From "En händig man" there will be a third single release. This time around it will be "Pratar med min müsli (hur det än verkar)" in a slightly edited version. Sadly it will only be another radio release, hence no b-side.

The single will be out in the beginning of October. 

STOCKHOLM - "Att vara Per Gessle" - the new authorized biography about Per Gessle (ISBN 9100112003), written by Swedish journalist (and friend of Per's) Sven Lindström, will be released October 30. The book, which is roughly LP size (12") will also be released in not one, but two different limited editions. Both will contain a CD, but the one sold via Swedish Internet bookstore AdLibris will contain nine tracks, while the "normal" issue only contains seven. The regular CD will be in 22,000 copies while the AdLibris version 8,000. The new CD is called "Doppade bara tårna - demos 1977-90" ("I Only Dipped My Toes - Demos 1977-90"):

DOPPADE BARA TÅRNA - demos 1977-90 -

1. Grape Rock: Saken slår mej som på huvudet!
recorded in the rehearsal studio, Vibäcksvägen, Harplinge 1 March 1977
lyrics: Per Gessle music: Mats MP Persson & Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: drums, guitar & bass
Per Gessle: guitar & vocals

2. Lägg din hand i min om du har lust
recorded at Hamiltons väg 8, Söndrum, Halmstad 12 June 1978
lyrics: Hjalmar Gullberg
music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Per Gessle: vocals & guitar

3. Svarta glas (Neverending Love)
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal, Halmstad 13 October 1985
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics & music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: guitar, keyboards & programming
Per Gessle: programming & vocals

4. Dansar nerför ditt stup i rekordfart (Soul Deep)
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal, Halmstad 7 May 1986
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics & music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Per Gessle: all instruments & vocals

5. It Must Have Been Love
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal, Halmstad 14 April 1987
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics & music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: keyboards & programming
Per Gessle: programming & vocals

6. The Look
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal, Halmstad 30 March 1988
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics & music: Per Gessle
publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: guitar & programming
Per Gessle: keyboards, programming & vocals

7. Listen to Your Heart
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal, Halmstad 9 May 1988
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics: Per Gessle
music: Mats MP Persson & Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: keyboards, guitar & programming
Per Gessle: programming & vocals

8. Joyrider
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal 22 May 1990
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics and music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Per Gessle: acoustic guitar & vocals

9. Joyrider
recorded at Tits & Ass, Styrdal 23 May 1990
technician: Mats MP Persson
lyrics and music: Per Gessle
Publisher: Jimmy Fun Music

Mats MP Persson: guitar & programming
Per Gessle: keyboards, programming & vocals

On the "normal" limited edition CD, songs four and nine won't be included. Hjalmar Gullberg (1898-1961) was a Swedish poet and writer.

STOCKHOLM - On Thursday Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet will have a special treat for their buyers - If you buy Aftonbladet between Thursday and Sunday you may buy a specially made CD by Per Gessle for 79 SEK (€9). The CD, named "Kung av sand - En liten samling 1983-2007," has been compiled by Per himself and will be available in 110,000 copies for only four days and only if you buy Aftonbladet. The Daily Roxette does not know if the CD will be available where Aftonbladet is sold abroad.

Besides a few new live tracks, taken from the "Mazarin" live DVD there will be a new demo on the album. "Ingen kan som du" demo from May 28 2003. This is not to be mistaken for the demo from the album "Demos."

1. Kung av sand (Live from the "Mazarin" DVD)
2. På promenad genom stan (From "Mazarin")
3. Inte tillsammans, inte isär (demo 28 juni 2003)
4. Hon vill sväva över ängarna (From "En händig E.P.")
5. Tända en sticka till (From "Per Gessle")
6. Flickan i en Cole Porter-sång (Live from the "Mazarin" DVD)
7. Ingen kan som du (demo 28 maj 2003) [new track]
8. Småstad (Live from the "Mazarin" DVD)
9. Segla på ett moln (With Marie F.!) (From "Demos")
10. Blå december (From "Scener")

The album "The Lonely Boys" will be re-released, remastered and with two bonus tracks August 29 in Sweden. The Lonely Boys is a ficticious band basically consisting of Per Gessle and Nisse Hellberg, with some help from Micke Syd, MP Persson and Thomas Holst (Wilmer X.) Per wrote himself in 1996:

Who are The Lonely Boys?
Good question.
The Lonely Boys was from the beginning the name of a novel written by the Swedish writer Mats Olsson.

The story was about a young rhythm'n pop band located in the south of Sweden circa 1965. Mats asked me and a mutual friend Nisse Hellberg if the two of us could provide a soundtrack for this book, writing and recording what could in fact be The Lonely Boys' debut album.
What a wonderful idea.
A soundtrack to a book.
It must be a first.

