Lena Philipsson Bloggen

 

ROXETTE IN CONCERT 2025

Per Gessle about Lena PH: She is like the underdog here, but she is going to blow their minds, I’m sure. I have to shape up, otherwise she is going to wipe me off the stage. Haha.

PP: – We expect you to put back the whistle into “Joyride” on tour. Haha. Talking about your next step with Lena. Do you remember the exact moment when you realized that this is what I need for a future Roxette?

PG: – No, there wasn’t a moment like that. I was thinking a little bit about Lena, even before she sang on “Sällskapssjuk”. Because, to begin with, I think she is almost the same age as me. She is not as old as I am, but she is sort of my generation. She’s got so much experience. She is a great performer on stage. A great singer. She ticked all the boxes, so to speak. But it wasn’t until we worked in the studio when I realized how good she was. Then I felt like this might actually work. In theory, it was like a good idea, but I didn’t mention it to her. After we went to the studio, we had dinner and then she went home to Stockholm. I called her up later and asked if we could have a meeting when I came back to Stockholm. It was like a week later or so. I didn’t tell her anything on the phone. Then I just asked her when we met. I told her I have this idea and wondered what she thinks about it. She was like, oh. You could tell by her face she was shocked. The first thing she said was, of course, it’s impossible to replace Marie. I said, it’s not really about replacing Marie. It’s about keeping the legacy of the songs alive. The fire alive in the songs. It’s not like we are starting a new duo or starting a new band together. It’s more like keeping the songs alive. So she went home and she talked to a lot of people. She even talked to her mother.

 

PP: – Yeah, I read it in an interview. It’s lovely.

 

PG: – She was so surprised, because her mother thought this thing was so cool. Then we had another meeting and I said, OK, we’re positive, now I have to bring in Clarence and Christoffer. So Clarence and Christoffer came up to Stockholm. Clarence lives there, but Christoffer doesn’t. So we met the four of us and we sang and played Roxette songs together. To see how it felt. It just sounded amazing. Sometimes we used different keys than the originals, but you could tell that this is going to work.

 

PP: – Which songs did you try?

 

PG: – I can’t remember. The only song that Lena felt was really complicated was “Perfect Day”. But it was probably because it was in a low key. It was a complicated song because it’s really high. When you start singing other people’s songs, you have to find your own method. And I remember “Perfect Day”, for instance, when we played that song live, Marie always sang it like a plan B, so to speak, in the melody. In the studio it’s different. You have to adjust a little bit, so it works for you. I do that all the time as well. But it sounded great. I think what is really important for Lena is to make the songs her own, basically. Another thing which I think is crucial is that Lena is used to singing other people’s material. She writes her own songs as well, but lots of her hit songs in the past have been written by other people. It’s not an issue for her. Some singers only want to sing their own songs.

 

PP: – Yeah, but still, it’s very different for her. When I talked to her, we discussed it will be really different from what she has ever done during her life. Even if she sang other people’s lyrics, it’s now another band’s songs. It’s not like someone writes lyrics for her and she sings it.

 

PG: – It’s true. There is a difference. Lena doesn’t have any connection to guitar-driven music at all. She is more from the mainstream and the dance scene. But she’s got the capacity in her voice to sing songs like that. That’s also why I think she finds this stimulating, because it’s pretty different from what she’s done before. She is really open-minded when you ask her to try things out. I think it’s going to be really interesting. One thing that is crucial, I think, is that she has never really had a career outside Sweden, even though she’s been working in English. So when she is hitting the stage in South Africa or in Australia, she is going to blow people away, because she is so good. And they don’t know who she is. She is like the underdog here, but she is going to blow their minds, I’m sure. I have to shape up, otherwise she is going to wipe me off the stage. Haha.

 

PP: – Haha. You recorded “Sällskapssjuk” long ago, so this thing was on your mind for about a year now. How did it feel when the news exploded?

 

PG: – It felt amazing, because I was a little bit scared about the reactions. But everyone I talked to was really positive. Even journalists, who normally are not that positive, thought it was a really cool idea. Lena’s got a lot of respect from everyone because she is who she is. She’s been doing so many things here in Sweden, doing her own shows. She’s been doing all these festival things and this and that. I think she was looking for something else to do. This was special enough for her.

 

PP: – For you, it’s not a new thing to sing Roxette songs without Marie, but you never got so far as to what will happen next year. How do you see this, what will be the difference vs. your previous tours where you sang Roxette songs as well?

 

PG: – The big difference is that last time when I did my European tour in 2018, when Helena was singing the Roxette tracks like “Fading Like A Flower” or “Spending My Time”, we arranged the songs in a totally different way. So it didn’t really sound like the Roxette versions. That was on purpose. That was our intention. This time around, the arrangement is going to sound like Roxette. That’s why I brought Jonas Isacsson as well in the band. It’s going to sound like Roxette did on the “Joyride” tour, basically. We are going back to the original Roxette sound, but with Lena in there as well. So “Spending My Time” is going to be how “Spending My Time” sounded to begin with. I haven’t done that at all, not even with Marie, actually, because during the last five or six years we did the comeback tour, we skipped all the click tracks and all the sequences. We just played 100% live, very organic. So that was not the way Roxette was intended to begin with in the ’90s. But we are going back to the old style now, because we haven’t done that for many, many, many, many, many, many, many years.

 

PP: – And why South Africa and Australia? Actually, I don’t believe in accidents when it comes to Cape Town. The last Roxette show happened there and now the first one will happen there.

 

PG: – Yeah, someone told me, I didn’t know that. South Africa is a good place to start, because it’s in the same time zone as we are. So it’s very easy. Then Australia came up with its offers to do the tour there. So we said, let’s do it. Hopefully, we are going to do more. If it won’t be a disaster, we are going to continue. You never know.

