Several years prior to recording "Pearls of Passion", Marie and I
discussed making an album together. Eventually.
  Both being tied up in solocareers for years, we shared the vision of
going international, working in English. Totally enchanted by the
possibilities of glamour and glitz, money and fame, A&R; personalities and
free drinks.
  Now was the time.
  The album emerged out of the song "Neverending Love" which was a summer 
smash in our native Sweden in the summer of 86. We got the attention of 
EMI's European division and decided to go ahead recording a long player.
  The material already existed, most of it was actually made for my third 
Swedish soloalbum but was quickly translated.
  Looking back it was all pretty confusing. We didn't really have a
concept, we just fooled around getting to know each other and did what we
felt was right.
  From a songwriter's point of view it was absolute heaven to work with 
someone like Marie. Her amazing voice improved the songs a lot. It's been 
like that ever since...
  Clarence Öfwerman produced the album and it certainly was a somewhat 
strange combination; Clarence with his Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush 
preferences, Marie with her Joni Mitchell and Suzanne Vega-fantasies and
me with my candy-coated Blondie collection.
  The recordings took just a couple of weeks, working primarily live in
the studio, and the album was released just in time for Christmas 86. It 
instantly reached for the stars. In Sweden, that is... Abroad it was
totally ignored with the exception of a couple of singles releases here
and there (Canada, Italy etc.).
  All in all it gave us the sensational experiences of lowbudget local 
German TV-shows, airporthotels, A&R; personalities, free drinks and 
selfconfidence enough to create the "Look-Sharp!"-album.
  Which is a totally different story.

Per Gessle, August '97,
Halmstad, Sweden.