The Daily Roxette

GOTHENBURG - Gyllene Tider's concert in Gothenburg July 12 has, not unexpectedly, been moved to Ullevi. Ullevi is the stadium where they played before 59,000 people in 2004. At a very weird press conference on TV today Gyllene were asked if they were playing Ullevi again, to which they responded "Yes." and after that there was about 15 minutes of weird feelings and mostly silence. At any rate, the concert has been moved to Ullevi from Slottskogsvallen. Bought tickets are valid.

Congratulations fans and Gyllene!

Halmstad's five golden boys are back! New album Dags att tänka på refrängen (Time to think about the Chorus) and new tour! The album will likely contain 12 freshly written songs for Gyllene. The tour isn't all set yet, but Halmstad is on the map.

Tour dates and locations will be announced January 22, 10 am CET.

Micke Syd says his heart is full of joy and he's happy that he finally looks like the pop-star he always knew was hidden inside, in spite of bad perms and red Adidas shorts...

Dags att tänka på refrängen is a Swedish ideom which literally means it's time to start thinking about quitting or going home. This is however of course not what the album title refers to: refräng also means "chorus" and Gyllene's choruses are always catchy, so naturally that's what they mean! Think Roxette's don't bore us - get to the chorus!

Göran Fritzon says in an interview on SR P3 that the tour premiere most likely is on July 5.

Follow Gyllene on Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.

You will find more info about the album on Elektroniska Tider, the news section.

ROXETTE 2012 - FANtastic! : A mini-documentary about Roxette's 2012 world tour.

Here's our story of Roxette's world tour and the special relationship between the band and the fans. Of course we couldn't have done this without the help of many people, especially you readers of the Daily Roxette. Thank you kindly!

Recorded on the 29th of June at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Produced exclusively for the Daily Roxette. Shot, edited and directed by TDR reporter Colin van der Bel. Want to read more about how this video was made (technically speaking) and see some behind-the-scenes pictures? Head on over to Colin's blog.

SAN FRANCISCO - It is pretty safe to say that a return for Roxette to the U.S. stage is a very long time overdue. Having broken the American market – something which proves extremely difficult for foreign acts to achieve – back in the late '80s with an incredible four number one singles which sit proudly emblazoned within the band's impressive portfolio, Roxette has swiftly made its way back into the successful mainstream arena once again. Since the band's comeback in 2009 the duo has been hitting all the right notes as they grace some of the world's most established and recognized venues as part of their current extended tour.

Some background
Being a fan of Roxette has been a very enriching component of the past 26 years of my life. Coming from small town Christchurch, New Zealand, I had long given up hope of ever seeing my idols. Growing up in a city that could not be further from the surroundings of the band's Swedish homeland, the prospect of seeing the iconic duo perform seemed fleeting particularly after the news of Marie Fredriksson's near fatal health scare.

But after relocating to London in 2003, that dream did seem a bit more realistic. As 2009 came around it was transformed into reality as I found myself on my way to see the band at three concerts in Antwerp, Belgium as they reunited for the European touring concert series, Night of the Proms. This proved to be a taste of what was to come and before I knew it the band had released tickets for 6 concerts throughout Europe. With a show confirmed in Per's hometown of Halmstad, I was on my way to see my first full length Roxette concert in August 2010. It was a mind-blowing performance in a symbolic location. Since that concert I have seen a number of Roxette performances as part of the current world tour including their sold out Wembley Arena show in London where, thanks to winning a Daily Roxette contest, I got to meet the band. I also followed the band to Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham and Dublin earlier this year and had the opportunity, because of my work as a journalist, to interview the band twice.

Now living in the sunny surroundings of San Diego, I found luck on my side once again. A trip to San Francisco was in the cards as Roxette approaches the end of a tour that has taken them around the world twice, seen them perform to over 1.5 million fans and reignite the pop flame once again for a new generation. While the rest of the world has been basking in the fun of Roxette's most recent journey into comeback territory it was always a fan and band expectation that they would finally make a return to the U.S. at some point. I was very excited to be on my way to see the band perform in the somewhat ostentatious surroundings of Nob Hill's Masonic Centre in the flamboyant city of San Francisco. The band was set to play to an almost sold out crowd of eager fans as the world tour draws to a close.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..."
Opening with the infectious, hook-laden pop nugget "Dressed For Success," the duo was in top form showcasing their energy and charisma right from the opening guitar riff. Fredriksson's vocals whipped through the number with a confidence that showcased a singer truly back on top.  Further upbeat gems followed in the form of the rock hit "Sleeping In My Car" and the flowing "The Big L" providing an energetic injection to the beginning to the set.

STOCKHOLM - Roxette is one of the acts to perform at the opening of the new Friends Arena in Stockholm. The grand opening is October 27. Other artists to perform include Loreen and First Aid Kit. The Swedish/British director Colin Nutley will be directing the show.

Get your tickets from Friends Arena or Ticnet.

