NEW YORK (UPDATED) - While being in New York with his wife Åsa, son Gabriel and manager Marie Dimberg, Per gave an exclusive interview to Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet's Per Bjurman. In this interview he mentions that his new album Son of a Plumber is a very personal album that he sees as kind of last will and testament.

  Per and co. are in New York to get a decent Roxette collection released in the US. And while being there he also checks the interest in Son of a Plumber. Per Bjurman, Aftonbladet's man in New York, likes what he hears. He says that these lyrics sound very personal. "Yes," Per says, "I really wanted to do an album that's me. The lyrics are mainly about me and my life and they feel very important. At least to me." Per continues, "We never had a target group in mind when we did this album, and that was very liberating."

  Bjurman asks if Per wants to go back on a big tour now that he's reconquered Sweden, twice. "Let me put it like this; if I hadn't made this album in English I hadn't made it at all. Because another summer in Sweden wouldn't have worked. But now when it's done, it's of course nice if someone outside of Sweden wants to hear it."

  Regarding a possible tour Per says the same thing as he said to TDR. "We've discussed it. If the album is received well abroad it would be nice to do a little club tour. We would play a little bit of everything. No Roxette stuff though, that wouldn't work without Marie."

  Per also mentions that he won't push Marie into working. They haven't had time to talk but he has read that she's fine and that she may want to work with Roxette again. "Great to read that. I won't stress her though."

Thomas Evensson contributed to this article.

• Aftonbladet (In Swedish)

Translated from Aftonbladet, this is how Per feels about some of the songs:



C'mon

"It was almost impossible to find a first single, because there isn't really a song that represents the album. But we took this glamrock song as one of two A-sides because you can't tell it's me. So people can get a feel for it, regardless of their relationship to me. I sing in falsetto for the first time. It happened that way when I wrote it… and it was fun to sing it that way."

Jo-Anna Says

"The other A-side of the single is on it because… well, if you vomit when you hear "C'mon" maybe you can like this instead. Ha ha! It's a sort of a McCartney-song. We've had long discussions about what to really think about him. I'm more of a Lennon man myself, but like his early solo stuff."

Kurt - The Fastest Plumber in the West

"An instrumental, with film score touches. It's a little spaghetti western-ish. And Kurt, the plumber, that's of course my dad. Thought he needed a tune."

Waltz for Woody

"Another instrumental, dedicated to Åsa. She's called Woody. I really don't know why. It's just the way it is."

I Like it Like That

"The strongest chorus on the album. And now that you mention it maybe it is the one that sounds the most like 'classical' Gessle."

Hey Mr DJ (Won't You Play Another Love Song)

"Sounds like Chicago, no? These songs very easily turn into parodies and we were in bad shape for a while there, but I think we got through it. It sounds very lovely."

I Have a Party in My Head (I Hope it Never Ends)

"My favorite from the album. It turned out just the way I imagined it. It feels very special."