 

PP: – Do we really have to wait until the shows take place? I mean, to wait with the dates for a European tour? I assume the venues have to be booked very much in advance. So I guess they are booked already.

 

PG: – In a perfect world, I would love to do a couple of shows before I make up my mind, but in the real world, you are right. If you’re going to do dates in Europe or in the States or wherever next year, you have to release those tickets in the fall. You’re probably right. There might be some more, but I don’t like to answer that question.

 

PP: – Yeah, I know, but I’m very positive. A lot of fans are asking you to come to the US, come to Argentina, come to Brazil, come to Europe. When you are in Europe, you can’t miss Sweden. It’s very nice to see it.

 

PG: – It’s going to be cool. I would love Roxette to be back on the arena circuit, because I would love to have a great production with visuals. We can’t bring a big production to South Africa or Australia, because we are playing lots of wineries and stuff like that. So it’s more like you’re having backdrops. But I would love to do a full production tour with Roxette. I think that would be amazing. Like we did with Gyllene Tider, with screens. You have to go to the arenas to do that. You can’t play the clubs with such screens.

 

PP: – Were your antennas out all the time checking what singer you could work with in Roxette? Were you doing this search during all your collaborations during the past years?

 

PG: – Yeah, I checked on a lot of people. I checked a lot of international singers. There are lots of suggestions from lots of people. Maybe you should call her or her, but it didn’t feel right. The good thing, like I said with Lena, is that she is a little older, she is experienced, she is Swedish and we have a history together. It’s actually almost too good to be true.

 

PP: – It actually is. When I was searching for news from the past and I saw your pictures and the Melodifestivalen video and stuff like that, it felt like it was something written in the books that it should happen.

 

PG: – Yeah, it’s weird, actually. Lena has always worked as a solo artist. So it’s a big step for her to get into the Roxette team suddenly. I don’t know her that well, but I think like two years ago, she wouldn’t have done it. She is matured and experienced. She probably feels like she has a lot to gain from doing this. It’s a challenge that she can’t do this on her own. It won’t happen at her age or my age to do these things out of the blue. I think it’s a wise move for her too.

 

PP: – For all of you. Can you mention a band where the original front person is not there anymore, but it works?

 

PG: – Well, the obvious one is Queen. But there are lots of bands. AC/DC has changed the vocalist, Journey. People come and go. I don’t have a problem with a band doing that. It’s just that for me, I don’t want to start a new band with someone. What I’m interested in is basically to keep the songs alive. That’s also one of the reasons why we are doing the musical. To keep the songs alive. And how do you do that properly? How can I help doing that? The best way to do that is to keep Roxette alive and play the songs. That can’t be done with Marie anymore, unfortunately.

 

PP: – A new chapter begins. Actually, I love your neverending drive. I don’t know how you always have this energy to restart or to challenge yourself and do something new all the time. That’s very inspiring.

 

PG: – Like I said, you think about how you could help to support this catalogue of songs. I was in the studio with Mats yesterday on another project, haha. We talked about what’s happening right now. This year is very much like a summary of what we’ve been doing all our lives. The musical is very much a summary of the Roxette success and the catalogue. The Gyllene Tider movie is an homage to when we were kids. And the tour coming up, it’s not about making a new album or promoting new music. It’s about playing old favourites that people want to hear, hopefully. You can only do these things when you have reached a certain age and you have all these hits and music lying around. I don’t really think that I’m being over-energetic about things. Haha.

 

PP: – I think you are. Haha. You are always very enthusiastic, but now it’s different when I see you talking about this project and also when I saw you in Australian TV interviews. You are shining brighter and brighter.

 

PG: – And it’s because of Lena and also because Jonas is back. I think it’s great. It’s such a long career. And on the Roxette tree of songs, there are so many songs. I would love to do a couple of them that maybe we didn’t play live ever with Marie. It’s really exciting. And I know the band is amazing. And we sell lots of tickets. That’s also good news.

 

PP: – That’s good news indeed. OK, so I think the European dates will come much sooner than you start playing the shows. Haha. Regarding the crowds, what do you think will attract the new generations to see you live and what will attract the old crowds to go and see you?

 

PG: – Obviously, the old ones will come because they like the songs and the songs mean a lot to them in their lives. New ones, I don’t know. It’s really difficult for young artists to get a catalogue like we have, like Bryan Adams has or Jeff Lynne has. It’s really hard to do that. I don’t know who is going to come, but I’m sure the majority will be a little older who experienced a lot of things through our music. We have the soundtrack to a lot of people’s lives. Gyllene Tider is a little bit different, though, because all these students every year sing “Sommartider”.

 

PP: – Have you heard them singing now? It’s that time of the year now.

 

PG: – When I’m in Stockholm, I hear them every day outside my window. I checked the Spotify page and 47 percent of everyone who is listening to Gyllene Tider is under 35. So that means that we have a future.

 

PP: – That’s cool! In 2018, Marie said OK for the Per Gessle’s Roxette tour. And I assume she would have said OK for this one, too. I also think that this will not only be good for the Roxette songs, but also to remember Marie. It feels like that.

 

PG: – Everything you do with Roxette is reminding people of Marie. It’s the same with the musical. It’s the same with Marie in the Gyllene Tider movie as well. She is so much part of the whole legacy, of course. If you think on the other side of the coin, if you don’t do anything with it, everything gets forgotten. The only thing to do is to work and to promote and to play. That’s why I’m really all the time into getting Roxette songs into movies and series or even commercials, if it’s a good commercial, because it reminds people of Marie and the songs and Roxette. I think that’s the only way to go.

