On Tuesday Per got an email from his wife Åsa. The message told that he should get ready for a trip abroad. Per got in his car and he was taken to the harbour. A boat took Per, Åsa and their son Gabriel to Copenhagen where they celebrated for a night. From Copenhagen they continued to Paris. All this in two days!

Yesterday a big party was held in Hotel Tylösand, Halmstad. The party was arranged by Åsa with a little help from the music video director Jonas Åkerlund. About 150 people were invited; Marie, Eva Dahlgren, ex-Abba Björn Ulvaeus, Niklas Strömstedt… “But this isn’t a party for celebs”, says Per. “I have invited just good friends of mine.”

Per got plenty of gifts from fans. “Everything from dolls for Gabriel to boxes of chocolate, crackers and wine and books… You name it, I got it. One fan even bought me ten trees in a rain forest”, tells Per. “The dolls I of course give to Gabriel, the chocolate I eat myself… unfortunately.”

Aftonbladet asked Per to name the biggest events in his life. “[The biggest event] was surely when Kjell Andersson from EMI Svenska called me and offered us a record deal in January 1979. It was exactly 20 years ago. Since then Roxette has been like a long silk scarf. One of the biggest memories is when we played for 60000 people at a football stadium in São Paulo. And of course the day Gabriel was born.”

• Aftonbladet’s Swedish article