SÖDERHAMN - Snippets of some of the new songs are now available on gessle.com. The remastered and extended version of "The World According to Gessle" will be released May 14.

Gessle.com, thru Bengans, is taking orders for the remastered and extended version of "The World According to Gessle." Swedes can pay via invoice - 169 SEK, or credit card - 159 SEK, foreigners via credit card only. Shipping to Sweden is 29 SEK, EU 45 SEK and the rest of the world 55 SEK.

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - Per writes us:

Jeezus - no order in the bedroom! This morning I found a very early demo of "Wish you the best" called "Drum", which we just have to use on new TWATG-release!!! So… WYTB is left out in the cold… the album release is set for early May. that's the most recent whisper in the EMI corridors…

Update:  Release date is May 14. Still no word on where it's being released besides Sweden.

Per GessleToday the album "Per Gessle" turns 25 years old! The album, which was at first supposed to be called "Syrenernas tid" ("Age of the Lilacs"), was released 25 years ago today, on April 8, 1983.

Per tells us that he started recording this album right after "Puls" when the other four in Gyllene Tider were drafted for the army. "I remember I didn't really get along with my high voice so I set all the songs in keys too low (to get a 'deeper' voice). This is/was a big mistake. Some songs, for example 'Syrenernas tid' would have been much better with some sharper vocals."

Per isn't really happy with the sleeve either. It was shot at Tylösand and at the suite at the Hallandia Hotel in Halmstad. "I never liked the sleeve, much too 'grown up' for a 24 year old… but maybe that happened to show a different side of me than the one in GT…"

The album generated one single; "Om du har lust" with the flip side "Överallt" and "Man varnade för halka." The single is quite hard to find. EMI even claimed it was never released.

Some sources claim that the singer Anne-Lie Rydé loved "Segla på ett moln" so much that she "stole" it (convinced Per she could have it,) but that's not how it went down. Anne-Lie got it because it was a left-over.

"Per Gessle" was released on CD in the box set "På väg" July 1 1992, this time with three bonus tracks. "Segla på ett moln," performed together with Marie Fredriksson, ended up on the album "Demos 1982-86."

STOCKHOLM - Art is not just short for Arthur it seems after all. In the footsteps of Marie Fredriksson, Per will open an art exhibition of his own in May, coincidentally with the re-release of "The World According to Gessle." We have previously seen Per's drawings in the "Mazarin" album booklet and he even created a painting for an auction in 2003, but this exhibition will be something completely different. It's entitled, "The Art According to Gessle."

"I've always liked the classic Greek statues. Michelangelo's David and all that, you know. I even have a couple of antique statues in my house," Per says to The Daily Roxette. "So I thought, what the heck, why shouldn't I get my hands dirty and try to re-create that magnificient style. It's not that popular these days, but I don't think I need to worry about that, do I?" Per says with a crooked smile.

Per has transformed a room in his house in Halmstad into a studio where he works exclusively with Ferrara marble imported from Italy. Like all the great masters, he actually has an assistant doing much of the actual sculpting. Per provides direct supervision and instruction.

Per will be interviewed about these new works on Kulturnyheterna on SVT2 at 19:00 CET today. The program is also broadcast on SVT Play on the Internet.

Editor's Note: As many of you guessed from the Dateline… this was indeed our April Fool's joke. Thanks to Jastrow for the photo!  – LEO

STOCKHOLM -

you should know it by now but… movies are in my blood! there's a brand new track of mine included in the brand new excellent (trust me, i've seen it!!!) swedish movie LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN [Let Me In], based on the book of the same name. opening in the autumn but it has already won 2 heavy awards. my song is called KVAR I MIN BIL [Left in My Car] and is featured 3 times in the movie (including a short whistling version…). it was recorded during the en händig man-sessions and is a somewhat bluesy ditty with a great snappy guitar-hook. and it's under 3 minutes!

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - Per Gessle seems to be in a great mood lately, here's another note from The Man:

Another day, another record!

Spent the afternoon, sipping coffee and eating English muffins at Cutting Room meanwhile mastering the demo-CD. What does it sound like, someone asked on the bus? Well, it sounds like… hmmm… like a demo-CD!

