STOCKHOLM - After 10 amazing weeks Per Gessle’s hit album, “Mazarin”, is still at the #1 spot in Sweden. It has to date sold triple platinum (more than 180,000 units), and is reportedly closing in on quadruple. The first single “Här kommer alla känslorna” has been a #1 hit for 8 weeks, and consequently they both have been #1 together during those 8 weeks. That too is a record in itself. “Känslorna” has now sold gold (15,000 units). Per’s hope is to stay #1 at least until Christmas, he said jokingly in Aftonbladet.

  The only Swedish album that has sold this much during the last few years is Kent’s “Vapen & ammunition”, which has sold five times platinum, but that is since April 2002.

Editor’s Note: TDR has learned that tickets are still available (as of September 1st) for Per’s upcoming shows in Oslo and Helsinki. – LEO

• GLF’s album charts, via Aftonbladet
• GLF’s single charts, via Aftonbladet

STOCKHOLM - Sweden’s chancelor of justice, Göran Lambertz, suspects that someone at the Karolinska hospital leaked information about Marie Fredriksson’s health condition to Expressen while she was being treated there. Swedish news bureau TT reports that the chancelor of justice has therefore decided to initiate a preliminary investigation to determine if there was a breach of professional privacy standards by the hospital.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - The Daily Roxette mistakenly reported last week that “På promenad genom stan” wouldn’t be the next single from the “Mazarin” album. Our information was incorrect. While “Födelsedag” was being considered, the final choice for the second single is indeed “På promenad genom stan.”

  The new song will go to Swedish radio September 8th as “Här kommer alla känslorna” is still at #1 on the Swedish singles chart (for the 8th week in a row).

  Update Aug 25: The b-side of the single will be “Inte tillsammans, inte isär” (2 timmars T&A Demo 28 juni 2003). Release date is September 17th.

STOCKHOLM - Otto Sjöberg, Expressen’s editor-in-chief, stands by his apology to Marie Fredriksson, in spite of new developments in the legal proceedings reported yesterday.

  Sjöberg declined to comment to Martin Jönsson, a reporter for Journalisten (a magazine and website for Swedish journalists), about the fact that the libel trial against him has now been postponed. He also doesn’t want to comment on the information about Marie Fredriksson in legal counselor Peter Danowsky’s letter to Fredriksson’s lawyer, where it is claimed that Expressen had at the time received new information about her health condition.

  However, he stresses that the apology published last spring, where he apologized to Marie Fredriksson for letting the newspaper speculate about her health condition, is not affected by these new developments.

  “I apologized for speculating about her test results, and that it could’ve been a malignant tumor. We had information about a new lump – information that we’ve all along maintained was credible – but it was wrong of us to speculate. It was a mistake. But it won’t affect the legal process, or what happens now,” Sjöberg says.

  Marie Fredriksson’s attorney, Leif Silbersky, interprets yesterday’s happenings as Expressen retracting their previous apology: “Their actions are completely absurd. First they maintain that they are right, then they back off and apologize, and now they retract the whole thing [just] before the trial. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

• Journalisten’s article (in Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - Per Gessle has set a new record with “Mazarin” and “Här kommer alla känslorna”, he is the first person that has been #1 on both the single and album charts in Sweden for 7 weeks (and they’re still #1). “Mazarin” - which has been #1 for a total of 9 weeks - has sold an amazing 200,000 copies without any commercial spots at all. (Plus 10,000 in Norway).

 There are only eight times someone has been #1 on both those lists at the same time, and two of them are Gyllene Tider and Roxette.

 Per also says that the second single won’t come before everyone has stopped playing the damn first single.



  Here’s the tally:



Seven weeks!

