Yesterday the release party for Per’s new solo album took place at Tantogärden in Stockholm with a performance by Cirkus Cirkër and a mini-concert including four songs; “Wish You the Best”, “Stupid”, “Do You Wanna Be My Baby?” and “Saturday”. The band consisted of Christoffer Lundqvist, Micke “Nord” Andersson, Clarence Öfwermann and Mats “Myrdal” Persson.

That constellation was due to the fact that I needed good singers since the songs include a lot of backing vocals. Then it feels a bit fresh and new not to use the GT-guys nor Jonas Isacsson. But there won’t hardly be any tour.

No, partly because there isn’t any time for it and partly because I’m quite tired of touring at the moment. But this band exist to be stand by for some live-TV-performances somewhere. I and Micke Nord will also do something acoustically on TV.

After promotion in Prag, Oslo, Amsterdam, Bryssel and London Per is back again in Sweden for the release.

That he never gets tired of it.

It’s in fact some time since the last time I did promotion so it is quite fun. But damn hard. You become quite exhausted when you talk about yourself from ten in the morning until eight in the evening. And it isn’t the same piano playing by itself on the continent like it is with Roxette.

No, then everything is so obvious. Now I have to explain and prove so much more. So if Roxette is an express train then my solodebut is a goods wagon. But that is at the same time the challenge. You can see that Per is satisfied with his album.

Yes, it feels both honest and commercial. Simply an album that I’d would. Very positive with a lot of tricks and funny details.

Naturally there are things I would perhaps have done differently today. But that’s always the case. Nothing will ever become completely finished- you have to release it anyway.

Per was also conscious that the work in the studio would be spontaneous and therefore fast. Three months in the studio instead of twelve like for Roxette. Anyhow he used the Roxette-producer Clarence Öfwerman. Together with GT’s latest Michael Ilbert. A successful mix and the resultat was neither Roxette nor GT – Per Gessle.

It couldn’t become a Roxette album without Marie. That’s why I have given priority to things I would never had done with Roxette; playing guitar solos, play the piano, keep the song or let it be more distant.

But today he can think of transmitting these ideas to Roxette.

Yes, there are many thoughts and ingredients that I will bring into the next Rox-recordings. Among others I will break up the band behind and take in some new members. I think that’s important to be able to go further, Per says, who played his solodebut to Marie.

When she had listened to it she said: I wish this was a Roxette-album. That was the best compliment I could ever have got.

The GT-trio MP, Anders & Micke were there from the beginning and played on seven tracks.

But after a while it felt so predicted. So to get some new fresh blood I took in Brainpool and particularly Christoffer Lundqvist has had great importance. The connection to GT was also one of the reasons that Per chose to record an album in English instead of Swedish.

It would have been damn difficult to do something in Swedish after last year and instead it would only have felt as a continuation to GT. Besides I wanted to release this album all over the world to get new motivation. I mean, I have already done Swedish solo albums.

Another way to be different was the video to “Do You Wanna Be My Baby?” which MTV banned.

It’s in fact nothing new. BBC refused to show “The Look” since Marie sat on a toilet chair and “Sleeping In My Car” was banned in Japan.

Now there’s a fork-version and one without, Per laughs. He came up with ideas to a part the video by himself

There were some parts of Jonas Åkerlund’s video to “She Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” where I “don’t” play the guitar which I really like. Now I wanted to develop that and the video turned out to be great. Lots of attitude and a bit of Progidy. It shall feel new and fresh and not like – he is here again the guy who has sold 50 million records.

But it’s not only the album that has kept Per in the headlines, it’s also because he and Åsa will become parents in the Autumn.

Release like a release… Anyhow it feels good not to be the fattest in the family anymore, Per says jokingly.

Well, honestly – yes, it will be exciting with children. I’m of course happy not only for Åsa’s sake. And even if I prefer not to change any diapers I think I will become quite a good father since I’m so childish.

With all the promotion at the moment the moving into Villa Gessle will be delayed until the summer.

I also hope to find a future partner to work with in the USA where my soloalbum will be released in October. It is at the same time fun to start looking into the next project. Yes, it is Roxette.

We plan to go into the studio some time at the end of this year. And the new Rox-album is planned to hit the shops ’til Christmas 1998.