GOTHENBURG (Updated) - Per Gessle will take part in a seminar September 29 at 15:00 CET at the Gothenburg Book Fair. He will talk about the new book about him. Entrance fee is 400 SEK plus VAT (45€). The price is not just for the seminar that Per will attend, but for the whole day.

The fair, which opens today, is being held at Svenska mässan (where Per played for PriceWaterhouse a few weeks ago.)

SVT24 will broadcast the seminar on Friday October 5 at 14:40 

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 - 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."

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…

According to the German site Musicload.de the next single off "En händig man" will indeed be "Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke." The site even has the sleeve posted! Digital release date is July 9.

Oh and yes, "En händig man" shoots straight into #1 on the Swedish album chart. 

Per Gessle – En händig man (EMI Elevator Entertainment 3931662)

Per’s back with a new album and – once again – we were eager to gather some of our staff around our virtual roundtable to listen to his new album and share our thoughts.

"En Händig Man" is Per’s seventh solo album if you count "Son of a Plumber" (which he nowadays claims was sort of a solo album, but as "no one can pronounce Per Gessle abroad"… you know). So what do we get this time?!? We get a ton of "sha la la's" and Per whistling! Per has also used horns a lot for once.

"En Händig Man" is – like "Mazarin," Gyllene Tider’s "Finn 5 Fel!," "Son of a Plumber" and most recently Roxette’s two new tracks "One Wish" and "Reveal" – recorded in The Aerosol Grey Machine down in the heart of Skåne. It is also recorded with (mainly) the same band and the same producers. Does it sound the same? Well, yes… and no. You can definitely hear the C&C (Christopher and Clarence) sound on this album, but it has evolved. We like what we hear, even though it is very far from the Per Gessle power-pop that most of us usually love (and miss). This album is sometimes very similar to "Mazarin" and also very similar to the Plumber album. We can even hear touches of "Finn 5 fel!" on it. But enough of this rambling introduction, let's get down to reviewing the tracks!

Colin: On this new album I hear many familiar things but also some completely new sounds. There’s a bit of SOAP, Mazarin, GT, more sixties/seventies, but also some new Gessle sound I can’t really define yet. A bit more raw, edgier, live-ier. This album goes from heavy rock tunes to beautifully smooth ballads – Per Gessle has outdone himself – Again!

The first track of the album is "En händig man" – also the first single. Like we mentioned before, this track was at first recorded using strings and horns, but as that version strayed too far from Per’s vision, they re-recorded the track at the end of the sessions. This version is how Per envisioned it. Thomas: I like it, a typical nice mid-tempo Per track that should do very well on the charts in Sweden. And you do understand what Per talks about, don't you…? Colin: Well, frankly I don’t, since I still haven’t mastered Swedish yet. Awesome song though. It really gets stuck in your head after a while. Since I first heard the song, it hasn’t gotten out of my head for at least a week – lots of credit for that! The songs sounds really smooth and relaxed – a perfect song for a sunny (Sunday?) afternoon!

Thomas: The next track starts with what Per calls a "killer organ intro" and it is. It sounds The Doors all the way. "Pratar med min müsli (Hur det än verkar)" isn't even mentioned in the song, but a nice track it is, very up tempo and frisky. Per says this guy is having a conversation with his breakfast cereal about this girl he wants. He feels they have a future together even though they are total opposites. Colin: Well, his breakfast has a beautiful female voice! The percussion makes me think of a marching band, but the organ and melody kick ass!

Thomas: This one is one of my very favorites of the album - "Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke," a mid tempo track that just hits my heart. Great lyrics and a melody that just is right. This can be one of those live songs that goes on and on and on with lighters and sing-a-long forever. I want to see that happen! Five stars for this one! Colin: I keep singing this now and then (when I’m not humming EHM), it tends to relax me a bit I think. I’ll bring a lighter to Stockholm this summer! Judith: This is a soft, cute song which stays in your mind!

"Fru Nordin" is probably about Per's wife Åsa, but we'll probably never know for sure. He mentions in the liner notes that "most people think this is about my wife. That's nice I guess!" Thomas: This song I like every other listen, when I like it I think of the '60s, I think Roxette's "Soul Deep" which has a similar beat. This one is very energetic and noisy. Colin: I don’t agree on the every other listen – this song is really powerful. Per’s voice is kind of distorted and the guitars are pretty loud – I like! Judith: One of my favorites on the album. I love guitars, I love noise, I love distortion!

