The Daily Roxette

Roxette is back with a new album:  Travelling and a taster "It’s Possible"!

Three years after their 2009 comeback, Swedish pop phenomenon Roxette is hotter than they’ve been since their early '90s heydays.

Their World Tour is in full swing with almost a million concert tickets sold since the tour kicked off in the Tatneft Arena in Russian Kazan a year ago. On top of that, another million Roxette record sales have been added to the already dizzying 70 million that Roxette have sold over the years.

So far the band has played more than 85 shows in 30+ countries (and the trip continues—they don’t plan to rest until they’ve played 150 shows). But besides zigzagging between airports, arenas, hotels and meeting fans from all over the world, the band also has found time to record their new album Travelling. 

The idea has been to tap into all the positive energy that has boosted the band during this dazzling trip, and channel it to new Roxette music. In short, an album that is just like 1992’s Tourism captures the feeling of a band on a roll — constantly on the move, snatching inspiration as they go; recording in hotel rooms, studios, at soundchecks and in concert.

The result is a fascinating musical postcard with 15 superb songs, most of which are new, some that are revisited classics and the rest being pearls that for various reasons hasn’t seen the light of day before. A tight and inspired band has gathered around a batch of Gessle tunes, where the relentless hit-maker again and again proves that his sense of melody and ability to surprise is still top-notch.

”It’s Possible” is the first taster from Travelling - 2 minutes and 34 seconds of sunny pop music that shows one of Roxette’s many sides in 2012. 

"It's Possible" is released tomorrow to radios and as a digital release. The physical single is out March 16. Travelling is out March 26.

The good news keep rolling in! On Friday, March 2, Roxette's new single "It's Possible" (version one) will be released, both to radio and as a digital release. There will be a physical release March 16. The B-side is "It's Possible" T&A demo.

Enjoy the snippet!

Per commented on Facebook today that "US in September should be fun" and added that tickets are to be released in April. The last time Roxette visited the US was in September 2000 where Per, Marie and band performed an semi-acoustic short promotion tour for the US version of the album Don't Bore US in, among other cities, Seattle and New York City.

Per has hinted at a Canadian/US tour several times this winter, and now it seems like all the preparation is done.

The tracklist of Travelling has now been revealed in full. See below with comments from Per Gessle:

1. Me & You & Terry & Julie
   Terry & Julie are the two youngsters from the Kinks’ "Waterloo Sunset" but everyone knows that, right??? This is the craziest song we've recorded in ages - and maybe the best?
2. Lover Lover Lover
3. Turn of the Tide
   Totally new recording (in Sun City) of a song we never used for Have A Nice Day.
4. Touched by the Hand of God
   Used to be called "Charm School." This track is happier than happy!
5. Easy Way Out
   A country song.
6. It's Possible
   Rocking version á la "Radio," kicks ass!
7. Perfect Excuse
   From Party Crasher, this is a duet between Marie and Helena, I was busy checking things out. This version is not slower, but more acoustic.
8. Excuse Me, Sir, Do You Want Me to Check on Your Wife?
   "Excuse Me Sir" is one of those songs where we sound like Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.
9. Angel Passing
   A ballad.
10. Stars [live from Dubai soundcheck]
11. The Weight of the World
    New fabulous mix of the old track.
12. She's Got Nothing on (But the Radio) [live in Rio]
13. See Me
    Totally new recording except Marie's vox. It's amazing!!
14. It's Possible ­[version two]
    Summer version, in Gyllene Tider's "Hjärta utan hem" arrangement.
15. It Must Have Been Love [live in Rotterdam]
    It's the NOTP strings with new drums by Pelle and new vox by Marie, no guitars or anything... Also amazing!

"I must say it looks to me like a fine record," says Per to The Daily Roxette.

SYDNEY - The Australian success continues; Roxette's compilation album from 2006, Roxette Hits!, climbs to #17 on the Australian ARIA album charts this week! This is the first time Rox has been on the Australian top 20 since 1996 and that was with Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus!, which peaked at #10.