We’ve managed to squeeze in three additional tracks so now the entire album can be enjoyed in its early glory! This is the final running order:

The Demos according to Gessle

1. There is my baby (June 27, 1994)
2. I’ll be alright (July 16, 1994)
3. June afternoon (July 17, 1994)
4. Writer (July 17, 1994)
5. T-t-t-take it! (Sep 12, 1994)
6. Elvis in Germany (Nov 2, 1994)
7. Every day outside my window (Dec 28, 1995)
8. Love doesn’t live here (Feb 25, 1996)
9. Detective Jones (Feb 29, 1996)
10. Beautiful things, terrible things (Apr 7, 1996)
11. Elvis in Deutschland (Apr 26, 1996)
12. Makin’ love to you (acoustic version) (June 9, 1996)
13. Lay down your arms (June 23, 1996)
14. Do you wanna be my baby? (Aug 12, 1996)
15. B-Any-1-U-Wanna-B (Oct 24, 1996)
16. Stupid (Oct 28, 1996)
17. Saturday (Nov 2, 1996)
18. Wish you the best (Nov 3, 1996)
19. I want you to know (Dec 28, 1996)
20. Kix (Jan 2, 1997)

Cheers, P.

Update: technical issues (the damn record is too long!!!) we have had to delete the kix (lovely pair remix) from the cd… shit happens. you'll have to do the twist to reporter instead!
p

STOCKHOLM - The Daily Roxette received a message from a guy who spoke of The World around 11 years ago:

Just came home from a swell mastering afternoon at Cutting Room. To my surprise EMI have managed to locate the rejected Battery studios-mixes, made by Michael Ilbert in London in December 1996. Can hardly remember this…. but… I recall that Michael was very ill with a bad stomach throughout the week and I thought the studio was way too far away from my hotel in the posh areas so I didn't pay attention that much….. anyway… as you might know we only used the "There is my baby"-mix on the record. However, listening to the Battery mixes today both Clarence and I found them superior to the Mono Studio-mixes (made in January 1997) that we did use on the album… so…. we decided to change for this re-release. Which means you'll get "new" mixes on three tracks; "Elvis in Germany", "I'll be alright" & "T-t-t-take it!". Surprise.

P.

GOTHENBURG - Swedish singer Caroline Larsson, hailing from Gothenburg, has gotten not one, but two songs from Per Gessle for her new album "In the Moment" which is due for release in May. "Per likes my voice, it has something special" Caroline says and continues, "Roxette was my biggest idol when I was a kid [Caroline is 21] and I have an incredible respect for Per." The first single "Hold on My Heart (Hey, It's Alright)" is already out to radio stations in Sweden. The song is at the moment a contender for the Svensktoppen chart. Hardcore fans may recognize the title and yes, the song was released by Dutch reality TV-band K-otic a few years back.

The other song Per has given Caroline is "Rainclouds," released in France by Popstar winners What For, then named "Depuis La Nuit des Temps." "In the Moment" is produced by Peter Samuelsson, bass player and singer in Barbados. Listen to a snippet of "Hold on My Heart" by clicking on the link.

Caroline will stay in touch with Per. "We'll see what happens in the future."

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - Per Gessle's 1997 album "The World According to Gessle" will be re-released on EMI/Elevator Entertainment in a "super duper extra turbo deluxe with cheese on it" edition come May! The album is now a double with tons of nice bonuses and a new extended sleeve with an interview added. The videos, you ask? They will not be included on the album, but will be available on various Gessle-sites.

Bonus trax CD 1:

Kix-Cha-Cha "ghost track"
Love Doesn't Live Here outtake from album + B-side Kix
Always Breaking My Heart (30 May 1995) B-side Do You Wanna…
I Wanna Be With You (2 Nov 1994) B-side Do You Wanna…
Blue Umbrella (15 June 1993) B-side I Want You to Know
Jupiter Calling (3 Aug 1995) B-side I Want You to Know
Let’s Party! (14 July 1988) B-side I Want You to Know
Kix (Lovely Pair Mix) B-side Kix

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