Thomas: "Dixy" is another favorite of mine, this is possibly how dixieland sounds to Swedes I would guess. Like Per says in the liner notes "we thought a clarinet would sound nice, a touch of dixie which we knew absolutery nada about…" Christoffer plays the clarinet and it's the second time in his life he's even touching the instrument. Colin: Wow, a clarinet in a Gessle song – that must be a first! Nice song. Sha-la-la-la-la-la…Thomas: This was written and recorded more or less on the spot in the studio.

This next track is about one of Per's first loves, a very early love. "När Karolina kom." Thomas: Karolina seems to have been a neighbor of Per's in the late '60s! The song is so-so, I do like it, but it's at the bottom of the favorites list, usually. Although the chorus is rather cute when you know that Per means a 7-year old girl (or something to that effect). Colin: The intro of the song reminds me of another (not sure which), but the overall melody makes me very happy. Thomas: Hmmm, you are on to something there.

Hanna is back, Hanna from "Henry, dansa inte disco" and "En händig man." Here she should shoot Per with her love arrow in "Hannas kärlekspil." Another '60s flirt, an up tempo track. Colin: Oh yeah, bring on the old sixties uptempo! GT meets the Beach Boys - clap your hands everyone! (oh and by the way, "Henry, dansa inte disco" is still a kick ass song!) Thomas: Lots of saxophones in the background here, this track also has a wild drum beat. Not at all bad, but not on my top 5 either. This track concludes the A side of the LP, by the way. It will be really interesting to hear the vinyl edition as that album will be mastered differently!

Thomas: Here we go! This song, "Om du kommer ihåg," is one of my top 3 songs. A mid tempo number that, in my opinion, is reminiscent of "Tycker om när du tar på mej" mixed with some "På promenad genom stan." Very lovely song, and also one of Per's favorites. The lyrics are obviously about Woody… Colin: Acoustic, very smooth. Helena provides the necessary background atmosphere…sounds like dreaming away. Thomas: And like Per said, his fingerpicking is out of this world! Judith: One of Per's best lyrics ever to me. Simple, direct, touching.

For you Rox fans out there, here's the never recorded Roxette song - "Om jag vetat då (Vad jag vet nu)." Thomas: This is my third favorite of the album. One will never know how the Roxette version would have sounded, but I can't imagine it would have been bad. To me this is Per at his best. And contrary to what Per thinks, I think this would've sounded fabulously on "Finn 5 fel!." It's a mid tempo song with an amazing 12-string playing around all the time. Also a wonderful post(?)-chorus. Top notch and single material maybe? Colin: Yes, it’s really a beautiful song, strings & chimes and all. Very powerful chorus, a beautiful duet – Gessle at his best! One of my favorites on this album for sure. Definitely in my top 3 as well, only maybe at second place. Beautiful song, perfectly performed – even better than it would have been with Roxette I think. Judith: My absolute favorite, indeed Gessle at his best! I too think it would have been a great Roxette song.

"TomTom" was written a tad too late to be included on "Mazarin." TomTom is also a character that Per wants to write a full album about. So far he has only this one. Thomas: What can I say about "TomTom"? I like it, but I don't think it'll be a favorite of mine. The lyrics are playful. Someone here suggested there are too many "emergency rhymes" in it. I see the point, but it doesn't bother me. Another mid-tempo track. The album consists of five up-tempo songs, six mid-tempo ones and three ballads, by the way. Not counting the EP of course. Colin: TomTom, Blabla. Unplugged-like song, really relaxing – feels like driving from Halmstad to Tylösand on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The intro is really nice, one of my favorites on the album.

Now this is possibly a reason why Per calls this album a "bluesier cousin of 'Mazarin.'" Thomas: "Våldsamt stillsamt" is my second favorite up tempo track, and on this one I do get a Blues Brothers light feeling, ha ha! Lots of energetic drums, Hammond organ and saxophones. Very Gyllene Tider, but with a twist. "This is how I sound when I put on my dark skinned mask! Ha ha ha!" Per exclaims in the booklet. Colin: Hey! Are the Lonely Boys back in Swedish? In any case they stole an organ player from the sixties! Oh yeah, and some cow bells as well…

Thomas: "Trött" is my other favorite up tempo number. Fast, heavy Gyllene Tider sound. One can almost see Micke Syd play this one. And in the second verse you get a gorgeous angelic background choir! You gotta love that! Per mentioned that it's always hard to not overdub too much, but I have to say that this album is anything but over-produced. Great track! "May be very cool live" Per comments. Colin: Pure Gessle rock, pretty heavy. Trött? Don’t think so when you can perform this!

