Per Gessle
| Per Gessle | |
|---|---|
Gessle on stage in Helsinki, Finland in 2003
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Per Håkan Gessle |
| Born |
12 January 1959 Halmstad, Sweden |
| Genres |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts |
Roxette Gyllene Tider Son of a Plumber |
| Website | Gessle |
| Notable instruments | |
| Gibson ES-335 | |
Per Håkan Gessle (Swedish pronunciation: [pɛːr ²ɡɛsˌlɛ]; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonicist. He is the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Gyllene Tider and formed Roxette with Marie Fredriksson (Gessle being the chief songwriter in both bands). With Fredriksson's illness in 2002, he went back to recording solo albums, reformed Gyllene Tider in 2004 and became a successful artist in his native Sweden, selling multi-platinum albums.
Per Gessle was a founding member of Gyllene Tider, in 1976. They quickly became a popular group in Sweden, but after their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984), sold poorly compared to their previous albums, the group disbanded. Gessle wrote. "We decided to put Gyllene Tider to rest... until further notice."
In 1982, Gessle released his first solo album, Per Gessle and after Gyllene Tider split-up his second album, Scener, quickly appeared in 1985.
Gessle and Marie Fredriksson had been friends for a few years before they came together as Roxette in 1986. After the success of their first hit "Neverending Love", which was written by Gessle, they quickly recorded Pearls of Passion using material which was originally intended for Per's third solo album.
Roxette went on to achieve four U.S. #1's and two #2's, with their albums Look Sharp! and Joyride attaining platinum status in a number of countries. After Roxette's early nineties success, Per released a demo compilation album in 1992, På väg, 1982–86. After the release of Crash! Boom! Bang! and subsequent world tour, Roxette took a break.
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