 

PP: – I agree. I remember when in 2017 you were on your Swedish solo tour and you were singing “It Must Have Been Love”. It felt very strange, because that was already the time when we knew that we won’t hear it live from Marie anymore, because in 2016 she stopped touring. In 2018 it got better, because we already knew that it wouldn’t happen. Then after she passed away in 2019 and Pelle in 2020, and you did the acoustic gigs at Hotel Tylösand, you dedicated “Listen To Your Heart” to them. During the first shows, we were crying all the time when you played both “It Must Have Been Love” and “Listen To Your Heart”. It always got a bit better for our souls every time, but it was really heartbreaking. But remembering them, it was very much part of it all and it felt heartwarming. This time I think it will be very much different, because Lena is very different from Marie. I think it’s also very good that she is not the same style of person. I’m very excited about all this.

 

PG: – Yeah, the worst thing that could happen is that you look for a new singer that looks like Marie or sings like Marie. Like I said earlier, the best thing Lena can do is to bring her own personality into this team of people. That’s exactly what she is doing.

 

PP: – She said in the P4 Extra interview that it wasn’t an option to say no, because it could happen that she is sitting on the sofa watching TV and then she thinks that, oh shit, I could be in Australia. Haha. She is very cool.

 

PG: – Haha. All of us in Roxette, we’ve been touring all our lives all over the world, but she hasn’t. It’s an adventure to go to play Sydney and Melbourne and go to Tasmania. That’s really exciting and of course, you take those things for granted, but it’s an adventure for sure.

 

PP: – What do you think will be her strengths with foreign crowds and how do you think she will manage it? Because in Sweden, I can see that she can manage people in the audience very well.

 

PG: – I don’t know. I thought about that too. I wonder how it’s going to be being on stage, the two of us, because both of us are fronting the band and she is fronting my songs and I’m fronting my songs. How are we going to behave? How is the body language going to be? You have to find that out. But that’s also exciting, because it’s like starting anew again. When I did the Niklas Strömstedt show with Molly, that was the first time we played that song together on stage. It was weird, because I didn’t have a guitar and I was just looking around and realized, oh, now she is singing, now me. It can be really confusing the first few days, or at least at the rehearsals. You have to find that out.

 

PP: – For you, it’s always strange when you don’t have any instrument with you and you are just singing on stage.

 

PG: – Yeah, that’s scary.

 

PP: – But you two sounded very good on the show. I liked that.

 

PG: – That was a great band as well.

 

[Here he is busy with something on the floor, so I ask him if he is putting on his running shoes. Haha.]

 

PG: – Haha. No, I’m sitting on a chair with wheels on, and the wheel has just… [he holds up one wheel.] I have to fix it.

 

PP: – En händig man!

 

PG: – Haha, I’m the handyman.

 

PP: – What was Clarence’s first reaction when you told him about your idea?

 

PG: – First of all, Clarence was like, hmmmmm, to begin with, but then he thought about it and he was really supportive. Like I said, when we were singing, Christoffer was playing guitar, I was playing guitar, Clarence was playing piano and Lena was singing. Everyone was just like, wow, this is really cool. So he is extremely enthusiastic. Both Christoffer and Clarence are probably extremely tired of me, because they have been doing the musical. So they are just fed up with me. But I think at the end of the day, it’s different also when you are doing a musical, because it’s a big orchestra. It’s exciting.

 

PP: – And you are not there playing. Haha.

 

PG: – I’m not allowed.

 

PP: – Jonas Isacsson will also be in the gang this time. You played together at the Marie tribute gala for the first time after a long period and then worked together in PG Roxette as well. What were his thoughts when you asked him to join?

 

PG: – He was very, very positive. I think the first thing we did after many years, was the Metallica song, right? “Nothing Else Matters”. And then he did “Headphones On”. He was really into it immediately. He doesn’t do that much. He plays here and there, but he is not touring that much. So I thought maybe he doesn’t want to tour anymore.

 

PP: – Now there will be two on lead guitars, Jonas and Christoffer. How will it work?

 

PG: – It’s probably going to work a little bit like it did in 2018 when Ola was there. So sometimes Christoffer will move to lap steel or acoustic guitar. It doesn’t really make sense to have too many guitars. Or maybe they play electric guitars and I play acoustic guitar. We have to work all those things out.

 

PP: – How did you meet Magnus Norpan Eriksson? Can you tell a bit more about him? I only saw him working with you at corporate gigs, so I don’t really know much about him.

 

PG: – He was a very good friend of Pelle and he plays in a sort of similar style as Pelle. A little bit more pop-oriented than Pelle was. Norpan is actually the choice by Christoffer, Clarence and Magnus. I asked them who they wanted to play with in the band and they all wanted to play with Norpan. It works fine. He is a nice guy. I worked with so many different drummers. Andreas Dahlbäck, for instance. And Magnus Helgesson is now on the new album. Magnus is also pretty similar to how Pelle is as a drummer. Andreas Dahlbäck is not. He is like a jazz drummer, almost. Jens Jansson, he is a bit more like Micke Syd. Michael South. More like a pop drummer. But I think Norpan will be good.

 

PP: – He worked together with Ulf Lundelll and Lars Winnerbäck. Am I right?

 

PG: – I think so. I don’t know him that well. I only met him at corporate gigs. Haha. I think he is a good guy.

 

PP: – Magnus Börjeson got on the Roxette train in later years, but he has a secure place in the team. He is very good at stand up comedy as well. What do you think we can expect from him on this tour?

 

PG: – He is an amazing bass player, but he is also a great singer. And that is also something important. Clarence isn’t a good singer, Jonas isn’t a good singer. Christoffer is a great singer and Magnus is a great singer. Then we have Dea, we have Lena, and we have me. So we have five people singing. That’s also a very good thing. Magnus is a funny guy. I love playing with these people and hanging out with them. That’s really important too. I just hope that Lena melts in with the team and everyone in the crew. Everyone in the crew that we wanted on board is on board.