On the iTunes pop album charts Hits! is at #5.

MELBOURNE - With just 90 minutes before showtime, I had the great honor of sitting down with Per Gessle back stage at Rod Laver Arena for Roxette's second Melbourne concert. We discussed all topics from Travelling to Charm School to the exciting soon-to-be-announced North American Tour and everything inbetween. Enough talk: enjoy this exclusive Daily Roxette interview.

TDR: OK, so first up, let's talk about Travelling. We've had Tourism 2, 2rism, T2 and now Travelling, how did you finally decide on a title?

PG: My idea was to call it Tourism 2, I thought it sort of made sense because the whole idea with the album was sort of the same (as Tourism) sort of a sequel, but it was actually our record company which didn't like the idea because they said people are gonna get confused and they'll mix it up with Tourism number one, personally, I didn't get that. So then we said, OK, how about T2? But then they said no because a title with a number wasn't good and I said how about the Adele's record 21... and they didn't answer that one (laughs). At the end of the day, Marie and I fooled around with different ideas and I came up with this Travelling thing because it's like, Roxette is travelling at the moment so we decided we liked it even more and chose that instead of having these quarrels all the time... But we kept the same subtitle “songs from studios, stages, hotel rooms and other strange places”. For some reason, some people find things complicated...

TDR: The concept reminded me of the KISS live album(s) Alive, they have Alive 2, Alive 3, Alive 4, sort of a continuing legacy...

PG: ...yeah and I think that's a cool thing. It's like Bat out of Hell...

TDR: ...same as Welcome 2 My Nightmare by Alice Cooper...

PG: ...yeah, for me, I always thought that was a smart commercial move... but obviously I was wrong (laughs) ...but like I said, instead of having a big fight about it, we just decided to use something else and yeah, I guess it was a little confusing for those reading on the websites etc.

TDR: OK, so I'm guessing you're not going to reveal too much about the new album, but what can you tell me and talk me through the structure, how many new songs and so on?

PG: There are quite a lot of new songs, more than we were supposed to have. We came up with certain ideas, I revealed a couple of titles the other day, but I can reveal some more, for instance there is a version of "Perfect Excuse" from Party Crasher sung by Marie, which is a very cool version and it's there because basically, I always wanted to hear Marie sing that song, 'cause it's a beautiful song. On my album it's me singing the verse and Helena is doing the chorus and this is just Marie and Helena singing it, it's very slow and very different to the original...

TDR: ...so you don't sing on that song now at all?

Here are some of the new songs on Travelling, what do you think?

"Me & You & Terry & Julie"
"Lover Lover Lover"
"It’s Possible"
"Excuse Me, Sir, Do You Want Me To Check On Your Wife?"
"Touched By The Hand Of God" (including the happy small town poetry 'I guess my kind of talking was misplaced like hell Just like the "funk" in Art Garfunkel')

P.

PS. Terry & Julie are the two youngsters from the Kinks’ "Waterloo Sunset" but everyone knows that, right???

SYDNEY - Buoyed by the phenomenal success of their current tour Down Under, Roxette's 2006 Compilation Roxette Hits! - Their 20 Greatest Songs has finally cracked the ARIA Top 40 Album Charts some 5 years after its initial release, peaking at #39.

Often seen hovering at the lower end of the Top 100, the album has finally cracked the prestigious Top 40. Roxette's last charting album on the Australian Charts was Charm School back in February 2011 where it reached #49. The last Roxette compilation that featured in the Aussie album charts was Don't Bore Us Get to the Chorus peaking at #10 in 1996, ironically, also reaching its peak well past its initial release date which was November 1995.

Roxette Hits! is also at #10 on the Australian iTunes charts.

The Australian comeback continues, stay tuned to TDR for further updates!

MELBOURNE - Some quick words from Melbourne to honor Roxette’s return, back since 1995.

The sold out concert at the great Rod Laver Arena (home of the Australian Open Grand Slam) was well worth attending. Having attended so many other Roxette concerts, I don’t think full house in big stadiums was ever a prospect, ever again. Not here... not a single seat was empty!

