LONDON - EMI has reported a slight rise in adjusted pre-tax profits to £177.3m ($290.2m), from £153.3m last year. However, in the same period total sales at the EMI group - whose artists include Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Coldplay , Radiohead and Roxette - fell a hefty 11% to £2.2bn.

  EMI had taken drastic measures to cope with this downturn, previously cutting 1,900 jobs and dropping 400 acts from its roster last year.

  EMI’s Chairman Eric Nicoli has cited music piracy as “the biggest single contributor to market decline.”

  There has been persistent speculation about EMI’s future, and possible mergers with either Warner Music or Bertlesmann’s BMG. “We think we will make progress with or without participation in industry consolidation,” Nicoli said. “Beyond that I have no intention of fueling speculation.”

  There was some glimmer of light from the US, where EMI made a profit after five years of losses.

STOCKHOLM - I put the advance-listening CD that TDR was provided in the player and out pours “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”. I’m stunned, this song will absolutely kill all competition on every radio chart in Sweden this summer! A Swedish “country” song, if there ever was such a thing! And when I’ve heard it for the tenth time, I’m all smiles. I move on to “Om du bara vill”, a mid-tempo song in the “Chrissie, hur mår du?” genre, very lovely vocals.

  “På promenad genom stan” features Marie Fredriksson on background vocals. The lyrics seem to be about when Per first met his wife, Åsa, and about them strolling through an empty Halmstad. Another mid-tempo number with a sha-la-la chorus that can very well be a hit. To me “Gungar” has a Kent-feeling, but people I’ve asked don’t hear that. A very simple mid-tempo song that grows and grows on you. A bit 70-ish sound. (Which really saturates the whole part of the album I’ve heard.)

  “Idag är det är min födelsedag…” (“It’s my birthday today”) Per sings in “Födelsedag”, a rocker reminiscent of Roxette’s “She Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” or Gyllene Tider’s “Faller ner på knä”, I like this song! I continue with “Tycker om när du tar på mej”, a ballad that reminds me of the songs on “The World According to…” with a cute flute (keyboard?) intro.

  “Spegelboll” - what can I say? This is Kylie Minogue, Gyllene Tider, Per Gessle and Pet Shop Boys all combined. If this isn’t single #2 I will personally visit Capitol and have a talk with them. This is a power disco rocker complete with a glockenspiel, and all! A guaranteed hit!

  What strikes me over and over again is how happy Per sounds, even if the lyrics are of the sadder kind, like in “Här kommer…”, he still sounds truly happy. I assume the recording sessions were fun. His voice is also wonderful on this album.

  If the rest of the album is as good as these seven songs, there is no doubt in my mind that this album will sell more than a few copies… I understand the problems they had to pick a single.

STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - A pop single of 2 minutes and 39 seconds has turned Per Gessle’s life upside down. The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet and the tabloid Expressen report today about Per Gessle’s plans for a possible solo-tour. “I would love to go on tour,” he says in Aftonbladet.


  Per hadn’t thought of a tour, but after the positive reactions to his single “Här kommer alla känslorna”, he is now re-thinking it. “On Friday everything was like normal, but today all the radio stations are pulling me, the newspapers have given me good reviews, the reporters want me to go on a solo tour… and actually I do feel like going on tour,” he comments to Aftonbladet.

  Today his mind is full of thoughts on the subject. “If I go on a tour, and play a 2-hour long set, I have to play some Gyllene Tider too, but that would take the edge off Gyllene Tider’s 25th anniversary, next year; on the other hand, I have done three Swedish solo albums and one in English, so I should have enough material to go on tour, and just nibble around a bit with Gyllene Tider’s, I am really up for it”.

  “I love to be on stage, so we will see if this works out,” he tells Expressen, who has also revealed that Per has another concert booked besides the one on July 14 for the Swedish Crown Princess; he will finally play live on the much loved TV-show “Allsång på Skansen” (Sing-along at Skansen) on June 24, where Buddaboys, a band formed by Eva Dahlgren, Mija Folkesson and Greta Folkesson, will perform as well.