 

PP: – That’s cool. You worked a lot with Dea, she joined you first on the 2012 Roxette tour. How is it working with her?

 

PG: – She is great. She is very professional and she was really wonderful with Marie. Marie trusted her a lot. At the end of the tours we did with Marie, Marie forgot lyrics and stuff like that, but Dea was always helping her out. She is really wonderful to work with. She is a great singer, of course. We used her for Gyllene Tider as well. She was an obvious choice. And I think it’s great to have another girl in the band as well.

 

PP: – Regarding the tour name, you used Per Gessle’s Roxette in 2018, PG Roxette when you recorded new songs. Now you use simply Roxette In Concert. Why did you decide for that? And also, why did you decide not to use e.g. Roxette In Concert with Lena Philipsson?

 

PG: – When this idea came up, I talked to Micke, Marie’s husband about it. I would love to use only the name Roxette. Because that’s what it’s all about. It’s nothing new. It’s just old Roxette songs that we are doing. It’s to make things simple. It doesn’t really mean anything to anyone, Roxette In Concert featuring Lena Philipsson, because nobody knows who Lena Philipsson is.

 

PP: – Yeah, actually, that’s the difference with Queen + Adam Lambert.

 

PG: – If it would have been like Belinda Carlisle or… Madonna. Haha.

 

PP: – Haha. Better not.

 

PG: – I think this is efficient and straight to the point. We haven’t ever used “in concert” before, for some reason, we always used “live” or this or that, but never “in concert”. So why not?

 

PP: – From Mexico to Italy, from Argentina to Romania tons of online portals took over the news. How does it feel that Roxette was on the news WORLDWIDE again?

 

PG: – It feels great! I noticed that there was so much interest in this. I just hope that we can deliver and if we can deliver, I’m sure it will continue. Knowing myself, if it works, it’s going to get big and when it gets big, it’s going to get bigger and then it’s going to get bigger. But you never know. It can also just fall on its face. Haha.

 

PP: – I don’t think so. The media was very positive. I loved the extreme positivity of Australian media people. But of course, there are also some sceptical comments under the posts and it comes mainly from fans, hardcore fans. How do you deal with these sceptical comments and comments that say it’s not Roxette, because Roxette was Marie and Per? What can you tell them?

 

PG: – Like I said earlier, this is not about making a new Roxette or starting a new band for me. This is about playing the Roxette songs. And the only option to do that is to work with someone else who sings them. And like I said all the time, if Marie would have been alive, we would have probably been touring all the time, because the music is still very big. So at the end of the day, I think if you are complaining, if you don’t like to hear Roxette songs sung by someone else, don’t go to the concerts. But if you like the songs and you are open-minded a little bit, give it a chance. It won’t sound all the same, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to sound bad. I think some people are really narrow-minded or conservative in a way. They want it to be the way it was all the time. And I can understand that, but that’s not how it works in reality. Like I said, the only other option is to not do anything. And that’s not a good option.

 

PP: – That’s not an option. Do you plan to do any gig before the tour starts in South Africa? Some gig in Europe, in Sweden, in Hotel Tylösand, in Stockholm, wherever? Haha.

 

PG: – I don’t think so. We haven’t talked about it. There are so many other things going on right now, the movie and musical. I’ve just put this tour on hold a little bit until at least after the summer. Whole January is a rehearsal month. So we are going to do a lot of rehearsing and choosing the right songs. I don’t think that there will be any shows at all, but I think, of course, we are going to do dress rehearsals and stuff like that.

 

PP: – Are you already thinking about which songs to play?

 

PG: – Yeah, I have a list. I think at the end of the day, we are going to do like 25, 26 songs on this show.

 

PP: – I would be surprised, because you usually play 21, 22 songs. But fingers crossed! Haha.

 

PG: – Haha. But now someone else is singing as well, so we can do more songs.

 

PP: – So let it be 30 then! Haha.

 

PG: – Haha. I think we are going to rehearse about 35 songs and then maybe we just feel immediately that this or that doesn’t work or this sounds exactly like that. I think it would be great to do some Roxette songs from the catalogue that we never played live before with Marie, because then it’s Lena’s chance to do her own thing in a different way. There are really great songs. “What’s She Like?”, for instance, “Vulnerable”, sung by me. We never really played that live.

 

PP: – I so hoped for it during the acoustic tour. But no, you didn’t play it.

 

PG: – Haha. “I’m Sorry” is a great song. “The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye”, we never played that with Roxette, however, I played it on my own tour. There are a few options.

 

READ MORE HERE

 

 

SÄLLSKAPSSJUK – THE DUET ALBUM

Parts of the interview:
P: – When you are matching your duet partners to the songs, is it clearly from the sound point of view, that they would sound good on this or you have these lyrics and maybe one would fit this partner well or the other well or how do you decide?

 

PG: – First of all, when you invite someone to do a duet, the first thing that people ask is, are we going to write something together? Because nowadays everyone is part of the writing process. So that was my first information to everyone that we’re talking about a song that exists already, so it has nothing to do with writing. It’s just about singing. For all of them that I asked, it wasn’t a big issue. They are great singers. I just wanted them to be comfortable in the key, so they could do their best. You don’t really know until you sit down and play and sing together. I remember sending “Beredd” to Molly and she said it’s good, but it might be a little too high. So I transposed it down a bit and it suddenly felt perfect for her. Then the same thing happened with Lena and it was just perfect for her. It’s a little high for me in the chorus, though, but I did it like that, because this is how she’s going to sound the best in the verse.

 

PP: – It must be challenging to work with so many different partners. What was the most difficult in the process from a songwriter’s point of view and from a producer’s point of view?

