Although best known as the male half of Swedish pop duo Roxette, Per Gessle – born in Halmstad, Sweden on January 12, 1966 – has had a long and successful career in his homeland. He first came to prominence after forming the band Gyllene Tider in 1976. Their blend of new wave, pop, and glam music was a success, sending their self-titled 1980 debut album to the top of the Swedish charts. The group’s next two albums – Moderna Tider (1981) and Puls (1982) – also went to number 1 on the Swedish Albums chart. However, the group’s popularity slipped and their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984, only reached number 18 and Gyllene Tider split shortly after. In between the third and fourth albums, Per Gessle issued his self-titled solo album in 1983 and then released his next solo release, Scener (1985), following the dissolution of the band. After the release of Scener, he joined forces with vocalist Marie Fredriksson in a new duo called Roxette. Their debut album, Pearls of Passion, was a hit in Sweden but the album was not released internationally. However, their next album, Look Sharp!, was a massive global hit and hit the top of the charts in Sweden and Norway. It was also a Top 10 hit in Australia, the UK, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Spain, and Germany. Look Sharp! almost reached the Top 20 in the US but only climbed to number 23. The album including the international hit singles “The Look,” “Dressed for Success,” “Listen to Your Heart,” and “Dangerous.” Their 1990 single, “It Must Have Been Love,” was another international hit and featured on the soundtrack to the film Pretty Woman. Roxette continued to have success with albums like Joyride (1991), Tourism (1992), and Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). The duo’s next album, Have a Nice Day, was released in 1999 but was not released in the US although it was a hit in several other countries. By 2001’s Room Service album, Marie was less involved with the songwriting and production of the sessions. In 2002, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and the duo went on hiatus. As she dealt with health issues, Per Gessle returned to his solo career and released the albums Mazarin (2003), Son of a Plumber (2005), En händig man (2007), and Party Crasher (2008). Per Gessle reunited with Gyllene Tider in 2004 for the album Finn 5 fel! in 2004. Per Gessle and Marie Frederiksson reunited as Roxette and began writing and recording new material. Roxette released three more albums – Charm School (2011), Travelling (2012), and Good Karma (2016) before Marie Frederiksson died of cancer on December 9, 2019. Per Gessle continued with a series of successful solo albums including one – Pop Up Dynamo! (2022) – released under the name PG Roxette. During his solo career, he released several number 1 singles including “Do You Wanna Be My Baby?” (1997), “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)" (2003), “En händig man” (2007), and “Silly Really” (2008). Extremely prolific over the course of his career, Per Gessle remains one of Sweden’s most successful artists.