GDANSK - It must be funny for the Poles to listen to Swedish people talking. The Swedish “Please” sounds like they praise Poland’s capital (“Warsaw good”) [varsågod] while the Swedish “Thank you” [tack] has the same sound as the Polish “yes”. And when you start about “The Night Of The Proms”, people stare at you and ask what kind of ships that were. Well, anyway...

So, where to start? First of all, the concert in Gdansk/Sopot was the first one since a long time that this reporter entered as part of the normal queue. No photo pass this time, no press entrance, no waiting backstage, no Meet & Greet, you almost feel like you go undercover. And yes, you see things you normally (well, what is normal in a TDR member’s life??) wouldn’t see. There’s the guard who instructs people not to take cameras into the venue. Later, we will find out that at least half of the audience has successfully ignored him. There is this group of 5-6 people sitting on the floor in pole position (you’re getting the joke, right?) directly at the entrance playing one Roxette song after another on the guitar. Shortly before the gates open, one of the guys suddenly jumps up, runs to his car in order to hide his instrument and is back in less than a minute. Then, there are all those fans with their self made fan shirts. Fun to see! What else? You see the usual faces at the very start of the early entrance queue. First the Germans (...how?), then the Polish fan club, not as many as in Warsaw the summer before, well, it's the middle of the week and having a job is still an excuse that counts. Some Polish girls pass around their mobile phones, they are proud to have met the band at the airport just a few moments ago. And they will go back there right after the concert, just to take the same photos, only with everyone involved being slightly more tired. Somewhen, the gates are opening.

CLUJ - For the second time, in Cluj-Napoca, Transylvania 22,000 people gathered at the newly built Cluj Arena, the tickets to both the Golden Circle and the VIP Pit having been sold-out. This was the biggest concert so far this year and one of the big ones since the start of this Neverending Tour last year, after the Bospop Festival (Weert, NL) and the gigs held at Tivoli (Copenhagen, DK) and Slottsskogsvallen (Gothenburg, SE). Fantastic atmosphere? You betcha! Outstanding performance? Oh yeah! Like Mr. G himself said, you should have been there!

The magic started from the very moment the band entered the stage. Deafening cheers and screams could be heard, clapping hands all around, video cameras held high in the air with the Rec button on, photo camera flashes going one after another. It had been a bit over a year since the first ever concert in Bucharest, but the Rox hunger seemed to have only grown stronger in this corner of Europe. Every song, from the rocky up-tempos to the more laid-back ballads was met with joy and enthusiasm and sang along to, the crowd sometimes completely obliterating the singing on the stage.

Please note that Roxette's concert in Boston, USA, has been moved to a new venue and a new date:

Boston, US, House of Blues, September 4. Tickets.

House of Blues Boston consists of a 2425 person capacity - 3 story music venue, a dedicated restaurant, retail store and Foundation Room located next to Fenway Park.

BIRMINGHAM - After roaming around inside the LG Arena for a short while before the show, I sensed that there were a great deal of nostalgic 40-somethings attending tonight's concert. The last time Roxette played this city, they would have been in their early twenties. Now they're more likely here with their reluctant teenage children (I speak from experience - my induction to the music scene was to see '70s disco kings, the Bee Gees with my parents. Cool?! Absolutely!). Knowing how that experience opened my eyes to the world of live music, I could only hope that Roxette had the same effect on some of the younger members of the audience tonight.
But I digress...

First things first - the pictures. I must have been the only photographer in the press pit swaying my hips and singing along to "Dressed for Success", "Sleeping in My Car" and "The Big L.". Not the easiest songs to keep still, calm and composed during, that's for sure! Per and Marie look energized, vibrant even - ready to give it their all.

As I joined my friends up in the seated area to the left of the stage, Per joked about forgetting lyrics and singing along anyway. I'm not going to lie - they did forget a few, but the crowd didn't seem to flinch. Truth be told, only the stalwart fans really noticed. Marie's voice was purer than ever during "Perfect Day". The crowd looked on in awe as she delivered one of the vocal highlights of the evening.

The Daily Roxette recently had chance to catch up with Mim Grey, Roxette's support act for the 3 UK dates. Read on to find out a little bit more about Mim, and how she got involved in this part of Roxette's amazing comeback.

TDR: Hi Mim, how are you?
Mim: I am very well, thank you.

TDR: Tell us, how did you get involved with Roxette and how did you end up being their UK Support Act?
M: My manager was approached by the Head of Live Nation after he heard my album 'Chasing Tigers' and he wanted to know if I would be interested in supporting them on their UK Arena dates.

TDR: Would you class yourself as a Roxette fan?
M: I love Roxette...  I am an 80's kid so they were an influence in my life growing up and Its great to be supporting them.

TDR: I must admit, I was impressed about the amount of big names that you have worked with - Paul McCartney and Kylie to name just two.  How did that come about?
M: I had just done a video and song with Mantronix & he had written a song for Kylie but couldn't quite nail the chorus so I was brought in to re write it and also ghost a few tracks on the album. Very differently, Paul McCartney had heard my vocals with a band and then tracked me down to sing at two of his private parties.