So,

Nisse and I formed The Lonely Boys together with some friends and recorded the album in 6 days and nights. Did we have a ball! All of the 14 songs are originals except Jagger/Richards' "So Much In Love". The Rolling Stones never recorded it but The Inmates did. And now The Lonely Boys.

To get the sound we wanted we used only equipment from the era; reverbs, echo chambers, amplifiers, guitars, microphones. Everything in our power was done to make the record "for real".

The debut album by a Swedish rhythm'n pop band 1965.

Nisse can usually be found in the rhythm'n blues combo Wilmer X.

And myself is paying the rent with money made from Roxette records.

We plan it to stay that way.
This is a one-off project for both of us that we enjoyed enormously.
Lots of laughs, lots of beer and a lot of love for the '60s.
Don't you wanna come?

Per Gessle, Roxette
Stockholm, March 1996.

The album was released as a limited edition together with the first issue of the book "De ensamma pojkarna" written by Swedish journalist Mats Olsson in 1995. The "real" edition came a few months later, in 1996. In 2007 the album has been remastered, has a new sleeve and of course the two bonus tracks; namely the demos of "Lonely Boys" and "Adam & Eve."

HALMSTAD - After 20 Swedish towns and 128,800 friends in the audience Per Håkan Gessle has finished his latest tour. The Daily Roxette got a word with him. Per, how do you feel now?
Life's empty, boring and quite sad to tell the truth. It always is when you’ve finished a tour. So the whole band is singing the blues at the moment!!! Everyone wanted to go on for at least another month. This has been the most enjoyable tour I’ve ever done. Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s just the cycle of life I’m in at the moment, I’ve got so much more confidence in what I do these days. And of course it helps to have all these wonderful people in the band, both on and off stage. The crowds' reception have been tremendous. That helps, of course. And yes, I’ve got some great songs to play. I’m really proud to be able to offer this smorgasbord of music without even a glimpse at the Roxette door. By the way, I have to send some big hugs to all the incredible fans all over the world who came to our shows this summer. You’re so sweet!!! We loved to see y’all in the front row!

Yes, you certainly have a plethora of songs to chose from! Even so the Swedish tabloids have been going on and on about Your Big Flop. What's your comment on that?
Well, the tabloids tend to see everything in black or white. I’m 100% satisfied with this tour and the number of people that came by but apparently the blood seeking journalists' commercial expectations were even higher. And I think that whole discussion is a load a crap. I can’t understand why it’s so important if 6000 or 16000 come to a show. The most important thing must be if the concert’s any good! And I'm convinced that the audience thinks so as well.
The local press, on the other hand, has been very supporting and has given us loads of great press. Yea, the tabloids have really lost it. Check this out: They ran a story in Malmö’s Kvällsposten the other week just before our Malmö gig. The article mentioned that my tour was by far the biggest one in Sweden this year and that our Malmö-gig was the highlight on the season in that particular area. The headline? "The Fiasco continues"…

So typical… So, what's up next, after a weekend off? You mentioned in an evening paper that you have a new "secret project," what can you tell us about that?
Nothing. Sorry.

Read more…

Per is publishing official "En händig man" tour videos on YouTube. So far, two videos have been released: first one from the Halmstad premiere and the second one from the Linköping concert. The videos are 1-2 minutes long and consist of clips from backstage, soundcheck and live concert.

HALMSTAD - Before 17,800 people (out of 19,000 tickets available,) Per entered the stage at Örjans vall in Halmstad yesterday. Unfortunately there was a heavy drizzle over Halmstad during the evening. Per was in a great mood and exclaimed "This is the best band I've ever been in. It was also the best tour premiere of mine ever!" Per continues "This band is actually so tight that for the second week of rehearsals we only worked on switching the set list around…"

The concert itself was very Gyllene Tider oriented, with 10 out of 23 songs. The rest consisted of seven "En händig man" songs and six from "Mazarin." Per was a bit upset with the rain as it made it hard to move on stage. "Once with Roxette I ran into Jonas Isacsson when the stage was wet. I smashed into his guitar!"

The band was in top shape. MP was sharp, and looked sharp in his nice tie, Helena was cute (and sang well) and Clarence hit every key.

The stage was fabulous. A great light show with two rather big video screens that showed what was happening on stage with some effects added. The show started by the way with a 40 minute video showing Swedish artists over the years, and ended with Per's new "secret track" which I won't tell what it is. The video wasn't shown though.

Biggest song: Sommartider probably, the sing-a-long must've been heard for miles!

Many fans from all over the world attended the concert; Russians, Norwegians, Finns, Swedes you name it.