 

PG: – There weren’t any problems at all. The songs that I chose to be duets, I could easily see if it was going to be sung by a girl. Does this lyric work for a girl to sing? The thing is, when you do a duet, a guy and a girl singing a duet, as a listener, you always think that they are singing towards each other. If it’s two guys singing, you sing out to someone else. That’s the perception you have. In “Sällskapssjuk” it feels like Lena is singing to me and I’m singing to Lena, right? If I would have been singing with Michael South, it wouldn’t have been like that at all. It’s more like a lyrical thing, if it works. Because the lyric itself changes its meaning when the conception is that you sing towards each other. I also think that at the end of the day, it’s good that you, as a listener, can decide yourself if they are singing to each other, or to me as a listener, or they are singing to someone else. You have to decide yourself. It’s easy to overthink things like that.

 

PP: – You probably won’t reveal any remaining duet partners, but I am guessing that, because earlier you posted a picture with Albin Lee Meldau at Hotel Tylösand, he might be one of them. He also has a song together with Molly Hammar now.

 

PG: – It’s not a good or bad guess. Hahaha.

 

PP: – And there is a wishful thinking, which is probably not only from my side, but a lot of fans were thinking about Agnes. Your “It Must Have Been Love” duet at the Marie tribute gala was simply amazing. Your voices fit very well.

 

PG: – Yeah, she’s really good. There are so many amazing singers out there. It’s been really a treat for me to hear them sing up close, so to speak. I haven’t been in the studio with Lena Philipsson ever, so I never really studied her technique or how she sings. She knocked me out totally when she was singing. She’s so professional. She is listening to suggestions and she makes them into her own style. She is doing all the right things.

 

PP: – Regarding the singles, I’ve been wondering why the names are written like that: Per + Molly, Per + Lena. Why not Per Gessle feat. Lena Philipsson or Per Gessle feat. Molly Hammar? It’s your songs and I guess the album will run under the name Per Gessle.

 

PG: – It’s just that it makes it a little bit more personal. Everyone knows what our last name is anyway.

 

PP: – Yeah, sure. You wrote the lyrics of Lena’s breakthrough song, “Kärleken är evig” in 1986. How do you remember those times? How did you work together back then and how did your lyrics get to her?

 

PG: – It was actually through the guy who wrote the music, Torgny Söderberg. He was Lena’s producer. I think he was the one who found Lena to begin with. He wanted me to write the lyrics and he had this request that it had to be called “Kärleken är evig”. I thought that was a really silly title, so I suggested that it… Let me show you. [Here he is reaching out for a pen and paper and he starts drawing.] I suggested that if it’s going to be called “Kärleken är evig”… I wanted it to be called like this. Three symbols. Can you see this? [He shows the paper to the camera and I can see a heart, an equal sign and the symbol for infinity on it.]

 

PP: – Love. Is. Eternal.

 

PG: – I thought that this should be the title instead of “Kärleken är evig”. He said it’s too complicated, bla bla bla. Anyway, since I was stuck with that title, I had to follow the rules. The line [here he starts singing] “Kärleken är evig när vi är tillsammans”, it’s not written by me. It’s written by Torgny. He had to have that lyric in, because he thought that was so musical to sing. It was those two years in my life when I was really lost. I didn’t know what to do. I wrote the lyrics and then I forgot about it. But I remember having dinner with Lena. She must have been, I don’t know, 18-20. I was 27. I remember having dinner with her and Torgny and Alla Pugacheva. Do you remember Alla Pugacheva?

 

PP: – I do [and I look at him surprised].

 

PG: – She was at this dinner in Halmstad. I don’t know how. I think Torgny and that record label were signing her for Sweden. So for some reason, we were dining with Alla Pugacheva. Lena Philipsson 20 years old and Per Gessle 27 years old. Haha. Really weird.

 

PP: – You do have some strange moments in your life. Haha.

 

PG: – I wish there were pictures. Nowadays you take pictures of everything you do. But from those days you just have your memories. I can’t remember anything, I just remember which restaurant it was and I remember that Alla Pugacheva was there. I’ve seen pictures of when we were interviewed at the Eurovision Song Contest, but I can’t remember that at all. I’ve seen it on TV, so I know that it exists.

 

PP: – It does exist. I also checked out the video of it when I did the interview with Lena. Regarding “Sällskapssjuk”, what made you decide for Lena for this exact song? Was there anyone else on your mind for this song?

 

PG: – No, I thought the key was perfect for her. Like I said, it was a little bit too high for me. But on the other hand, if I stand on my toes and stretch a little bit, I can do it. It’s a little high to do live, but in the studio it works. I just felt like she’s going to do a great job on that one. And also the lyrics are her style. It just happened. It was fate.

 

PP: – It sounds very good and your vocals fit very well together.

 

PG: – Yeah, I think so. I think that goes for all the duets on this record. Every time someone else comes in, it sounds great. And then when I come in, it sounds also OK. Hahaha. My voice is so different from everyone else. But it works. It’s the same with the singles that we’ve done so far. I think it’s a win-win thing for the voices. I can sit listening to Molly and Lena all day, because they are wonderful singers.

 

PP: – The video you recorded for this song with Fredrik Etoall is really beautiful. There is just one thing we expected, that at the end you meet each other.

 

PG: – Well, we couldn’t, because we recorded on different days. Hahaha.

 

Read MORE at Roxetteblog

 

Anna & Hans Shimoda did an interview with Per for Aftonbladet. They talked about the Roxette revival – this time with Lena Philipsson by Per’s side, the great sadness after Marie Fredriksson and the tough journey of illness, the love for his wife Åsa and that he was the weak link in Gyllene Tider.

It is no exaggeration to say that 2024 is Per Gessle’s year. One of Sweden’s foremost pop singers releases a new album Sällskapssjuk, there will be a film about Gyllene Tider premiering this summer, and a musical about Roxette will be staged at Malmö Opera.

