Roxette was formed in 1986 as a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Both artists had very successful solo careers in Sweden but joining forces as a combined unit made them international stars.
They first met in 1981, when Fredriksson performed as a background vocalist with Gessle’s band, Gyllene Tider. Initially, they formed as a one-off deal on the advice of the managing directors of a label interested in them, Capitol/EMI. The newly named Roxette issued one near-invisible release in the US, Teaser Japanese, whose video reached MTV’s studio but received no rotation to speak of. They continued to play, both with each other and with others, until 1986, when their new single, Never Ending Love hit the Swedish top 10. Later in the year, they recorded It Must Have Been Love as a Christmas single.
In 1988, the duo released the album Look Sharp!, and an American exchange student heard the album, loved it, and brought it back to the U.S. After giving it to Minneapolis radio station KDWB, they began playing The Look, to very favorable caller feedback. This soon spread to other radio stations, and without even having a U.S. label, the band had a huge radio hit. EMI officials quickly made the decision to release and market the single and album worldwide and released Look Sharp! in the U.S., Dressed for Success and Listen to Your Heart were also chosen as singles as both Gessle and EMI chose to highlight Fredriksson’s singing. Gessle said, “I always thought we should promote the songs Marie sang. Me being a lead singer wasn’t part of the plan, not for me anyway.” With the success of those singles charting, a fourth single, Dangerous, was released at the end of the year, again to great success.
It was around this time that Touchstone Pictures approached EMI and Roxette about contributing a song to the soundtrack of an upcoming film, Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. It Must Have Been Love, by then a 2-year-old Christmas recording, was chosen because Roxette had no time to compose and record a new song. After initially rejecting the song, EMI changed their mind, providing Roxette re-recorded it without the Christmas lyric. They complied, and the song provided yet another hit for the duo, and their most successful single release, hitting the top of the charts and remaining in the top 40 for seventeen weeks.
The band’s next album release, Joyride, would be their most successful, with the self-titled hit single topping the charts in over 25 countries. J.D. Considine of Rolling Stone gave this review: “By emphasizing its sense of personality, Roxette delivers more than just well-constructed hooks; this music has heart, something that makes even the catchiest melody more appealing.” The duo embarked on a very ambitious and exhausting world tour in support of their hit album. However, with the rise in popularity of grunge music, their rising star quickly waned. Their next two albums were less than stellar, failing to achieve the pinnacles the other two albums had reached. Critics even said this about the first of the two, “”They rock harder than on their pop-friendly albums prior to this, and the result shows growth but not the fun that made them so popular in the first place. Though the two have an edge on this album, they almost seem to have become a bit bored.”
Undaunted, in October 1995 Roxette released their first greatest hits compilation, Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! This offering reached the top 5 in many European countries, including the UK, as well as the top 10 in Australia. It featured four new songs, three were released as singles, including the ballad You Don’t Understand Me, co-written by Desmond Child.
Following albums were less favorably received, and several were not even released worldwide, including their huge U.S. market. Then tragedy struck. In September 2002, Fredriksson was hospitalized due to a concussion after a fainting spell at her home. She was then diagnosed with a brain tumor, which was later successfully removed in surgery. While the two returned to recording and limited touring, the pair went into semi-retirement for all intents and purposes. Several attempts at re-forming were made, including several single appearances, and a tour to promote their latest album. However, in April 2016, an official statement was released cancelling the last leg of “The Neverending World Tour,” due to her doctors’ rising concerns about the rigors of touring on Fredriksson’s rapidly failing health. She stated: “Sadly, now my touring days are over and I want to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful fans that (have) followed us on our long and winding journey.” Gessle added: “The joyride on the road is over now – but we sure had fun, didn’t we?”
Sadly, Marie Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019, at the age of 61, following a long battle with another brain tumor. The day of her death, the music video for It Must Have Been Love, posted on Roxette’s official YouTube channel, reached over 430 million views. Paying tribute to Fredriksson after her death, the stoic Gessle said she was “an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer.”
For all of us fans, it was indeed nothing but a joyride.
Tami Danielson is the main in-house blogger and Director of Operations for Pop-Daze. She was raised in California and Florida and currently resides in Oregon. Tami has written for a variety of periodicals and has provided digital marketing services for a number of artists. She can be reached at [email protected]
