Per Håkan Gessle is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was disbanded after her death in 2019. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and topped the charts in the US four times, most notably with "It Must Have Been Love" which was featured in the film Pretty Woman. Prior to the formation of Roxette, he had a successful career in his native Sweden as the frontman for Gyllene Tider. The band released three number-one albums during the early 1980s but disbanded shortly after their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984).
Gyllene Tider is a Swedish pop group fronted by Roxette singer, guitarist, and songwriter Per Gessle. They are one of the best-selling Swedish bands ever and have had numerous hits in Scandinavia, starting with their breakthrough song "Flickorna på TV2", in 1980. Since breaking up in 1985, the band has held regular reunions, with the latest one taking place in 2023.
Pearls of Passion is the debut studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, originally released on cassette and vinyl on 31 October 1986 in Scandinavia and Canada. The album was remastered and released on CD on 31 October 1997, with several previously unreleased bonus tracks. It was remastered and re-released again in 2009.
Have a Nice Day is the sixth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released worldwide from 22 February 1999 by Roxette Recordings and EMI. Recorded over an 18-month period in studios in Sweden and Spain, the album was produced by Marie Fredriksson, Per Gessle, Clarence Öfwerman and Michael Ilbert, and was their first studio album since Crash! Boom! Bang! in 1994. The album was not released in the US, as the duo were no longer signed to a label there. A deluxe edition was released in Spanish-speaking territories and, in Arabian regions, the naked babies on the cover were digitally removed, due to religious concerns.
Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits is the first greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 30 October 1995 by EMI. The record contains the duo's four number ones from the US Billboard Hot 100 chart: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride", and a further two which reached number two on the chart: "Dangerous" and "Fading Like a Flower ". It also includes four newly recorded tracks, three of which were released as singles: "You Don't Understand Me", "June Afternoon" and "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore". The album's title is based on a quote from Motown-founder Berry Gordy.
The Pop Hits is the third greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 24 March 2003 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the second in a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in quick succession, and was preceded by The Ballad Hits in November 2002. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, although it did peak within the top twenty of various Scandinavian record charts. It was also certified gold in Brazil.
The World According to Gessle is the third solo album by Swedish pop singer Per Gessle, released on 2 May 1997. It was his first solo album in English. The title is a paraphrase of "The World According to Garp" - the novel by John Irving. The album topped the Swedish Album Chart.
The Heartland Café is an album released by Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider on 17 February 1984. The group's first recorded foray into the English language, The Heartland Café was the second album to feature vocalist Marie Fredriksson singing back-up and proved to be a precursor to the Swedish super-duo Roxette, which consists of Fredriksson and Gyllene Tider's lead singer, Per Gessle. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Swedish albums chart.
Son of a Plumber is the fifth solo album by Swedish singer-songwriter Per Gessle, released on 23 November 2005 by Capitol in conjunction with Gessle's own label Elevator Entertainment. The record was originally issued pseudonymously as Son of a Plumber, although a 2021 reissue includes Gessle's name on the album cover, and it now appears as part of his solo discography on music download and streaming services. The album was recorded at Christoffer Lundquist's Aerosol Grey Machine studio in Scania, and was produced by Gessle, Lundquist and Clarence Öfwerman. It features vocals from Swedish vocalist Helena Josefsson.
Den ständiga resan is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Marie Fredriksson, released on 9 October 1992 by EMI Sweden. Predominantly composed during Roxette's "Join the Joyride! Tour", the album contains some of Fredriksson's darkest lyrical content.
Het vind is the debut studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Marie Fredriksson, originally released on LP and Cassette formats on 20 September 1984 by EMI Sweden. The album was preceded by its lead single, "Ännu doftar kärlek", and both that single and the album became top twenty hits in her native country.
Den sjunde vågen is the second studio album by Swedish singer-songwriter Marie Fredriksson, originally released on 17 February 1986 on LP and Cassette by EMI Sweden, with a CD release following on 29 October 1986. The album was a commercial success upon release, peaking at number six and spending almost three months on the Swedish Albums Chart. "Den bästa dagen" and "Silver i din hand" preceded the album as single releases: the b-sides from these singles served as bonus tracks when the record was later issued on CD.
Puls is the third studio album by Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider, released on 26 August 1982. The album peaked at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart and number 12 on the Norwegian Albums Chart.
Moderna Tider is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider, released on 10 March 1981. 130,000 copies were ordered before the album's release. The album peaked at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart and number two on the Norwegian albums chart.
A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs! is the fourth greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 18 October 2006 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol to celebrate 20 years since the release of their debut album, Pearls of Passion. It was issued in conjunction with a six-disc box set, The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06. The duo recorded "One Wish" and "Reveal" in June 2006, their first songs recorded as a duo since vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis four years earlier.
Per Gessle was released on 8 April 1983 and is the debut solo studio album from Swedish pop artist Per Gessle. The album peaked at number five on the Swedish Albums Chart. Before releasing this album, Gessle was already a famous lead vocalist of the Swedish pop band Gyllene Tider. A re-release on CD, released on 1 September 1992, contained three bonus tracks.
Charm School is the eighth studio album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 11 February 2011 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It was their first studio album since 2001's Room Service, and their first since vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in 2002. "She's Got Nothing On " preceded the album as its lead single, which became the duo's highest-peaking single in almost two decades in territories such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The song also entered Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart—making Roxette the only duo who appeared on that chart in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
"Flickorna på TV2" is a song by Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider, written by their vocalist Per Gessle and guitarist Mats "MP" Persson. It originated in a song named "Farlig terräng" and was inspired by Elvis Costello and the Attractions single "Watching the Detectives" (1977). Gessle re-wrote the lyrics after hearing a revue by Hasse Alfredsson which included a sexual joke about a television set; Gessle related this to the attractive female television presenters who appeared on Sweden's Television's channel SVT2. The song was recorded in August 1979 at EMI's studio in Stockholm.
"Ska vi älska, så ska vi älska till Buddy Holly" is a song by Swedish rock band Gyllene Tider, written by their vocalist Per Gessle and guitarist Mats "MP" Persson. Gessle composed the lyrics to the song in February 1979 during the 20th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death. He was lyrically inspired by a poem written by one of his friends. The lyrics were set to an older musical boogie song written by Persson. Musically, "Ska vi älska" is a boogie rock power pop song characterized by a repeating guitar riff and organ hook. Lyrically, the song features several references to popular culture, and is about a woman who wants to make love listening to the music of Buddy Holly, who is mentioned by named during the chorus. The song was recorded at EMI's studio in Stockholm during August and September 1979.
Swedish singer-songwriter Per Gessle has released fourteen studio albums, four live albums, three compilation albums, one collaborative album, three box sets, six demo albums, one soundtrack album, two EPs and three video albums. He also released 53 singles, including two as a featured artist, one as Peter Pop and the Helicopters, one as Rita & the Rip-Off!, eight as Mono Mind and seven as PG Roxette.