In addition, Gessle revealed just a month or so ago that he is reviving Roxette with Lena Philipsson at the microphone early next year.

It’s actually a bit too much Per for my taste. A moderate dosage would have been desirable, but I knew that when this year began. The film and the musical have been pushed forward all the time, and so they premiere two months apart, and that’s a bit unfortunate. Or it doesn’t matter, but you don’t know what you’re up to. Then we release a record at the same time and then comes this Roxette thing. So it’s four big things at the same time.

Aftonbladet asks Per to tell them about Sällskapssjuk, the upcoming album, which is his first Swedish album in seven years.

What I can say is that the recordings were finished last summer. So I’ve been doing other things in the studio that you guys don’t know about. I recorded “Sällskapssjuk” in autumn 2022 and spring 2023, so Lena and I worked together already then.
Anna and Hans are curious if it was clear already then that Lena would sing in Roxette.

No, it came a little later. But when we started working together, the token fell and I thought that Lena is not that bad.

Per and Lena are going on a world tour as Roxette next year. Aftonbladet wants to know whether Per felt it right away that Lena was the right choice or whether it developed with time.

Both. In recent years, I’ve been thinking about whether I should do anything with Roxette at all. My thinking has been how to manage Roxette’s legacy and song catalogue in the best way. After all, there are only two ways to go, either not to do it at all or to try to find a way so that it fits as well as possible. It was not an easy decision.

When I made “Sällskapssjuk” with Lena, I felt that she has all the qualities; a great front person with long experience and she comes from the same era as me. We also have a history together, I was involved in writing her breakthrough song “Kärleken är evig”. She is also a great singer, so I felt it was too good to be true.

Per tells how it went when he asked Lena:

I just took the courage and asked her. I thought she would fall off the chair and she almost did. The spontaneous reaction was how to shoulder Marie’s mantle. I explained that it’s not the idea, it’s rather about managing the Roxette songs. The only way for her to deal with it is to do it her own way.
Läs mer här roxetteblog.com  eller på Aftonbladet

 

Expressen: Lena Philipssons tvivel med Per Gessle: ”Svårt”

Per Gessle och Lena Philipsson har känt varandra sedan det glada 80-talet.

Nu fördjupas vänskapsbanden när Lena tar över Marie Fredrikssons roll i Roxette och ger sig ut på världsturné.

– Det är spännande men också jävligt läskigt, säger Lena Philipsson.

I december är det fem år sedan Roxette-sångerskan Marie Fredriksson gick bort i sviterna av den hjärntumör hon diagnostiserades med i september 2002.

Och när Per Gessle nu väcker liv i Roxette är det med Lena Philipsson vid sin sida.

– Det är sant. Jag har blivit tillfrågad att sjunga Maries låtar i Roxette på en turné nästa år. Vi ska till Sydafrika och Australien på en testturné som Per kallar det för att se om det är kul och om det funkar, säger Lena när Expressen träffar henne på röda mattan vid lanseringen av smink- och hudvårdsmärket Skills Combined i Stockholm.

– Det är väldigt spännande men också jävligt läskigt som du fattar, säger hon.

Det måste ändå ha krävts en del mod att tacka ja till att axla Maries roll i Roxette?

– Ja, jo... men jag kan också förstå Per i det här. Han har skrivit en massa fantastiska låtar, och att han aldrig mer ska få spela dom känns ju också konstigt. Så jag förstår att han har grubblat på detta och hur han ska försöka lösa det.

Lena Philipssons tvivel
Lena är väl medveten om att hon kliver in på delvis minerad mark.

– Jag vill ju bara göra det här så bra jag kan för att visa Marie respekt och för att fansen ska bli nöjda. Jag väljer att se det som att jag blivit tillfrågad för att Per ska få möjlighet att spela låtarna och då har jag väl bestämt att då säger jag väl ja till det då.

– Samtidigt så vet jag att det är en ganska svår situation för mig eftersom någonstans så vet jag att jag inte kan göra alla hundra procent nöjda. Det här är ju något annat än originalet.

Lena Philipsson och Per Gessle har en lång historia och känner varandra väl. Han var bland annat med och skrev hennes genombrottslåt ”Kärleken är evig” som kom på en andraplats i Melodifestivalen 1986.

Ger Per dig spelrum och utrymme att göra din grej av detta också?

– Det är inte det som är frågan här utan det handlar om att göra Roxette på bästa möjliga sätt.

Vilken var den första Roxette-låt du lirade och kände lite på efter att då fått frågan?

– Det gick inte till så. Jag känner ju till låtarna väl. Det var snarare så att jag började fråga folk som jag jobbar med, lite försiktigt: ”Vad tycker vi om detta?”, ”Hur blir det med mina egna planer?” och funderade på hur det här skulle passa in.

– Jag frågade till och med min mamma, och jag var helt övertygad om att hon skulle tycka att det här var... kanske inte så bra. Men hon tyckte att det var toppen. Så jag sa: ”Ja!”.

Roxblog:
Expressen met Lena Philipsson on the red carpet at the launch of a make-up and skin care brand in Stockholm and asked her about the upcoming Roxette tour. Lena says: "It's exciting but also damn scary." ✨ Lena can understand Per. He has written a lot of fantastic songs, and the fact that he will never get to play them again feels strange. Lena is well aware that she is stepping onto partially mined ground. "I just want to do this as good as I can to show Marie respect and for the fans to be satisfied. I choose to see it as having been asked to join Per, so that he will have the opportunity to play the songs. At the same time, I know that it's quite a difficult situation for me because I know that I can't make everyone one hundred percent happy. This is something different from the original." 🎶 To the question if Per gives her space to make her thing out of this Lena replies that it's not the issue here, it's about doing Roxette in the best possible way. She asked people she works with to discuss how this project fits. She even asked her mother, and she was completely convinced that her mother would think this was... maybe not so good. But she thought it was great. So Lena said yes.

