As GAFFA.se,  Scandinavia’s self-proclaimed biggest music magazine, has revealed, Christoffer Lundquist, long-term producer for Roxette, Per and Gyllene Tider, is now taking action in the Swedish Anti-COVID-19 movement. No, not the side that wants to fight the worldwide pandemic but he’s now taking sides for a small group of people who are denying the existence of the COVID-19 virus in the first place, calling it all a “bluff”. According to journalist Jonathan Leman, Christoffer also took part in street protests of Swedish conspiracy theorists this spring. For this movement, he wrote what Leman called an anthem: “Vi är fria” (We Are Free), certainly a take on the Swedish anthem “Du gamla, du fria”. You find the video of Christoffer performing the song right under the article.

“We are free, we stand strong, we never lay down. We will sing, we will dance, we will be more and more…” 

In an interview with newspaper Sydsvenskan in January 2020, just a couple of days before the memorial concert for Marie Fredriksson in Gothenburg which he arranged back then,  Christoffer said that in the future he would concentrate on his own music and would not produce other artists’ music any longer. Well, as he has obviously worked with Per on several occasions in the meantime, this news might be taken with a grain of salt. 

Updated: April 21, 2020, 12.00 a.m.

A personal message from Christoffer Lundquist

These are difficult times indeed. We risk becoming very polarized over these matters and that’s sad to me. I believe in dialogue and mutual respect for each other and each other’s different opinions. We must keep the discussion alive, that’s when humans are the most strong and beautiful.

When I disagree with others I don’t want to condemn them and call them fools, or even hate them and totally dismiss them. Everyone is entitled to a personal view on everything. I believe every human being is entitled to love and respect no matter what.

Of course there is a disease and people have died and suffered in large numbers. I care for them, I suffer with their families and friends. This we must fight as best as we possibly can, that is in imperative for the whole of humanity. I believe there are ways to combat this that don’t remove our freedoms. That’s what we need to dísscuss.

I believe in science and being as informed as possible before forming my opinion. I believe we are stronger when we strive to find out as much as we can and then openly talk about it, trying to figure it out together. We still may not come to the same conclusions however, and we should accept that as well. That’s part of human life.

However I don’t believe in laws that remove our personal freedoms. They are unneccessary and dangerous, they can also be used for bad things when bad people come to power. I believe in personal freedom and bodily integrity which means I don’t believe in laws that make certain medications more or less compulsory, a requisite for freedom. We never needed them before and I don’t believe we need them now. I don’t believe in a society where you need to ”show your papers” before you are allowed to do certain things.

There are better ways to protect us from diseases, I believe.

I strongly believe in dialogue, in respect, love, freedom, peace, democracy, science.

I happily discuss these things with anyone. They may think very badly of me, I welcome the dialogue anyway. I don’t think badly of them. Dialogue is profoundly important and good.

That means I have not joined any particular fraction of any ”movement”, what I want to promote is Freedom. Anyone who agrees with what’s in my song should use it, it only says what’s in the lyric. Whether we agree on everything else is irrelevant. Reality is not really divided into ”movements” to me. The collective human tapestry of thoughts, views, ideas, opinions is immensely diverse and complex – and should be so.

Freedom is our most precious asset. Freedom is life. Freedom is the air we breathe. Freedom is being in love, going to a concert, choosing your own clothes, choosing how to care for yourself including what medications to take – and everything else. Freedom is freedom of speech, of different opinions. Without ever endangering others, of course.

Freedom for me is believing that humans are decent and intelligent. We can take responsibility not to harm each other without elected or non-elected bodies of power deciding over details in our lives. We never needed this before and I don’t believe we need it now.

Freedom always needs to be defended,it is never to be taken for granted. That would be foolishness. History shows us this beyond any doubt. In crises there is a pattern of authorities removing personal freedoms to protect the people. This has ended up extremely badly countless times.

I believe we are better at working together to protect us against any threat as free people.

My song ”Vi Är Fria” is about Freedom.

It’s the first lyric I ever wrote, I guess I never felt I needed to before. Now I do. It is my belief that our freedom is being seriously threatened. Some may think I should have stayed quiet, but I, as everyone else, has my opinion and I happen to sing.

I deeply respect anyone who disagrees with anything or everything I stated above.

With Love/Christoffer