As we reported in December, Swedish television, SVT, premeired its new show "Hitlåtens historia" ("The Story of the Hit") with the story of Roxette's "The Look" yesterday. You can watch the program online on SVT's website.

HALMSTAD - Radio Halland's Pelle Hörmander has met Per Gessle for their traditional after-Christmas interview. These are the highlights of the 13 minute interview:

About the new album:

"We're thinking '80s, that immediate in-your-face production. We're looking at 'Look Sharp!' production wise. The songs are short and effective. Clarence calls it "fool proof production" meaning not so many instruments and they all are very clear to hear. I'm trying to think that way when I write [for this album]. It's hard to explain."

- Is it as danceable as 'Party Crasher'?

"No, not at all. Not at all. Maybe next year when we sit here again, the album's out."

"Half of the songs are written for me, half for Marie. Marie hasn't written anything for the album. I'd like Marie to sing it all, but I guess that's not possible so I have to fill in here and there."

About touring:

"I do see Roxette performing again, that's what we want. Why not in Sweden? If not, we'll have to make room for Sweden. This is not written in stone though, but if you had asked me 6 months ago I would have said no."

- Next big Roxette tour, will you take more space on stage?

"Yes I might, since I've been touring a lot solo lately I now feel more comfortable to be on stage."

- Still interested in the US?

"Sure, but that will never happen again. We're too old and vintage. But there may well be a cover of a Rox song that will climb the charts. The songs still have power, not sure that Per & Marie have it anymore…"

About 2010:

"We're in the studio until midsummer for starters. Then possibly rehearsals if we're to do concerts."

"Next year there will be nothing but Roxette."

Swedish television, SVT, will premiere its new show "Hitlåtens historia" ("The Story of the Hit") with the story of Roxette's "The Look." The first episode will be shown January 16 on SVT1 21.45 CET with a re-run January 17.

NB! New date!

The Dutch TV channel Nederland 2 will broadcast a 50 minute version of Night of the Proms 2009 on Monday December 21, 19.25 CET.  The show will be re-run on Friday January 1, 14.15, also on Nederland 2.

Olga contributed to this article.

HANNOVER - Toodiloo all Roxers!

2009 turned out to be a killer year after all!

Per’s small but heartwarming Party Crasher Tour around Europe in the spring was followed by the huge and glorious Rox comeback at the Night of the Proms.

Thanks everyone for your support (appreciated!) and for those loud voices in the front row (interesting!).

Also, we started recording a new Rox-album on the road. So far so good but there are, of course, lots more to be done. And for next year we have even more mighty plans. Will let you know what’s goin’ on in Roxville before long. But for now we wish y’all a great xmas och a extraordinarily swell new year. See ya around the corner.

Cheers from Marie & Per.

Roxette, in particular Marie Fredriksson, has made the 'Hummingbird 100". The countdown is an all female list and is run in conjunction with Australian Music Channel "MusicMax".

Four Roxette tracks made the list, "It Must Have Been Love" (#27), "Listen To Your Heart" (#53), "The Look" (#82) and "Joyride" (#94). Pink, meanwhile, claims the most spots of any female artist with seven tracks inside the 100. Beyonce, Roxette and Madonna all have four and Blondie, Rihanna and Alanis Morissette have three apiece.

The poll results have been picked up by several Australian online news sites including Queensland’s Courier Mail.

Lasse Bengtsson on Swedish TV4 has produced a 23 minute segment with lots of live footage which aired on TV4 today. These are the main points:

Why a Roxette come back Marie?

Marie: - Why not??

How do you feel?

Marie: - Damned great.

Per, another tour?

Per: - Yes, it's amazing to be on tour again. There's absolutely nothing negative about this.

Did you believe you'd be together like this again?

Marie: - Yep.
Per: - Well… I never wanted to ask myself that question. It was always up to Marie. And I'm amazed it goes so well.

Are you serious Marie?

Marie: - Roxette? Yes. It was self evident to me. My sickness came as a bomb, but that was a loooong time ago. Roxette's fans have been amazing all through this.

Per: - She's missed this, I can tell. You've always been a stage artist, even though you've been great in the studio too lately, ha ha!

What's the difference?

Per: - Now the fans are crying mostly, a lot of scenes out there.

Per: We've recorded 14-15 songs, chosen keys, direction and stuff. Plus we're killing time.
Marie: The songs are "totally amazing". When I've heard Per's demos for this album I was totally blown away.
Per: She's such a fan you know!
Per: The recordings sound great. We're sticking to our Roxette sound, but hopefully updating it so it feels relevant to us and preferably others… It's my songs and Marie's voice, as always.

Any differences between the classic Roxette songs and these new ones?

Marie: - My voice is lower now.
Per: - Ha ha, no but we have our style, it's sort of how you dress your Christmas tree you know?

Per: - A fifth US #1 wouldn't hurt!

So, what's this leading up to? Is this a test for the future?

Per: - Yes definitely. There's a huge possibility for a new album, then we'll see. It's a huge step for a real Roxette concert. It's up to Marie. A huge step.
Marie: - I really hope there will be a "creme de la creme" tour sometime. We'll see. We have so many wonderful songs to choose from. We have so much more to give.

How was the gig?

Marie: - Fantastic! Best one so far. Everything clicked.
Pelle goofs around with Marie so Per can't hear the question.
Per: - What was the question?? It was good, Marie was excellent.

How does this predict the future?

Per: Ha ha, we have 25 concerts left, let's do those first. But let's say we have a very good time at work!

New Orleans heavy weight rapper Juvenile has made a cover of Roxette's hit single "Listen to Your Heart." Juvenile's 2006 album "Reality Check" debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. "Listen" is featured on his new album "Cocky & Confident" and features Q Corvette.

(Updated) - On Saturday November 28 Swedish TV4 will have an interview with Roxette made by Lasse Bengtsson. The interview will be aired on Nyhetsmorgon. According to Per the segment will be over 20 minutes long!

ARNHEM (Updated) -

On Friday the 13th of November, the Daily Roxette joined Roxette at the Gelredome in Arnhem for a wonderful night. During the first half of the Night of the Proms, a Swedish symphony called ‘Midsommarvaka’ magically changed into the first string arrangements of ‘Wish I Could Fly’. After the stunning synergy between Roxette and Il Novecento, the presenter of the evening promised more Roxette during the second half. In the intermission, The Daily Roxette had an exclusive interview with the Man himself.

Update: click here for a fullscreen slideshow

First of all, welcome back in Holland Per! How does it feel to be back so soon after the concert in Amsterdam earlier this year?

It was a different story. But it was great, of course, coming here with Marie, Jonas and everything else - it’s cool, yeah. And we look forward to having these seven nights in a row in Rotterdam. I remember playing in Ahoy before. It’s a great crowd.

So what are your feelings about the Proms, since it’s such a bizarre thing on its own?

It is. Very much so. It’s impossible to understand, unless you see it for yourself. You have to really be a part of it to understand it. It’s really hard to describe to friends at home what we are actually doing - it’s fun, it’s great! It’s also a great step. I think it’s a very clever move of Marie, instead of doing a full tour or a full concert. She’s not ready to do those things. With Night of the Proms you share the responsibility with other artists, and you're just doing your four or five songs. And we're doing lots of shows, so she's getting back into the concert mode.

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