 

Interjuv med Per Gessle i SVT här

 

Lena Philipsson will join Per Gessle on Roxette tour 2025. 

Here can you listen to Roxette songs and Lena PH songs in the same playlist.

 

För fem år sedan dog Marie Fredriksson – nu väcker Per Gessle liv i Roxette.

Lena Philipsson kommer att stå vid hans sida.

– Jag höll på att trilla av stolen, men jag började direkt tänka på vad fansen ska tycka om det, säger hon till Aftonbladet.

Häromveckan slog nyheten ned som en bomb i Nöjessverige; Per Gessle, 65, återuppväcker Roxette med Lena Philipsson, 58, vid mikrofonen.

Turnén startar i Kapstaden i Sydafrika den 25 februari och Aftonbladet har som enda tidning träffat både en exalterad Per Gessle och en något överraskad Lena Philipsson.

– Det var när vi gjorde duetten ”Sällskapssjuk” till min nya skiva som jag tänkte att ”Lena är inte så dum”, säger Per Gessle och ler.

Fick en hjärntumör
Popikonen Gessle har länge funderat på vad han ska göra med Roxettes imponerande låtkatalog. Klassiker som ”Fading like a flower”, ”The look”, It must have been love” och ”Joyride” fick läggas i malpåse när Per Gessles vän och bandkollega Marie Fredriksson dog 2019 i sviterna av den hjärntumör hon diagnostiserades med 2002.

– De senaste åren har jag funderat på om jag överhuvudtaget ska göra någonting med Roxette. Jag har tänkt på hur jag ska förvalta arvet och Roxettes låtkatalog på bästa sätt live. Det fanns två vägar, att inte göra det alls eller att försöka hitta ett sätt som passar så bra som möjligt. Det var inget lätt beslut, säger Gessle och fortsätter:

– När jag jobbade med Lena kände jag att hon är jätteduktig som frontperson, hon har lång erfarenhet och kommer från samma tidevarv som jag – och är en fantastisk sångerska. Vi har också en historia ihop, jag var med och skrev hennes genombrottslåt ”Kärleken är evig”.

– Jag tog mod till mig och frågade henne och tänkte att hon kommer nog att trilla av stolen, och det gjorde hon nästan.

’Enda sättet att fixa det’
Att axla Marie Fredrikssons mantel är naturligtvis inte lätt, men Gessle poängterar att det handlar om att förvalta Roxettes musik.

– Det enda sättet för Lena att fixa det är att göra det på sitt sätt.

Lena Philipsson sitter i soffan bredvid Per Gessle och tittar ömsom på Per, ömsom ned i golvet.

– När jag fick frågan att göra ”Sällskapssjuk” sa jag självklart ja och Per undrade om jag skulle sjunga in den i Stockholm eller om jag skulle komma ned till Halmstad. Jag åkte ner för att vara i Pers hoods. Några dagar senare kom det ett meddelande där Per skrev att han ville träffas och att han skulle ställa en galen fråga.

Vad tänkte du?

– Jag kände att ”Yes, det funkade”. Men jag tänkte att det kanske kunde bli en till låt ihop eller en turné, men jag hade inte väntat mig det här, säger hon och fortsätter:

– Jag höll på att trilla av stolen, men jag började direkt tänka på vad fansen ska tycka om det och hur kan det bli. Jag är bra på att identifiera problemen, men det är klart jag känner mig otroligt hedrad.

Kommer det att låta som man är van vid?

– Jag känner att jag är en inbjuden gäst här, jag låter Per bestämma. Jag kommer inte att lägga mig i det konstnärliga så mycket. Men min känsla är att jag vill sjunga Roxettelåtarna som de ska vara.

Per flikar in:

– Fast på ditt sätt.

– Ja, jag har ju min röst, men jag känner inte att jag ska göra min grej och skita i allt utan jag vill att det ska kännas som originalkänslan, säger hon.

Har en favoritlåt
Lena Philipsson säger att det finns en Roxette-låt som hon särskilt ser fram emot att sjunga – en favorit:

– Det finns så många bra låtar, men jag måste säga ”Dressed for success”, den är så himla mycket Roxette för mig och det är verkligen Maries låt.

Lena Philipsson poängterar att hon inte är rädd för att jämföras med Marie Fredriksson.

– Nej, då hade jag aldrig sagt ja. Jämförelsen kommer naturligtvis att göras ändå. Men det måste jag våga ta, annars hade jag varit tvungen att säga nej. Jag är mån om att göra ett bra jobb och vill att Roxettefansen ska känna sig nöjda.

Turnén äger rum i Sydafrika och Australien, men om allt slår väl ut kan det bli hur stort som helst, enligt Gessle.

– Det vi gör nu ser jag som en pilotgrej. Vi känner efter hur det känns och om det blir som jag tror och hoppas så finns det inga begränsningar för vad vi kan göra.

 KÄLLA

 

Orup hyllar Lena Philipssons vändning – med Roxette

Lena Philipsson axlar Marie Fredrikssons mantel och följer med Per Gessle på världsturné med Roxette.
Nu hyllas hon av vännen och forna parhästen Orup på Grammisgalans röda matta.
– Hon är extremt bra på scen och har en av de bästa piporna i landet, säger Thomas ”Orup” Eriksson, som själv förärades med Grammisgalans hederspris.

Lena Philipsson axlar Marie Fredrikssons mantel och följer med Per Gessle på världsturné med Roxette.
Nu hyllas hon av vännen och forna parhästen Orup på Grammisgalans röda matta.
– Hon är extremt bra på scen och har en av de bästa piporna i landet, säger Thomas ”Orup” Eriksson, som själv förärades med Grammisgalans hederspris.

