Welcome to my webpage dedicated to the absolutely wonderful PER GESSLE! The one and only, the master-mind behind Roxette's incredible success! You can use the following links to go directly parts of this page, or you can just scroll down and browse a bit...
  • Per Pictures (Great Pictures!)
  • Per Facts
  • Per Discography
  • Per Links

    • Some Per Linx to Check Out:

    The Gessle Girls
    The World According To Gessle
    International Roxette Fanclub
    Jimmy Fun Music

    April's Awesome Per Picture...

     The Gessle Girls Pix Page

  • Pictures from Per & Asa's Wedding!!

    • Pic #1 Pic #2

    Per Hakan Gessle:

    1959: Per Gessle is born in Halmstad, Sweden.

    1967: Per buys his first album, Kinks "The Kink Kontroversy", from his older brother, who needs five kronor to buy cigarettes. A serious vinyl addiction is started.

    1973: Inspired by Bowie, Per makes an ill-fated attempt to colour his hair red. He walks the streets of Halmstad and gets stared at. He realizes that he enjoys it.

    1976: Halmstad, known as "Sweden's Liverpool" in the 60's, is influenced by the growing new wawe-movement. There's a healthy music scene taking place. Per is involved with various bands.

    1977: The Sex Pistols performs in a small, packed Halmstad club. It's a you-should-have-been-there-event. Per is home watching the re-run of The Monkees on TV.

    1978: Career build up. Per is singer, songwriter and guitarist with Gyllene Tider. After getting countless rejection-letters from most Swedish record companies (including Polar, signed by Björn and Benny of Abba) Gyllene Tider finance their own debut-EP.

    1979: Amused by Per's word-play lyrics on the self-financed EP, EMI signs Gyllene Tider.

    1980-81: Gyllene Tider-mania bursts out in Scandinavia. Hit singles, top selling albums, record breaking tours, the works.

    1983: Per release self titled debut solo album which surprises many with a low-key folk atmosphere, far from Gyllene Tider's energetic power pop.

    1984: Gyllene Tider are on their way down. The band makes their final album, "Heartland Café", their first attempt to make it outside of Sweden. It is released in USA under the new group name Roxette, but flops. The review in Billboard said "nothing much happening here".

    1985: Gyllene Tider split. Per records second solo album, "Scener", which becomes his least selling album so far.

    1986: After suggestion from EMI, Per & Marie Fredriksson finally realize their much talked about plan to work together and records one-off single "Neverending Love" under the name Roxette. It becomes a big summer hit in Sweden. Marie is advised not to spoil her solo career by making pop music with Roxette. She decides to record with Roxette anyway. Songs originally planned for Per's third solo album is used for Roxette's debut album "Pearls Of Passion". It establishes the new duo in Sweden. "Neverending Love" is a minor hit in Europe.

    1987: Roxette tours Sweden, playing for 100 000 people in open air festivals throughout the country. Marie squeezes in her third solo album, "Efter Stormen", before Roxette's Christmas single, "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For The Broken Hearted)", dominates the Swedish airwaves.

    1988: Roxette release their second album, "Look Sharp!" and tours Sweden again. The album is a triumph in Sweden, but nothing is happening elsewhere. That is, until an American exchange student returns from Sweden and urges radio station KDWB in Minneapolis to listen to "The Look". The station copies its CD on cassette and plays the song. Listeners phone in and request it. From KDWB "The Look" spread on cassette copies to other radio stations, repeating the success. Suddenly Roxette have a hit single in the USA - but no record released.

    1989: EMI quickly release "The Look" in the USA. It climbs the charts fast and is #1 in March. It also tops the charts in 24 other countries. In October they get their second US #1 with "Listen To Your Heart" and tours Europe. The album, "Look Sharp!", eventually sells 8 million copies worldwide.

    1990: A re-written "It Must Have Been Love" (without the Christmas references) becomes Roxette's third US #1 in June. It is taken from the soundtrack "Pretty Woman", which sells 9 million copies.

