Per Gessle

About

Per Gessle is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist from Halmstad, best known as the co-founder of Roxette - the pop duo he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986. He wrote virtually all of Roxette's catalogue, including four US Billboard No. 1 singles, and the band went on to sell over 80 million albums worldwide. Before Roxette, he fronted the Swedish power-pop group Gyllene Tider, and he has also released several acclaimed solo records.

80M+

Albums sold worldwide (Roxette)

1B+

Spotify streams for 'It Must Have Been Love'

US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles (Roxette)

16.8M

Spotify monthly listeners (Roxette, 2025)

What's new

2026-05
Roxette announced a 14-city North American fall 2026 tour, kicking off September 10 in Clarkston, Michigan and wrapping October 9 in Auburn, Washington, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their debut album.
2026-03
'It Must Have Been Love', written by Per Gessle, crossed one billion streams on Spotify - making Roxette and ABBA the only Swedish acts to reach that milestone with a pre-2000s song.
2026-06
Per Gessle confirmed plans to continue the Roxette legacy under the name PG Roxette, with a new album recorded with classic band members and further tour plans announced.
2025-12
Per Gessle and Lena Philipsson performed at Avicii Arena in Stockholm as part of the 40th anniversary tour, which spanned 43 concerts worldwide in 2025.
2025-05
Roxette's Spotify monthly listeners grew from 10.5 million in early 2024 to 16.8 million by May 2025, breaking into the platform's global top 500 artists for the first time.