is 200 million SEK which - of course - makes him one of the richest men in Sweden. Per also pays a lot of taxes: 17 million SEK in 1997. Per owns the copyrights to all his songs - 250 in total, he says.

Per’s wealth isn’t all exactly his own, because most of the business he does is run through several companies. A Swedish newspaper called Månadens affärer said in 1995 that his fortune would be as much as 500 million SEK, but Per said later in an interview that it’s totally made up.

Gyllene Tider’s Återtåget tour in 1996 brought 60 million SEK to Per. His albums has sold about 40 million copies around the world and the new album is going to increase the number with “at least 4 million”, says EMI Svenska.

Aftonbladet has made a list of Per’s companies:


  • Gessle Music

    Sales: 12 860 000 SEK

    Profit: 4 069 000 SEK

    Per owns: 100 %
  • Music For Money

    Sales: 52 043 000 SEK

    Profit: 8 402 000 SEK

    Per owns: 100 %
  • Jimmy Fun Music

    Sales: 80 283 000 SEK

    Profit: 12 707 000 SEK

    Per owns: 100 %
  • Happy Accident Music

    Sales: 1 847 000 SEK

    Profit: 82 000 SEK

    Per owns: 100 %
  • Tres Hombres

    Sales: 2 700 000 SEK

    Profit: 35 000 SEK

    Per owns: 33 %
  • Funbag

    Sales: 1 766 000 SEK

    Profit: 46 000 SEK

    Per owns: 100 %
  • Roxette Produktions

    Sales: 12 230 128 SEK

    Profit: 516 000 SEK

    Per owns: 50 %
  • Tylösandskompaniet

    Sales: 34 337 000 SEK

    Profit: 83 000 SEK

    Per owns: 40 %
  • Tylösands havsbad

    Sales: 62 661 000 SEK

    Profit: -91 000 SEK

    Per owns: 40 %
  • Roxette Recordings

    Sales: no information yet

    Profit: no information yet

    Per owns: 50 %

This is how Per spends his money (according to Aftonbladet):

  • Has a 27-million-SEK villa (500 sq metres) in Halmstad and luxury apartment on Strandvägen in Stockholm.
  • Has a Ferrari, Harley Davidson motorcycle and an Indian Big Chief jeep, but they are not in use. The family Gessle uses two Mercedes, a 420 and a 600.
  • Collects art. First piece of art in his collection was a sculpture from the 60’s by Fernandez Arman bought in 1981. Per has masterpieces by Picasso and other famous artists.

www.haveaniceday.nu updated

Written by roxeteer on January 10, 1999 to .

The Swedish promo site for “Have A Nice Day” has been updated again. This time you can find the lyrics of “Wish I Could Fly” and a new picture of Roxette. There’s also a link section which features links to the official fan club’s site and to Jimmy Fun Music site.

“Wish I Could Fly” lyrics

Written by roxeteer on January 10, 1999 to .

Here are the lyrics of “Wish I Could Fly” from haveaniceday.nu site:


Halfway through the night
I wake up in a dream
Echoes in my head
Make every whisper turn into a scream
 
I dreamed I could fly
Out in the blue
Over this town
Following you
Over the trees
Subways and cars
I’d try to find out
Who you really are
 
In the middle of the night
Cool sweatin’ in my bed
Got the windows open wide
Thinkin’ about all the things you said
 
I wish I could fly
Out in the blue
Over this town
Following you
I’d fly over rooftops
The great boulevards
To try to find out
Who you really are
Who you really are
 
I wish I could fly now
Wish I could fly now
Wish I could fly now
 
I wish I could fly
Around and around
Over this town
The dirt on the ground
I’d follow your course
Of doors left ajar
To try to find out
Who you really are
 
To try to find out
Who you really are

Words & Music by Per Gessle / Published by HipHappy. All rights reserved. © 1999 Roxette Recordings

Per’s way to the top of the world

Written by roxeteer on January 9, 1999 to .

The first article of Aftonbladet’s series tells about Per’s childhood, school and earlier bands.

Per was the youngest of three children and that’s why he was a bit sissy. He liked to read, paint and - most important - listen to the music. Aftobladet tells about his first album, Kinks’ “Kontroversy” which he bought from his brother and which is still in his record collection. Per also used to read all the American and English music charts very carefully.

Aftonbladet writes about his poor success in school. Per got a 1 (the worst grade) in maths, but “little did he know that he would ’get a 1’ in the USA”. The only subject he was really good at was music. It wasn’t a surprise he started his own band, first called Grape Rock, but soon the name was changed to Gyllene Tider.

Per met Marie first time in the early 80’s. Gyllene Tider and Marie’s band Strul shared a rehearsal room. “First time I saw Per I thought he looked unbeliavably stylish. I had a little doubt, though. We were more like hippies and he was an elegant and well-raised young man. […] After all we became quite a good friends”, Marie tells on Aftonbladet.

Then the article tells about Åsa Nordin, the woman who Per was to marry and about their son Gabriel Titus who was born in 1997. After Gyllene Tider had split up in 1985 (the article says 1983…) Per wasn’t really remembered anymore. However, in 1986 a duet with Marie Fredriksson brought him back to the spotlights. “Neverending Love” became a massive hit in Sweden. But for the international success they had to wait until 1989 and for the album “Look Sharp!”.

“After all this he hasn’t really changed much. He is still the same boy, only spoiled with millions. One gets so much stuff and money and the habits change”, says Rolf Nygren, ex-managing director of EMI Svenska. He believes in Roxette’s future. “Per won’t ever give up, it’s not his style.”

Tomorrow Aftonbladet is going to inspect Gessle’s million imperium.

Per’s life on Aftonbladet

Written by roxeteer on January 9, 1999 to .

Per turns 40 next Tuesday. To celebrate his birthday the newspaper Aftonbladet has started a series of articles about Per’s career “from 1 [the worst grade] in maths to #1 in USA”. There will be an article about him every day until January 12.

“Fucking Åmål” nominated for 5 awards

Written by roxeteer on January 8, 1999 to .

Last year’s (and maybe this year’s, too) megahit movie in Sweden, “Fucking Åmål” (that’s English, no need to translate :-), has been nominated for five Guldbagge awards. The categories are best film, best director, best manuscript, best actress and best supporting actor. Rather strange is that the stars of the movie, Alexandra Dahlström and Rebecca Liljeberg, are nominated together in best actress category. “Fucking Åmål” features old Gyllene Tider tune “När vi två blir en”.

“Wish I Could Fly” theme song of Australian Open

Written by roxeteer on January 8, 1999 to .

EMI Electrola’s web site tells that “Wish I Could Fly” will be heard in Germany already on January 18, when the Australian Open tennis tournament begins. “Wish I Could Fly” is going to be the theme song of the tournament on German TV channel ARD. Thanks everyone, I got about 20 translations of the German article :-)

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