Per’s 60 for 60. #2 Hey Mr. DJ (Won’t You Play Another Love Song). Yes siree, we are at the #2… And a great one it is, of course. From the SOAP project; a single, a remix single and a nice video! Per says this is country, and maybe it is, but to us it sounds more like a late ’70s TV-show theme, think Columbo, think Dallas. At any rate a gorgeous second! Per comments to TDR: “I wrote this for the SOAP album. I wasn’t too sure about it since it felt so… hmmm… soft… almost like Chicago ballad or something. I remember playing it on the guitar for Clarence and Christopher in the studio being prepared for ‘the big kill,’ but they actually loved it. I was really surprised. And then Helena came along with her beautiful voice and suddenly it all made sense.” Oh yes! (And to be extra perfectly clear: tomorrow we will present to you the #1 – Per’s best song ever…) #per60

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

Per’s 60 for 60. This is #2 of TDR’s hand-picked list of songs from Per Gessle’s career.

Per’s 60 for 60. #3 Do You Wanna be My Baby? Well, here we are, at the top 3… it’s gone quite fast hasn’t it? this was the leading single off “The World” in 1997 accompanied by a video by Jonas Åkerlund, featuring the group Cirkus Cirkör. Per comments to TDR: “I find it much harder to write uptempo songs than ballads. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older. Maybe it’s because I’ve written so many songs it’s hard for me to find anything fresh in my own upbeat soil of pop. Sometimes I challenge myself and start writing in a key I where I know I eventually get lost. Just to make errors. Hopefully something interesting emerges from my mistakes. “Baby” was written on an acoustic guitar in the summer of 1996, for the ‘TWATG’ album. It also became the first single. I always felt that it could have been a great Rox track á la ‘Sleeping in My Car,’ but Roxette had taken a time out for the moment. That’s why I made that solo album.” We have to agree – this would have made a smashing Rox album! (A free tip; it’s not too late to make a follow-up.) #per60

Do You Wanna Be My Baby?

Per’s 60 for 60. This is #3 of TDR’s hand-picked list of songs from Per Gessle’s career.

Here we go!

Mono Mind – Mind Control Q&A

Mono Mind – A Per Gessle Project ‘Mind Control’ album release January 12, 2019

Mono Mind comes clean!

Per Gessle’s Birthday present to himself and the fans

Per Gessle Presents Mono Mind – release January 12 when Per turns 60!

Per 60 for 60 up until today! Missing two songs, and all songs may not be available in all countries. None are in Russia of course.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6luywxaqN4U8EJaFKPzNPn

Per’s 60 for 60. #4 Being With You (the original 1997 demo). As you may know this was finally released on “Small Town Talk,” this is however how Per planned it to sound in the beginning. A Tom Petty-esque song with 12-string guitar. Per comments: “Some songs never get finished. ‘Being With You’ is one of those. I’ve made several demos of it and fooled around with different intros, verses and keys, but for so many reasons it never came across the way I wanted it to. This first take was made in September 1997 when it was really fresh and written for ‘Have a Nice Day,’ built on a 12-string guitar strumming. Then I had another go in 2004 which felt much better, but it was still left out in the cold when the SOAP project got going in 2005. I like it a lot so… third time’s the charm?” Noteable is that the 2004 demo lacks a verse. Top 3 left… #per60

Being With You

Per’s 60 for 60. This is #4 of TDR’s hand-picked list of songs from Per Gessle’s career.

Per’s 60 for 60. #5 Tycker om när du tar på mej (I Like It When You’re Touching Me). Badabam! The top 5 and the 3rd “Mazarin” song in a row! Another killer track. One of Per’s favorites, as well as wife Åsa’s. Gabriel wasn’t too keen on “I like your breasts in the morning light” but hey… This is what Per has to say about it: “‘Tycker om…’ was born October 1st in 2002. It had a very special vibe throughout the whole writing process. It’s very rare. Great guitar-riff, a classic but wonderful chorus, quite personal lyrics. It all made sense. Also, it was the first song we recorded for ‘Mazarin’ and it took forever. I think we did six or seven versions and arrangements before I was happy and could sleep properly. We spent two weeks on this song alone. Clarence and Christoffer wanted to kill me. I think they tried to put poison in my food. But it was worth it.” It certainly was. Chris also commented in one of our interviews a few years ago that Per was not happy with the first six versions of it. “You’re ruining my favorite song!!” Oh well, it turned out more than fine! #per60

Tycker om när du tar på mej

Per’s 60 for 60. This is #5 of TDR’s hand-picked list of songs from Per Gessle’s career.

Per’s 60 for 60. #6 Spegelboll (Disco Ball) Here it is, the hit of all hits! A great groove, the keyboards, the bass, the guitar, the drums, you name it! Per’s personal comment: “Written for the ‘Mazarin’ album and was first named ‘Jimmys gitarr’ but it didn’t really fit the concept. I made a new version with new lyrics and it suddenly felt a lot better. The album was in desperate need of an uptempo track and ‘Spegelboll’ fit the bill perfectly. It also became a killer track live.” It was released as a 12″ DJ single in clear vinyl, but it was never released as a proper single. That was a bad mistake guys… Another mistake was to let the Estonian band Vanilla Ninja destroy it in English! Dear god! Find “Crashing Through the Doors” and cringe a little… Anyway, a great #6, don’t you think? #per60

Per’s 60 for 60. #7 Om du bara vill (If You Just Want to). From “Mazarin” and a lovely song indeed. Today Per himself comments the track: Probably my favorite song off “Mazarin” (together with “Tycker om när du tar på mej”.) I started writing it in February of 2002 but didn’t finish until August the same year. It was originally called “Det bor en sorg.” (“A Sorrow Lives”) That’s how verse two starts. The recordings down in AGM in Skåne were magical. Christoffer’s slide guitar, Clarence’s piano, Jens’s soft drums and Helena’s unimaginable voice put a very special touch to this song. #per60

Om du bara vill

Per’s 60 for 60. This is #7 of TDR’s hand-picked list of songs from Per Gessle’s career.