Son of a Plumber

Son of a Plumber is an album released by Swedish pop-rock singer and composer Per Gessle. It is the first album by Gessle to use a pseudonym artist name; Son of a Plumber. The album, which was officially released on 23 November 2005, is a double CD album packed with deeply personal and highly inventive music according to Gessle. There were three singles released from the album. A double A-side, "C'mon"/"Jo-Anna Says" which was released on 7 November 2005, the second single "Hey Mr. DJ", on 1 February 2006 and the final release was "I Like It Like That" on 24 May to the Swedish radio stations. Background and recording Per Gessle is the lead songwriter of Swedish acts Gyllene Tider and Roxette. In addition to this, he has released material as a solo artist; his 2003 album Mazarin is his most successful solo record. It spent thirteen weeks at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart, and sold over 335,000 copies in Sweden as of January 2005. In 2004, Gyllene Tider reformed to celebrate their 25th anniversary, releasing the studio album Finn 5 fel!, their first new material since 1996. That album was also successful, selling 230,000 copies in Sweden by January 2005. Finn 5 fel! was promoted by a concert tour of Sweden, with the band performing to over 58,000 people in a single night at the Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, breaking an attendance record previously held by Bruce Springsteen. Rather than release his next album as a solo artist, or with Gyllene Tider or Roxette, Gessle chose to work under the pseudonym Son of a Plumber. Producer Clarence Öfwerman initially suggested the idea of working under a pseudonym, saying that recording an album under a new name could liberate Gessle creatively. Gessle said he was reluctant to release another Swedish-language album following the success of Mazarin and Gyllene Tider, and that he wanted Son of a Plumber to "feel like a debut, for my own sake. Because I'm afraid people will get tired of me." He chose the Son of a Plumber pseudonym as a tribute to his father Kurt Gessle, who worked as a plumber.