Per Gessle - “Mazarin” and “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”

Five weeks

The Offspring - “Americana” and “Pretty Fly”

Three weeks

Melanie C - “Northern Star” and “I Turn to You”

Shakira - “Laundry Service” and “Whenever Wherever”

Two weeks

Roxette - “Room Service” and “The Centre of the Heart”

Magnus Uggla - “Klassiska mästerverk” and “Vi ska till VM”

One week

Aqua - “Aquarium” and “Barbie”

Gyllene Tider - “Halmstads Pärlor” and “e.p.”

Supernatural - “Dreamcatcher” and “Supernatural”

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - The lawsuit between Marie Fredriksson and Expressen has taken a sudden turn. Just days before the case was to go to trial, Expressen suddenly claims they where right after all – that their story was factual – even though they had issued an apology earlier.
  According to Marie’s lawyer, Leif Silbersky, this means that the court case will need to be postponed to a later date.

  Expressen published an article in the spring that Marie had an additional tumor. Marie and her lawyer denied this and Expressen later apologized. This wasn’t enough for Marie, who has sued Expressen for a half-million kronor ($62,000).

  Marie has also, via her attorneys, filed a report to the police about her hospital breaking their professional secrecy about her condition. “The information given to Expressen is of the nature that it can only come from someone employed at the hospital, and with access to Marie’s files,” Silbersky states. Karolinska sjukhuset, the hospital in question, welcomes the report. “Our clients’ integrity is one of our corner stones,” Margareta Hamark, information manager of the hospital, says to Journalisten.

  “Criz” contributed to this article.

• TV4.se article (in Swedish)
• Journalisten, article 1 (In Swedish)
• Journalisten, article 2 (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - In this month’s Premiär magazine (a free magazine) Per gives us the recipe for a perfect pop CD. Many of these songs were featured on the pre-show CDs that were played before the “Sommar-Mazarin” concerts. As you may know it’s usually Per who compiles Roxette’s, Gyllene Tider’s and now his own pre-show CDs. Per does this “…with a few bottles of wine and a stack of CDs…”, according to himself.



1. Balloon Farm - A Question of Temperature

2. Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York

3. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - American Girl

4. Brainpool - Bandstarter

5. REM - The One I Love

6. The Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love…

7. The Who - Dogs

8. Lindsay Buckingham - Trouble

9. The Beatles - Cry Baby Cry

10. The Troggs - Love is All Around

11. Bernt Staf - Familjelycka

12. Docent Död - Solglasögon

13. Blondie - Hanging on the Telephone

14. Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker

15. T.Rex - Metal Guru

16. Israel Kamakawiwo’ole - Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World

17. Led Zeppelin - Immigrant Song

18. Joni Mitchell - Rainy Night House

19. ABBA - S.O.S.

20. Dusty Springfield - Son of a Preacher Man

21. The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

HELSINKI/OSLO (UPDATED) - The Daily Roxette has now found out the dates and venues of Per’s first concerts outside Sweden, in Oslo, Norway and Helsinki, Finland.

  Although EMI Norway wouldn’t reveal the exact date, the music club Rockefeller confirmed to The Daily Roxette that Per will perform there and the date is September 23rd (d&d management has confirmed this). Tickets are available at billettservice.no for 270 NOK each. Rockefeller is the most popular live music club in Oslo. It has a capacity of about 1,000 people. Roxette performed in Rockefeller during their “Look Sharp!” tour in 1989.

  Meanwhile, EMI Finland Label Manager Ramona Forsström told TDR that Per is indeed coming to Finland. Later d&d management confirmed that Per will play the Tavastia rock club in Helsinki September 25th. The tickets are available at Tiketti for 25 EUR each.

  Please note that both of the concerts are for 18 years of age and older.

  The first hint of Gessle concerts outside Sweden was published in Aftonbladet on Wednesday. Per revealed that when the Swedish tour ends in Eskilstuna on August 17th, he will have concerts in Oslo and Helsinki. “After that I’m trying to relax and write some songs,” he told the Aftonbladet reporter.

  Ketil Nordgaard and Thomas Evensson contributed to this article.