  But this doesn’t mean the end of Roxette, does it? “No no no, this was already planned, but when Marie got ill, I started to work on this album more. But she is doing really fine and is already working on her own new solo album,” he tells Expressen. Per will go on writing Roxette songs if he has nothing else to do, “Writing songs is probably what I like best.”

  According to Aftonbladet, who has been able to listen to the seven song sampler of the album, all of them are “potential hits”. “This album is one of those which don’t have any single or just singles. When I played it for ten people, they have proposed me at least seven singles. I mean, ’Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)’ is track number eleven on the album, and that says a lot,” says Per to Aftonbladet.


  It takes a great deal to rattle his world. And now it has happened, “…it’s not many times that I have found myself with such a reaction. Even if it has been great years, the past 25,” he says to Aftonbladet and laughs.


  Per thanks Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) and George Harrison on his album, “this is the sound we have tried to get, the ideal sound is from 1971-72. It goes through the entire album, it sounds airy, playful, the music breathes,” he concludes in Aftonbladet.

Judith Seuma and Kajsa Evensson contributed to this article.

• Aftonbladet’s article
• Expressen’s article (In Swedish)
• Buddaboys official website

STOCKHOLM - Every year on July 14th and since 1978, the Swedish Royal Court celebrates the “Victoriadagen” (Victoria’s Day) in Borgholm, in honor of the Crown Princess Victoria’s birthday.


  This year is this event’s 25th anniversary and a great party is being arranged: artists like Per Gessle, Peter Jöback and Robyn will perform for the Princess.


  Kay Wiestål, who together with SVT’s producer Göran Winberg, is arranging the event, is very glad for the fact that he has been able to book Per and Robyn for the event, “I have tried to book Roxette and Robyn many times, but that was hard, they are so controlled by their record companies,” Wiestål explains.


  In addition to the artists mentioned above, Lisa Nilsson, Sanne Nielsen, the trumpetist Magnus Johansson, the illusionists Stefan Odelberg and Peter Glyt will also perform at the party.

• Article in Barometern
• Peter Jöback’s official website
• Robyn’s official website
• Royal Court

STOCKHOLM - Early this morning Per Gessle was interviewed by Anna Hansson at the Swedish radio channel P3’s program “Morgonpasset”, where besides commenting about his new single, they have been playing and talking about summer songs.


  Hansson started the interview off congratulating Per for the single, “I read you have just made the hit of the summer!” she said “yeah, I read that too,” Per answered, adding “we’ll see if it happens, of course it’s great fun!” A summer hit that Per will never forget is “Trouble” by Lindsay Buckham, the guitar player and singer of Fleetwood Mac. “This song is like a rented car on the freeway, your elbow outside the window and this great song on the stereo,” commented Per, and went on describing his feelings at that moment, “there’s a sense of freedom in that state, the myth and as a tourist you pick it up at once!”


  “Ever falling in love”, by the Buzzcocks, is, according to Per, one of the best songs ever, “we always played this song in the rehearsal studio when I was in Gyllene Tider,” he recalled, “we fed on songs like this, so when I hear this song I think back to the end of the 70s, long hot nights in Halmstad.” Read more…

STOCKHOLM - Capitol Records has confirmed the following track listing that appeared first on the site of Swedish online record store Ginza.se. They added the track list to their “Mazarin” product information:



1. Vilket håll du än går

2. Om du bara vill

3. På promenad genom stan

4. Smakar på ett regn

5. Gungar

6. Födelsedag

7. Sakta mina steg

8. Tycker om när du tar på mej

9. Spegelboll

10. För bra för att vara sant

11. Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)

12. Jag tror du bär på en stor hemlighet

13. Varmt igen

14. Mazarin

  We had already heard some of these titles, like “På promenad genom stan” on which Marie sings or “Varmt igen,” (streamed by The Daily Roxette) which was already included on Peter Jöback’s last album “Jag kommer hem igen till jul”, released in November last year, besides, of course, the first single “Här kommer alla känslorna.”