The set list

Juni, juli, augusti
(Hon vill ha) Puls
Pratar med min müsli (hur det än verkar)
En händig man
På promenad genom stan
Vilket håll du än går
Hannas kärlekspil
Det hjärta som brinner
En sten vid en sjö i en skog
När alla vännerna gått hem
Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke
Kung av sand

Band presentation

Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)
Födelsedag
Fru Nordin
Spegelboll
Gå & fiska!

Extras

Om du kommer ihåg
Tycker om när du tar på mej
Ljudet av ett annat hjärta
Ska vi älska så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly

Extra extras

Sommartider
Min hälsning

HALMSTAD - The Daily Roxette is back at the crime scene - at Leif's Lounge in Halmstad. This time it's for Per's "sneak preview" of "En händig man på turné." There are several hundred people there, among them Freddie Ljungberg, Martin Dahlin and Börje Salming, or should I say as Per puts it "All the guys with their own underwear label is here!" There are also some 20 South American Roxette fans here. And The Daily Roxette of course!

The concert starts at 22:15, a bit fashionably late, it's Per. The whole place rocks with the opening number "Hannas kärlekspil." Per and the band plays 11 songs, and skips one. All of the songs are great, but one stands out; "Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke" which turns into exactly what I had imagined. A show stopper that keeps on going!

TDR meets Per after the concert, where he and the band are presented a triple platinum award for "En händig man." Per is very satisfied with the concert "It felt great, everyone tells me I should do more club gigs." Naturally TDR asks why he doesn't. "Actually it seems I will. I wanted to do this thing for SOAP down in Europe, but now 'En händig man' goes so well in Norway that we are planning a club tour there. We may even pop over to Finland and Denmark," Per says.

Everything seems set for the big premiere tomorrow.

The set list:

1 Hannas kärlekspil
2 Det hjärta som brinner
3 En sten vid en sjö i en skog
4 En händig man
5 På promenad genom stan
6 Juni, juli, augusti
7 Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke
8 Här kommer alla känslorna
9 Födelsedag
10 Gå & fiska!

Extras

11 Fru Nordin *
12 Sommartider

* They skipped Fru Nordin as an extra for reasons unknown.

Mikael Bolyos - A Family Affair (EMI MBM 3971032)

Mikael has (somewhat unfairly) come in for quite a bit of criticism from Roxette fans over the years, especially since he started collaborating musically with Marie, as some fans felt that he had moved Marie's music into a direction they didn't like.

The surprising thing is that many of the same fans who criticised Micke's influence on albums such as “The Change” have been very positive about his latest project “A Family Affair”. I actually have really liked the work that Marie has done with her husband, and he was indeed responsible for my favourite song from “The Change”….”Mother”.

Personally, although this album is not going to make as one of my all time favourites of Roxette related material, I like the album a lot. It is a very eclectic mix of styles and sounds incorporating old sixties pop, jazz, eighties pop, and even more modern sounds. I think that this diversity is both the key to the record's success, and its downfall. At times I think it doesn't work very well because it jumps between too many different sounds and lacks cohesion, but then I also think that this is one of the attractions of the album: because it is a very personal collection, almost a story of Micke himself and his family, hence the title “A Family Affair”. Indeed, I can almost imagine Micke, Marie and their friends jamming away in their basement to the songs, as we saw in the Marie's “A Second Chance” documentary a few years ago.

Here are my thoughts on the individual tracks .

Merry Go Round:
A mid-tempo, very Beatles-esque kind of track. A very catchy little number, and one of my favourites. My only slight criticism would be Micke's voice. It's obvious he is not a natural singer. He sings in tune, but it is quite monotone and lacks emotion. However, it doesn't really detract anything from this song, as it is the kind of number that just plods along nicely anyway.

On&On&On:
A slower, bluesier number. Another song with a great hook. Marie is on backing vocals sounding great as usual!

Me & My Guitar:
“Yeah-eah-eah-yeah-yeah”….the song starts with Marie in her best rocky voice that we've come to know and love! This is a faster track, and I don't really think Micke's voice is strong enough to pull it off, but still a nice track.

When the Lord is About to Come:
One of my favourites on the album. A very different sound, with interesting lyrics. A duet with Mats Ronander, though I can't work out who is singing what!

Read more…

STOCKHOLM - Per will perform at a "secret" gig in Halmstad, a sneak preview if you will, Monday July 9. Like when he did the "Mazarin" release at Leif's Lounge back in 2003, Per will now perfomr at the same club. The gig will feature special invited guests only, and winners from different contests. The gig starts at around 22:00.

"En händig man" stays at #1 on the album chart, for the third week in a row, in spite of heavy newcomers.