• Aftonbladet article (in Swedish)

STOCKHOLM - On Sunday, August 17th, “Sommar-Mazarin ’03” ended. Over 155,000 people have attended the three-week long tour and only one word can best describe it… success!

  What will Per do now? First he will will take a break to rest and try and write some new songs, and after that he will take his Mazarin to Helsinki and Oslo. “Then in September, we’ll have a meeting with Gyllene Tider to see what we will do next summer. I think the audience is hungry for more,” Per said to Aftonbladet. There is also time for a new single, even though the first one is still at #1 in Sweden… just like the album “Mazarin”, which has been #1 for eight consecutive weeks.

  “We don’t want to do a Greatest Hits tour. If we do go on tour, it must be the best we’ve ever done, and for that we need new material as well,” Per says.

  Anders Nunstedt of Expressen, however, thinks Per shouldn’t take Gyllene Tider out again. The thought makes him yawn. Nunstedt thinks Per should keep up his solo career that has started off so well… or take Gyllene on a stadium tour.

  Expressen reports the Mazarin-project has had a turnover of 80 million kronor ($10 million) so far. 12,000 people have attended the concerts, on average, which gives about 53 million, and that’s not even counting the souveniers. “Mazarin” has sold about 180,000 copies so far — triple platinum — and the single “Här kommer alla känslorna” has gone gold, having sold 15,000 copies.

  The Eskilstuna concert didn’t stray from the set list, the only thing different was that a couple of roadies dressed up as Helena banging cow bells and wandered around stage during “Jag tror du bär på en stor hemlighet”. Per didn’t see it, but the rest of the band almost fell apart laughing. Also a film crew was there and shot mainly audience footage.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish)
• Expressen’s article (In Swedish)

STOCKHOLM (UPDATED) - Swedish Television will air a new half-hour long Per Gessle documentary on September 25 at 20.00 CET. “Per Gessle - Ta en kaka till (Have another cookie)” is the working name. “It’s a very personal and private image,” says producer Hans Engholm to Aftonbladet. Hans is in the process of creating the documentary together with Paul Möllerstedt and Anders Karlsson of Produktionsbolaget.

  Besides the trio’s own footage, the show will include some of Per Gessle’s personal videos. “He’s shot loads of film himself. From when the recording of ’Mazarin’ started a year ago,” Hans says. He’s followed Per through his victorious tour during the summer. Hans filmed the concert in Halmstad the other day, for instance. “Per is amazingly uncomplicated, and great to work with. I think everyone sees that,” Hans tells Aftonbladet.

  There are also plans to release the documentary on DVD after it has been aired. “Yes, we’re discussing this at the moment, but nothing has been decided at all,” Hans Engholm concludes.

• Aftonbladet’s article (in Swedish)
• SVT (In Swedish)
• Göteborgsposten’s article (In Swedish)

GÖTEBORG - Per Gessle will once again make a guest appearance on the popular Swedish television program “Bingolotto.” This time, he’s scheduled to perform on the new season’s premiere show on August 30th.

  It may be possible for some Swedish fans to be part of the studio audience. If you’re interested (tickets cost 250 SEK, but include a light meal), see the TV4’s Bingolotto website for details (Information > Contact Us > Studio Booking).

  Other artists slated to perform on the same show are Sarah Brightman and Lasse Stefanz.

  The last time Per appeared on Bingolotto was in April of last year when he sang his Ramones cover, “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend.”

• Bingolotto on TV4 (In Swedish)

LONDON - Music giant EMI is to introduce a new system of prices for CD singles in an attempt to revive sales. Most singles will be available on two-track discs for £1.99 - but releases by the biggest names will be priced at £3.99. The changes come as the UK music industry tries to recover from a sales drop that has seen almost 40% fewer singles sold so far this year compared with the same period in 2002.

  The company’s new policy will see £1.99 two-track CDs released from September, backed up by £2.99 versions with added extras, such as DVD tracks. The £3.99 releases will be reserved for a select few “blockbuster” artists.

