written by Per Gessle

produced by Clarence Öfwerman

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It’s the bright dawn of June 1st as I’m writing this page.

The sun began to come up around a quarter after 5:00.

Mind you, I certainly don’t get up this early every morning.

But I happened to today, and knew of course I wanted to make the

page for this sunny ’90s Roxette song.

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Reportedly, on a very very cold day at home in Sweden (imagine that), Per wrote a song that warmed him up a bit. Then a while later, on July 17th, ’94, he demoed it. Always having been one of the most prolific songwriters on the planet—definitely one of Sweden’s busiest musicians for the past 40+ years—Per has written literally... oh, probably close to two thousand songs by now (again, literally), and quite a few have carried a summer theme. Though according to the traditional Gregorian calendar, summer doesn’t officially begin until sometime from June 20th through the 23rd, that doesn’t stop most of us from going into a summer mindset as soon as we flip over that June page. And I’m willing to wager that includes Per Gessle. If you’ve ever enjoyed the privilege of visiting Scandinavia, depending on the time of year and on where on Earth you normally reside, the distinction’s not tough to note. Sweden and its neighboring Nordic lands are typically pretty chilly in the spring and fall, positively gorgeous in the summer, and frigidly freezing cold in the winter.

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While I personally deal better with the cold than the heat—at least in the corner of the States where I’m located—I do understand I’m in something of a minority there. But it makes me feel that I could definitely thrive in Sweden—particularly as I’ve been teaching myself to speak the language since 2007. And though the signature sound of a band like Roxette will start changing with the times (you’ll catch the era-centric nuances in their ’80s albums Pearls Of Passion and Look Sharp! versus the ’90s’ Crash! Boom! Bang! and Have A Nice Day), part of their personality’s always remained constant. A big part of that is their sparklingly bright and sunny pop.

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“June Afternoon” was released in 1995 (’96 as a single with its video) on Roxette’s greatest hits compilation, Don’t Bore Us—Get To The Chorus!, for which it was recorded. It opens the compilation, though it wasn’t the first single released from it—that would be Don’t Bore Us’ lead ballad, “You Don’t Understand Me.” Unlike “Understand Me,” “June” is written with happy, uplifting lyrics and similarly positive, upbeat images speckling its video. Combined with the rainbow of pastel-ish colors and other visual treats it has to offer—even though “Almost Unreal” will always be my favorite Rox song—that makes this one, “June,” my favorite Rox video. Always a lovely way to ring in the month. Happy Birthdays to all you June babes out there.

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full demo version

full studio version

music video

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Rox’s official website