  Per will throw a by-invitation-only release party on June 10th in Halmstad, where he will perform some of the songs included on “Mazarin.”


Daniel Alvedahl contributed to this article Read more…

STOCKHOLM - Swedish tabloid Expressen’s columnist Anders Nunstedt suggests in today’s Expressen that Per Gessle should start booking gigs and renting a tour bus, and fast! “This single is most probably the big hit of this summer,” Nunstedt says.

  Today the new single, “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”, is released to the media. Nunstedt gave the single 4 stingers out of 5. “And if things go the way I figure, this record will spin so often it starts smoking the next few months.”

  In four weeks the album “Mazarin” will be out. After hearing about half of the album Nunstedt reports that “…Gessle seems to have a formidable album up his jean jacket sleeve…” Simple, straight-forward pop with a personal touch, light-years away from Roxette’s non-lyrics. The album is full to the brim with happy choruses, Nunstedt continues.
This is a very fresh album, nothing you can expect from tired old pop veterans, like GES. The only thing Nunstedt misses is the younger Gessle’s troubled love lyrics. But he’s only heard half so far. And that half demands a tour.

  Per Bjurman of Aftonbladet is also raving about this single. “Per Gessle has never been better”, “Oh shit: This is a summerhit if I ever have heard one before.” and “So everyone else, I’m sorry. It is the eternal pop addict from Harplinge who has written the soundtrack of the upcoming summer.” The b-side is a weird little instrumental thing called “Nu är det ju juli igen, ju”. “What this means I have no idea about, but try saying that title 15 times in a row!” Bjurman says.

  There is no information whether Gessle is going to perform the solo material live, but Bjurman hopes that he will. “That would be very, very fun,” Bjurman concludes.

  Per was also interviewed on Rix FM this morning and P4’s Svensktoppen yesterday afternoon. In Svensktoppen’s interview Per commented “This album consists of part really old material, of which some is from the 80s even!” and “I haven’t put out a solo album in Swedish in an amazing 18 years. This means I’m very old.” The album breathes very much summer and very much Halmstad. Being asked who else than Marie is on the album Per says only Marie that you [the interviewer] know of, and laughs.

Kajsa Evensson, android & Judith Seuma contributed to this article.

• Nunstedt’s column (In Swedish)
• Bjurman’s column (In Swedish)

Read more…

STOCKHOLM - The Daily Roxette, in cooperation with Capitol Records Sweden, proudly presents the new single by Per Gessle: “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”!


  In addition, another snippet is available at the Official Roxette Fanclub’s website.


Just follow the links below.

• Här kommer alla känslorna (Mirror 1 - Sweden)
• Här kommer alla känslorna (Mirror 2 - Sweden)
• Roxette.nl
• Här kommer alla känslorna (Mirror 3 - USA [Roxette.org])

STOCKHOLM - Swedish radio station Rix FM’s morning show “Morronzoo” will feature Per Gessle talking about his new single Monday morning.

  The show is on the air between 6-10 CET, Per is scheduled to appear around 8:30.

• Rix FM (Click “Lyssna på Rix FM”.)

STOCKHOLM - Keep your browser tuned to The Daily Roxette and come here on Monday at 00.01 CET. With the kind permission of Capitol Records Sweden, The Daily Roxette will stream 30 seconds of Per Gessle’s new single “Här kommer alla känslorna (På en och samma gång),” which is being released to radio stations the same day. The street date, confirmed by Capitol, is June 23rd.

  The B-side is called “Nu är det ju juli igen, ju” [see note] and is an instrumental number. The single is published by HipHappy and Capitol Elevator Entertainment and has been produced by Clarence Öfwerman, Christoffer Lundquist and Per Gessle.

  Meanwhile, here’s the single sleeve!

EDITOR’S NOTE: The B-side title is a humorous take-off on a traditional Swedish Christmas song, “Nu är det Jul igen [Now It Is Yule Again],” changing “Jul” [Yule] to Juli [July]. -LEO

STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - A new solo album by Per Gessle, “Mazarin,” (Cupcake) will be released on June 16. The album is in Swedish and contains 14 tracks. A single, “Här kommer alla känslorna (På en och samma gång)” (Here come all the feelings [all at once]), is to precede the album, with a radio date of May 19.