  EMI chairman Tony Wadsworth said: “There is confusion among consumers about pricing. They see singles at £1.99, £2.99 and £3.99 and don’t know why. The singles will remain at the same price for the duration of their release - rather than being discounted in the first week but reverting to a higher price.”

• BBC article

STOCKHOLM - Per Gessle’s summer tour has been a success in every town so far. In Gothenburg, the concert was moved to a bigger, 22,000-capacity venue due to the great demand for tickets. Now Aftonbladet is asking if the Stockholm concert should be moved to the Stadium from the Sjöhistoriska Museet. At least the place is vacant on the August 12th.

  “Of course it would be cool to perform at the Stadium, but we are still booked to Sjöhistoriska,” says Per.

  Per’s concerts and their attendace: Halmstad, Jul 7th (13,000); Helsingborg, Jul 30th (11,000); Skövde, Aug 1st (7,500); Finspång, Aug 2nd (8,000); Varberg, Aug 3th (12,000); Malmö, Aug 5th (11,000); Gothenburg, Aug 6th (22,000).

• Aftonbladet article (in Swedish)

HELSINKI - Per was interviewed this evening on Finnish TV in a weekly series called Popsmart where popular musicians are interviewed for a half an hour. During Per’s interview they also showed clips from Gyllene Tider movie “Parkliv” and from many Roxette videos, as well as the full “A Thing About You” video.

  Per was interviewed in an EMI Sweden conference room that had the walls covered with Roxette gold and platinum records. Per feels himself uneasy in that room. “I don’t have any gold records or MTV Awards at my home,” says Per. “I don’t want to be stuck with the past. I want to look forward.”

  According to Per, it’s hard to make good songs, but it helps to love your work. “Marie and I are the biggest fans of Roxette,” he says quoting ABBA’s Benny Andersson, who once said he’s the biggest fan of his own music. “Marie and I love Roxette and the music we make.” But it doesn’t come easy: Per says he writes maybe one good song a month and 50 bad ones.

  “It’s hard for me to listen to Top 40 music, the same music I write myself,” says Per. “I start to think about it too technically; ’this singing is too anemic’, ’this echo is strange’. At home I often listen to jazz. John Coltrane, Norah Jones… and I love Alison Krauss’ country music.”

  “I would love to make film music. There’s an almost instrumental song on the new album that would make good film score,” says Per. “People have asked me to write a musical, but I won’t. I hate musicals!”

STOCKHOLM - “Mazarin’s” success has made Per want even more. “Of course there will be more solo albums,” says Per to Aftonbladet. Naturally there isn’t yet a schedule set for a follow-up album, but Per seems very confident about working on such a projects.

  “In the end it depends on the song material. When there’s a day that I feel that I have had the time and the opportunity to make an album that feels right… that’s when there will be an album,” explains Per.

  As The Daily Roxette has reported, Per’s solo album “Mazarin” has been a huge success in Sweden. According to Aftonbladet, the album has now sold nearly 200,000 copies. The lead single “Här kommer alla känslorna” has sold over 15,000 copies.

  When summer ends, a discussion awaits with the other members of Gyllene Tider to discuss possible plans for next summer’s 25th anniversary.

  “We have to check and see if we can do something relevant,” says Per, “and not just a reunion tour. We don’t want to grow moss onstage.”

• Aftonbladet article (in Swedish)

JURMALA, LATVIA - Each year in late July, a contest is held in Jurmala, Latvia for aspiring young pop singers. Called “The New Wave,” this year 12 singers made it to the finals, which started on July, 30. For three days, singers from Russia, Latvia, Ukraine, UK, Uzbekistan, Turkeym Kazahstan, Litva, Armenia, Estonia and Sweden competed.

  Leon, a contestent from Sweden, sang “Sleeping in my Car,” but finished the contest in last place.

• New Wave Stars contest site