STOCKHOLM - "The RoxBox/Roxette 86-06" didn't get a Grammis in the awards ceremony yesterday evening. Roxette's 20th anniversary release was nominated in the open category with five other compilations. The winner was "Samtliga grammofoninspelningar 1921-1970," a compilation of old Evert Taube-recordings.

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - The next single off of "Hits!" is "Reveal" as The Daily Roxette revealed a while ago. We can now present the tracklist and sleeve for you. It seems EMI and Roxette decided to use the Kleerup remix after all. Kleerup has worked with Robyn, among others, but also does music on his own.

While the Kleerup remix is a slower, heavy with drums and strings, dance mix, The Attic remake is a poppy ditty that reminds one of early Depeche Mode.

01: Reveal (The Attic remake) 3:29
02: Reveal (Kleerup remix) 3:41
03: Reveal (single version) 3:43
04: One Wish Video

The confirmed release date is February 14. Click the titles for snippets.

Read more…

The Daily Roxette team wishes you happy birthday!

Visa, Thomas, Judith, Lars-Erik & Colin

STOCKHOLM (Updated) - Roxette was once again nominated for a Rockbjörnen award in Aftonbladet's annual ceremony, in the Swedish Group of the Year category. Unfortunately, Bodies Without Organs (BWO) took the award this year. During the previous years, Roxette has already received six Rock Bears.

According to Dutch NVPI, EMI Music stops using copy protection technology on the CDs the company releases. Copy protection, or Digital Rights Management (DRM) as these technologies are also called, have caused a lot of anger among the people who have bought their records legally but are unable to listen to them in the player of their choice. To prevent illegal copying of music, the protected CDs have limitations on the types of players they can be played in. As a side effect, many protected CDs don't work in car stereos.

Now it seems that EMI has realized that the price of adding DRM to the products is too high comparing to its benefits to the company. Recently one of the biggest developers of DRM solutions, MacroVision, stopped the sales of its TotalPlay system. TotalPlay, previously called CDS or Cactus, was used on Roxette's "Ballad Hits."

Boing Boing has an English translation of the article. DRM technologies were not included in the latest European Roxette releases "The Hits," "The RoxBox" and the "One Wish" single, as well as Marie's "Min bäste vän" album.

HALMSTAD - Radio Halland broadcast a second part of Per's interview on January 3. In the second interview Per reveals that he's writing for not one but two new projects; one in Swedish and a continuation of the Son of a Plumber project in English. He can't say which one will be released first. "It depends on several things, I can't answer that right now."

He's going to the US next week, to plug Roxette's new album, but also to get Plumber released over there. "I don't know why I end up in the US all the time, it's a big and impossible country… But then again, it was the last time as well so…"

Pelle, the reporter, also asks about the tour rumors, and Per says he's heard them as well. But the last solo tour he did, he put together no more than two months before the tour start, so no one knows at this point.

Regarding the 700th anniversary of Per's hometown Halmstad on May 31, Per says that he has gotten loads of questions to join in, but he doesn't like the date. "Doesn't it go on the whole year though? I'm sure we can get something together."

The interview is available on the Internet (it starts after approx. 14 minutes).

HALMSTAD (Updated) - Radio Halland's Pelle Hörmander has met Per Gessle for their traditional Christmas talk. The show was aired Dec. 27, 11:30-12:00. (Follow the link, click Dec 27 and select 11:30-12:00, the interview starts after approximately seven minutes.)

Update: Radio Halland broadcast a second part of the interview on January 3.

Welcome to the program. Do they still turn their heads when you walk down the street here in Halmstad?
Ha ha, thanks. No, not really anymore.

Busy fall?
Some I would say. Some TV and radio promotion, but not so bad no. It used to be worse.

Is it still fun to travel around?
Truthful? Not as fun as it used to be. Sometimes it's good, when the full band is with us. When in a hotel bar in Berlin for instance. Press and TV isn't fun. I wish it was.

Same kind of questions?
Yes, oh yes. Lately lots about Marie's sickness. It's very tedious. Nothing about music at all, just about Roxette's past success.

Why not?
I just don't know. When I make solo albums or Plumber, they all talk about music and influences, but when it comes to Roxette all we talk about is US #1s but never music.

So let's talk music Per Gessle! Tell us about the new songs…
It's been a giant step for Marie. It was sensational, at least to me, that Roxette recorded again. So I stepped up to the plate and I wrote a few songs. We thought "Reveal" would be the Big Hit, but in the studio "One Wish" flourished. Not a song we will be remembered by of course, but still as good as we could do under these circumstances.

Once again you will release an album in the US. Do you think they remember Roxette over there?
Yes, the album will be released in January, believe it or not. I'm going over there in January to do some promotion. Our music is played a lot, more than ever actually, especially "Listen to Your Heart" and "It Must Have Been Love," but do they remember Roxette? I doubt it.

How will the future be?
Nothing really right now. The slate's clean. It's a possibility but Marie can't decide now what to do next fall for instance, she takes one step at the time.

Where does that leave you?
I'm old and gray too now, but I don't need that much heads up. We do need at least six months in the studio to make a Rox album, maybe six months to prepare.