  The working name was “Mazarin” and the name has been kept, since like this pastry (see photo at right), this album is full of good stuff!

  The album is recorded in Christoffer Lundquist’s studio - The Aerosol Gray Machine - with Per Gessle, Christoffer Lundquist and Clarence Öfwerman.

  Lately Per has had a partiality to write in Swedish, and since the pile of songs grew a Swedish album came to mind. So when the year was at its darkest and coldest, an album that breathes – from the first tone to the last – Swedish summer, came alive.

  The sleeve (see below) and the poster photos (click to enlarge the one shown at left) are taken by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn who has worked with U2, Depeche Mode and Roxette, to mention a few. The album cover is shown below.

  A special limited edition of the album has been made, that includes a DVD: “En Mazarin blir till” (The Making of a Mazarin). A 32-minute long behind-the-scenes “documentary” filmed and edited by Per and his friends.

  “It’s been a totally fantastic recording,” Per says. “An incredible recording really. We stayed in a hostel and worked basically around the clock, five weeks down in a snow-covered Skåne. Christoffer and Clarence shared my dream to make a warm, immediate and yet kind of thoughtful album. Small town. Small thoughts but Big feelings. I don’t think I can get any more personal than this.”

  Aftonbladet also reports today about Per Gessle’s new solo album, and reveals a nice surprise to all Marie fans: she has recorded a song for the album, where she sings both chorus and backing vocals.


  The song is “På promenad genom staden” (Strolling through the town) and is about Per’s hometown, Halmstad. “It’s incredibly cool that Marie wanted to sing on a song for the album,” Per tells Aftonbladet.

  This is the first full song Marie records after she was operated due to a tumor last September, and it was recorded in Stockholm three weeks ago under complete secrecy.


  Per explains that Marie feels much better, almost completely fine, and that she is on her way back, “…she has gone through a bad time, but she is back, and it feels fantastic…” Per says. He also points out that the song is not a duet. “Marie sings parts and backgrounds, but it’s a full song, not like ’Opportunity Nox’.”

  “One of the album’s advantages is that nothing sounds like this. While one of its disadvantages is that nothing sounds this…” Per laughs.


Birgit Eichler, Judith Seuma and Daniel Alvedahl contributed to this article



“Mazarin - pastry; short crust pastry filled with almond-flavored marzipan and covered with frosting”.

• Aftonbladet’s article

STOCKHOLM - Swedish singer Monia Sjöström’s new album “Söderns hjärtas ros” (Frituna CD: 584798 2) starts off with the track “Mannen med gitarr” (“The Man With the Guitar”) written by Per Gessle. The track is the regular Per-style pop-rock we have gotten used to. (A few seconds of the song can be heard in the TV-spot shown on Frituna’s site). Other contributors to the album include Mauro Scocco, Nisse Hellberg (of Wilmer X) and Peter LeMarc.

  Monia was previously the lead singer in the dance band Grönwalls, but has since gone solo. This is her second solo album. Her first, released two years ago, was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

  “Söderns hjärtas ros” is produced by Micke “Nord” Andersson and Kjell Andersson.

• Frituna (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - Last week we reported about a nice surprise for all Marie Fredriksson fans: Marie has recorded a song for Per Gessle’s new album “Mazarin”. “Marie is on her way back,” said Per then to Aftonbladet.

  And she certainly is: Marie attended Paul McCartney’s concert in Globen, Stockholm, last night. Marie is a big fan of The Beatles and McCartney, so of course she couldn’t miss this event, that lasted almost three hours and was followed by 13,000 in the audience. Marie’s friend Eva Dahlgren and Benny Andersson were other artists that could be seen at the show.


  Aftonbladet published earlier a picture of Marie at the concert, where you could see she seems very happy.


Mattias contributed to this article

• Aftonbladet’s article