    1991: Roxette's third album, "Joyride" is released. The title track is the first single and reaches the #1 position in the USA (and many other countries) in May. The "Join The Joyride" World Tour starts in Helsinki on September 4. The band will play 108 concerts in Europe, Australia, USA and South America before finishing in Stockholm on July 22nd 1992 and by then over 1.7 million people have seen Roxette on stage. When the tour is over "Joyride" has sold a staggering 10 million copies.

    1992: "Tourism", a collection of live tracks and recordings made during the tour, mis released. "How Do You Do!" becomes a new hit single.

    1993: As the first non-English speaking band ever, Roxette are invited to do the prestigious MTV UNPLUGGED. The event takes place in Stockholm, the fans & the media are thrilled. "Almost Unreal", the lead off track taken from the soundtrack "Super Mario Bros", is a big summer hit in Europe. The film flops, though. At the same time Roxette is writing and recording their fifth album, "Crash! Boom! Bang!" in Capri, London and Stockholm.
    Per Gessle marries his longtime girlfriend, Åsa Nordin.

    1994: The album "Crash! Boom! Bang!" is released in April and hit singles like "Sleeping In My Car", the beautiful title ballad, "Run To You", "Fireworks" saturates the radiowaves all over the world. Roxette kicks off their second world tour and play 47 shows in Europe.

    1995: Roxette plays Southafrica for the first time. At the four outdoor shows, they are cheered by some 130.000 Soutafrican fans who have been waiting a long time for them. The tour continues to Australia and for the first time also South East Asia and Japan.
    On February 19, Roxette also makes a unique concert in Beijing. As the first Western band for 9 years, they are allowed to play Beijing and the 11 000 Chinese fans almost the Capital Indoor Stadium explode with enthusiasm! It's a fantastic event which make headline news all over the world.
    "Vulnerable" is released from the "Crash! Boom! Bang!" album which up to date has sold over 4 million units. Roxette continues their tour to South America. A journey that turned out being a triumph for the band with worshipping fans all over.
    "Don't Bore Us - Get To The Chorus", in October Roxette releases the Greatest Hits album, containing 14 world hits plus 4 new written songs. To date the album has sold 4 million copies, proving the band to have a very solid and faithful fanbase and being one of the worlds most successful contemporary bands existing. The singles, all new written songs, "You Don't Understand Me", "June Afternoon" and "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" have all been on high rotation and hit numerous charts.

    1996: After strong demand from Swedish fans & medias, Per decides to reunion with his former band Gyllene Tider for a summer tour. A new edition of their Greatest Hits "Halmstads Pärlor" is released together with an EP containing new written songs. Both the album and the EP firmly stayed at the No 1 chart position all through the summer - killing all competition around. The tour turnes out to be an absolute smash and the most successfull Swedish tour ever made - a quarter of a million Swedes went to the shows. The band was also awarded 2 Grammy awards.
    In spite of their own project, Per & Marie found time to fulfil an old dream this summer. They've been talking of recording some of their songs in Spanish for a long time. And in the beginning of November the world sees a brand new album released - Baladas En Espanol! 12 of their most beautiful ballads with translated lyrics into Spanish. The album turnes out to be a great success within the Spanish speaking countries, with Platinum awards in Spain and Chile and Gold Awards in Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico.
    With the energy left from the Gyllene Tider event (and the spare time in between Roxette albums), Per starts to write and record material for his first- ever solo album in English. He brings in his favourie Swedish pop-band Brainpool and his pals in Gyllene Tider in the studio.

    1997: "The World According To Gessle" is completed and is released worldwide in May. The project kicked of with a blasting high-energy pop-single "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?" in April. Per starts to write new songs for the coming Roxette-album, which they will start to record later this year.

    1998: The new Roxette-album is planned to be released in Christmas 1998.

    Per Gessle's albums:

    Per Gessle
    Release Date: 1983
    Call Number: EMI/Parlophone 4750022    		 Scener
    Release Date: 1985
    Call Number: EMI 4750032    		 Demos
    Release Date: 1992
    Call Number: EMI 4750042

    And... The new Per Gessle soloalbum: The World According To Gessle
    Please forgive the lack of Swedish characters, I will have that problem fixed as soon as possible.

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