Lena + Orup Live  Lena + Orup Musikvideo

 KÄLLA

 

Musikvideo till Per & Lena "Sällskapssjuk":

 

 

Per Gessle and Lena Philipsson release a single and embark on a tour together

 

Per Gessle and Lena Philipsson release a single and embark on a tour together

Per Gessle and Lena Philipsson release the title track on Per’s upcoming album on 3rd May. And there is more to come…

It all began with Per starting to write and record a new album in Swedish. His first in eight years of new material. Early on, the idea crystallized to focus on duets, to sing together with some of Per’s absolute favourites.

A first taste came in February when Beredd with Molly Hammar was released and now it’s time for the second single, Sällskapssjuk. This time together with Lena Philipsson. The album, which is also called Sällskapssjuk, will be released this fall.

Per and Lena’s paths already crossed in the mid ’80s when Per, among other things, wrote the lyrics to Lena’s breakthrough song Kärleken är evig. Now it’s time again.

Sällskapssjuk suited Lena like a glove, and during the recording in Halmstad both thought it would be fun to work even more together. A thought was born.

In 2016 Roxette did what we believed was to be the last ever concerts. Now, the duo’s frontman, songwriter and founder Per Gessle picks up the torch and takes this bundle of worldwide hits on the road again.

It’s almost five years ago since Roxette lost Marie Fredriksson to cancer. A devastating loss that left both family, friends and fans in grief.

Their legacy of songs has continued to thrive, being constantly streamed, played and enjoyed by old and new supporters around the world.

2025 will see a live revival of this massive catalogue, all penned by Per Gessle, when he takes the Roxette band back on stage to do what he loves the most; perform his songs live in front of a dedicated audience.

Per and the Roxette band will be joined on stage by Swedish singer and megastar Ms Lena Philipsson.

Per says:

This is all about my Roxette songs, this huge bundle of music and lyrics I’ve been writing for well over three decades. I’m not starting a new duo. Marie will always be irreplaceable. However, I’m really lucky to have found an amazing voice and a brilliant performer in Lena Philipsson.

I co-wrote Lena’s first major hit back in 1986 and she’s one of the brightest shining stars Sweden has ever known. I’m extremely proud she wants to join me in my trek to keep the Roxette legacy alive.

Lena says:

I’m both excited and thrilled about embarking on this tour. I really look forward to working with Per – he is a phenomenal songwriter and a neverending musical force.

The Roxette band will consist of Christoffer Lundquist, Magnus Börjeson, Magnus “Norpan” Eriksson, Dea Norberg as well as original Roxette icons Clarence Öfwerman and Jonas Isacsson. Nine years since the last tour, “Roxette in Concert” will kick off in Cape Town, South Africa.

Tour dates – 2025

February 26 Cape Town, Grand Arena GrandWest, South Africa
February 28 Pretoria, SunBet Arena Time Square, South Africa

March 5 Perth, Kings Park, Australia
March 7 Melbourne, Margaret Court Arena, Australia
March 8 Sydney, ICC Sydney Theatre, Australia
March 9 Wollongong, WIN Entertainment Centre, Australia
March 11 Adelaide, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Australia
March 13 Hobart, Mystate Bank Arena, Tasmania
March 15 Hunter Valley, Bimbadgen, Australia
March 16 Mount Cotton, Sirromet Wines, Australia

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Listen to Lena Philipsson here:

 

Tillsammans gör de titelspåret på Pers kommande album – en singel som kommer 3 maj. Och det kommer mera…

Allt startade med att Per började skriva och spela in ett nytt album på svenska. Hans första på åtta år med nytt material. Tidigt utkristalliserade sig idén om att fokusera på duetter, att sjunga tillsammans med några av Pers absoluta favoriter.

Ett första smakprov kom i februari då ”Beredd” med Molly Hammar släpptes och nu är det dags för andra singeln, ”Sällskapssjuk”. Den här gången tillsammans med Lena Philipsson.

Albumet, som också heter ”Sällskapssjuk”, kommer ut i höst.

Per och Lenas vägar korsades redan i mitten av 80-talet då Per bl.a. skrev texten till Lenas genombrottslåt ”Kärleken är evig”. Nu är det dags igen.

”Sällskapssjuk” passade Lena som hand i handske och under inspelningen i Halmstad tyckte båda att det vore kul att jobba ännu mer ihop. En tanke föddes.

Under de senaste åren har Per funderat mycket kring förvaltandet av den massiva Roxette-katalogen, alla hits som streamas, spelas och hittar ny publik världen över hela tiden.

”Det handlar om alla Roxette-låtar, all text och musik jag skrivit under 30 år. Marie kommer alltid vara oersättlig och jag är inte intresserad av att starta en ny duo. Men jag har grubblat över hur jag ska sköta om denna låtskatt på bästa sätt. Idén att bjuda in Lena till Roxette kändes enormt lockande. Hon är en magnifik sångerska och en fantastisk scenpersonlighet, jag är både stolt och glad att hon tackat ja till detta äventyr”, säger Per.

Christoffer Lundquist, Magnus Börjeson, Magnus ”Norpan” Eriksson, Dea Norberg och Roxette-ikonerna Clarence Öfwerman och Jonas Isacsson kommer tillsammans med Per och Lena att ge sig ut på ”Roxette In Concert” med start i Kapstaden i Sydafrika i februari 2025.

Lena säger: ”Jag känner mig både förväntansfull och lite spänd inför denna turné. Det ska bli väldigt kul att jobba ihop med Per - han är en fenomenal låtskrivare och en outsinlig kraft.”

Men redan den 3 maj är det alltså dags för en sommarduett med Lena och Per; titelspåret från Pers kommande album ”Sällskapssjuk”.

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