This reporter though new to the Melbourne scene, was bracing himself to the “unknown Roxette experience”. Melbournians are known for their engagement in any type of Sport and Cultural event. Not one year goes by without having big international acts visiting. And the support is there. Coming from Spain, where we go crazy just by recognizing 3 chords on radio or someone else’s stereo, I was excited to see the band again after an 11 year wait.

Setting the scene, just imagine over 10,000 fans walking toward the stadium from the main strip... we are all there for the same reason. Some though, haven’t seen them since 1992... in fact, my bet was that MOST hadn’t.

As our friend Stevo Petkovic from Sydney pointed out, the concert only took a nice Roxy vibe when the tune was recognized... and so, apart from losing "Opportunity Nox" from the set list, all went well as the build up to the second half of the concert was coming. As a Roxette fan, no flaws... great to see Marie back on stage, and Per and Christoffer running around. However, the audience was quite laid back probably nervous early on that most of the songs would be “new” and so "The Big L." helped everyone get into the mood with "It Must Have Been Love" getting full crowd engagement. Per’s golden nugget obviously paid off, even 25 years after.

SYDNEY - After seventeen years, they came, they saw and they kicked some serious ass!

Australians are a notoriously reserved crowd, our laid back culture unfortunately tends not to lend itself too well to a live rock show, but to their credit, Sydney stepped up its game... and in turn, noticing and responding to the crowd's overwhelming energy, Roxette met their match... and then some!

From the crunching opening chords to "Dressed for Success," Per and Marie were quickly shuffling around the stage busily recreating their standard poses, aware of the photographers at the front, Marie did her usual pouts and Per was jumping around like any well-choreographed classic Roxette music video. It almost seemed like a ritual or initiation to test the temperature of the crowd as the band were posed with a metaphorical question, "do we keep falling into our standard rock clichés and simply jam with our buddies on stage? Or will this crowd do their part and become part of the show and we can relax and let the music take over?" And the answer? Sydney overwhelmingly kicked ass! By the time The Big L started to pound the venue, the band had begun to relax as they were feeding off a starved audience and the show took on a more natural tone as it seemed for this performance, Roxette had recruited a new band member, over 10,000 hungry Roxette fans. From here on in, it got wilder and wilder.

Despite his cocky swagger and vintage swinging guitar rock moves, it was obvious Per was giddy as a school girl, cracking smiles in disbelief, surely a surreal moment knowing that 17 years on, that their once old stomping ground had come out in force to welcome back the band with open arms.

For non-Australian readers, perhaps a little perspective is needed. Roxette has not had a Top 40 single on the Aussie charts since 1994's "Sleeping in my Car," and despite regular airplay of "It Must Have Been Love" on classic FM stations, there was a reason why it took so long for the band to announce an Australian show as part of their tour. Was there enough interest? Roxette had been knocked back not once, but twice from two separate Australian promoters and were insulted during the process when referred to as a "mouldy old project". Live Nation Australia took a punt and 100,000 tickets and 10 shows later, Roxette has confirmed what we, the fans, always knew; last night was more than a rock show, last night was vindication and any Rox-doubters were noted by their absence or they were simply drowned in the hysteria of the crowd. This was a night for the people, this was a night for the starved Roxers who waited patiently, the night belonged to us!

As expected, the crowd reacted overwhelmingly to the "usual" hits and they were perhaps more reserved during their lesser known tracks but a true testament to the band and their talent was the thundering reception they received post "7Twenty7." The crowd weren't familiar with this guitar thumping track, after all, Have A Nice Day only peaked at #62 on the ARIA Charts, but despite their unfamiliarity, a wild applause at the conclusion of the song erupted as the Sydney Entertainment Centre had just witnessed one of the greatest live performance from a pop... err, rock band, they had ever seen, and the beaming smile emanating from Clarence Öfwerman's face post his psychedelic keyboard solo confirmed just that!