Colin: Shalalala - need I say more? Thomas: "Samma gamla vanliga visa" is a title Per has been wanting to use for a long while now. Nice track, another "sha-la-la-la" song. There are surely plenty of them on this album. "The idea was to write a summer song without muscles but with a spark in the eye." He has succeeded once again. (Colin is lost in the shalalala's here.)

Finally we get a ballad as the end of the album and side B of the LP. Thomas: "Min hälsning" is from 1978 and was written for Gyllene Tider's debut album but was shelved due to the need of other material for that album. For the biography about Per he was asked to find material that had that "vintage" look to be photographed and when he found this demo he realized that he still liked this song a lot, so he re-wrote two corny lines in the song and they recorded it live in the studio, two acoustic guitars and one electric. They overdubbed a bass guitar and an organ. Voila. And like I mentioned in my interview with Per, this song really sounds like Per Gessle 1978. A good ending of the regular album. Colin: A very old GT song – beautiful in its purity. I’m very happy it survived the years!

Read more…

Mikael Bolyos revealed the tracklist of his coming "A Family Affair" album to The Daily Roxette today. The CD, which will be released on June 14, includes a couple of surprises:

1. Merry Go Round
2. On & On & On
3. Me & My Guitar
4. When the Lord is About to Come (duet with Mats Ronander)
5. In the Corner of Your Eye (sung by Marie Fredriksson)
6. Lilly
7. Tell It to My Heart (sung by Marie Fredriksson)
8. You Are On My Mind (sung by Mats Ronander)
9. What Am I Supposed to Do
10. Outro (sung by Marie Fredriksson)
11. Hometown (sung by Marie Fredriksson)

Update May 25: Courtesy of Mikael we are able to stream yet another song from his coming album: "Me & My Guitar". Enjoy!! (Editor's note: where has Mikael been all this time??)

Update May 30: Mikael's website is now online: www.bolyos.com 

Me & My Guitar

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - The Daily Roxette is proud to present the world premiere of a snippet of the forthcoming single "En händig man." The single will be relased to radio Monday May 21 and to stores May 23. Enjoy!

By the way, take a stroll to the new site where Per blogs about the new video shoot.

Both Rix FM's MorgonZoo and Mix Megapol's Äntligen Morgon med Adam & Gry will play the single early Monday morning. Per will be a guest at Rix FM, and possibly even Mix Megapol. Both radio stations have webcasts. Per will be on Rix around 07:25 and Mix Megapol shortly after that.

En händig man

STOCKHOLM - The online store CDON has revealed the, until now secret, tracklist of "En händig man":

01 En händig man [A Handyman]
02 Pratar med min müsli (hur det än verkar) [Talking to My Müsli (However it Looks Like)]
03 Jag skulle vilja tänka en underbar tanke [I'd Like to Think a Wonderful Thought]
04 Fru Nordin [Mrs. Nordin]
05 Dixy
06 När Karolina kom [When Karolina Came]
07 Hannas kärlekspil [Hanna's Love Arrow]
08 Om du kommer ihåg [If You Remember]
09 Om jag vetat då (vad jag vet nu) [If I'd Known Then (What I Know Now)]
10 TomTom
11 Våldsamt stillsamt [Violently Quiet]
12 Trött [Tired]
13 Samma gamla vanliga visa [The Same Old Song]
14 Min hälsning [My Greeting]

En händig EP:

15 Hon vill sväva över ängarna [She Wants to Float Across the Meadows]
16 Signal
17 Solen kom från ingenstans [The Sun Appeared From Nowhere]
18 Du kommer så nära (du blir alldeles suddig) [You're So Close (You Get All Blurry)]

Swedish radio station Mix Megapol will premiere the song on Monday at 07:00 CET.

According to a picture The Daily Roxette has found "Om jag vetat då (vad jag vet nu)" was considered for Gyllene Tider's "Finn 5 fel!."