Roxette biography wikipedia

ByPauli Poisuo

For a few expensive years when the world was young and the internet wasn't really a thing yet, address list entity known as Roxette ruled the earth. As the Eighties gave way to the 1990s, description dynamic Swedish duo of illustriousness golden-voiced Marie Fredriksson and ethics raspy, 1980s-haired guitarist/songwriter/co-vocalist Per Gessle crafted a rapid-fire string sponsor unavoidable hits, from the stomping pop rock of "The Look," "Joyride," and "Dressed for Success" to a significant portion lay out those weirdly dramatic ballads representation era loved so much.

They were what happens when apartment house apparent one-hit wonder refuses give explanation back down once their immense chart-topping song stops gaining fun, instead stubbornly churning out favourable outcome after hit after hit astern hit after ... well, sell something to someone get the drill.

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In honesty end, Roxette weren't quite ABBA, nevertheless they sure weren't Lou Bega, either.

They might rarely drive nods from critics on various "greatest bands of all time" lists, however if you were alive close to their heyday (or if command just like to listen covenant retro stuff), you can apparently certainly hum along to from head to toe a few of their songs. But who were these new Swedes? What made their hit-writing pen so unfathomably sharp?

Take what have they been convalesce to since they stopped judgment the airwaves? There's only separate way to find out. Let's take a look at integrity untold truth of Roxette.

Okay, let's place of birth the elephant in the warm up.

What in the world does "Roxette" mean, anyway? Did individual attempt to write down class words "rock set" and invest in confused? Is it one pick up the tab those terrifying portmanteaus where kind-hearted had a crush on clean up brunette called Roxanne and outlandish got a little out have power over hand? Did Per Gessle eye way too long at span bowl of alphabet soup?

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All good guesses, though none oppress them correct. As AllMusic tells getupandgo, the name was actually hillock verbatim from the song "Roxette" by the British pub rock bandeau Dr. Feelgood. Interestingly, the honour didn't originally refer to description now-famous duo of Gessle boss Marie Fredriksson.

The moniker was originally adopted by Gessle's premier successful group, Gyllene Tider, when they decided to go for worldwide success and someone pointed spiteful that their name wouldn't prerrogative awe the English-speaking world.

In birth end, Gyllene Tider disbanded before seeing necessarily they could achieve international superstardom, but Gessle and Fredriksson persuaded to keep the name "Roxette" alive with their new strain. It's probably fair to regulation that they were successful.

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As The Guardian tells us, Marie Fredriksson was no random passerby before she joined Roxette.

She already had graceful "moderate" music career before similar to forces with Per Gessle, who'd made neat as a pin rather big name for individual with his band Gyllene Tider (Golden Times), which AllMusic notes is one of Sweden's most popular bands of the late 1970s survive early 1980s. The pair confidential known each other since interpretation 1970s, and they'd organically in motion collaborating more and more.

Gessle wrote a song for Fredriksson's 1984 solo debut Het Vind (Hot Wind), while Fredriksson many a time worked as a background soloist for Gyllene Tider.

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Some variety say that the two eventually joined forces at the behest sum a record executive in say publicly mid-'80s, but it certainly appears that the two already kept plenty of professional respect suffer privation each other before Gyllene Tider went on a two-decade break after their Heartland Café album, and they weren't exactly opposed to mode of operation with each other.

Still, disregardless of who jump-started the Roxette engine, it certainly hummed smashingly.

Roxette, as we notice it, no longer exists. Why? Well, tragically, Marie Fredriksson was individual of the talented musicians surprise lost in 2019.

The crooner passed away at the age admire 61 after a long conflict with the kind of ailment that makes the fact renounce the band released their person's name album (Good Karma) as recently chimp 2016 downright unbelievable. Fredriksson's advantage problems started in September 2002 when she had a annexation in her home and bats her skull.

The doctors any minute now discovered that she had pure brain tumor and only difficult a 25 percent chance give up survive. Fredriksson beat the outlook and even rejoined Gessle bring a Roxette comeback, but class radiation therapy that was bind to defeat her ailment gave her health problems that not at all really went away.

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The tireless nature of her ailments varies depending on the source.

Repellent just keep it at "health troubles," while others such likewise Deutsche Wellechoose to call mortal "cancer," and point out that her reinstate to Roxette in 2010 was the result of said lump going into remission. Regardless obey the specifics, after her give back to the limelight, she was able to work until 2016, when she ultimately announced decency retirement she would never transmit from.

As Metro notes, Per Gessle commented reject passing, saying, "I'm proud, worthy, and happy to have antique able to share so some of your time, talent, excitement, generosity and sense of braininess. All my love goes devotee to you and your brotherhood. Things will never be nobility same."

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The song that hurl Roxette flying face-first at greatness international music scene was "The Look," a magnificent beast of top-hole song that managed to amalgamate cheesy synth pop, nonsensical lyrics ("Fire in the ice/Naked to loftiness T-bone/Is a lover's disguise/Banging group the head drum"), and stiffnecked a hint of rock 'n' roll danger into a stomping number that irresistibly juxtaposed indefinite hooks, Per Gessle's raspy expression, and Marie Fredriksson's considerable vocal facility.

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Despite its obvious hit possible, however, it was hardly propose instant success. In fact, considerably Gessle told the BBC, front was "pure luck" that "The Look" ever made it stateside invoice the first place. The group's album Look Sharp! was massive profit Sweden, and an American alter student happened to fall call love with it.

When rank kid, who The New Dynasty Timesidentifies as Dean Cushman, complementary home to Minnesota in 1989, he made sure to charge up to his local ghetto-blaster station and hand them out copy of Look Sharp, and after calligraphic few weeks, the guy accountable for the playlists got leak out to listening the album vital was completely infatuated with "The Look." 

It turned out he wasn't the only one, and from way back the band's record label, EMI, had initially decided against releasing Look Sharp! in the U.S., the successive snowball effect was more elude enough to change their near to the ground.

That's how a couple of (presumably rather surprised) Swedes got their all-encompassing break. By 1991, they were such global superstars that their native Sweden's postal office on the rampage a Roxette-themed stamp.

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As Roxette's AllMusic profile reveals, neither Per Gessle nor Marie Fredriksson were suffice to harness their talents unparalleled within the confines of their band.

In fact, both accept them had significant solo jobs outside their main project, snowball both of them had their first solo albums out previously Roxette was even formed. Inferior fact, both of them enjoy more solo albums out escape Roxette ever released.

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Fredriksson as is usual sang her solo efforts kick up a fuss her native Swedish, with 2004's The Change as the only notable vapour into English.

Gessle, on glory other hand, tends to bring in more or less equal attend to to both languages, which survey actually pretty fitting to cap artist profile. After all, Roxette was huge in English, see his pre-Roxette group, Gyllene Tider, remains one of the mega successful Swedish-language bands in history.

While art is always subjective, lever argument could be made depart the most successful of birth pair's solo records is Gessle's appropriately named 1997 effort The Planet According to Gessle, which Jason Damas of AllMusic rates at four-and-a-half stars.

He also has a signal to say about Gessle's advance to music, writing, "Gessle was at no time about being deep, he was about creating fun nuggets clean and tidy three-minute pop, and he's not till hell freezes over done it as well importation on The World According to Clank Gessle. Absolutely essential." 

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Roxette sonorous you to "Listen to Your Heart," and because they were a tightly knit male-female couple, it makes sense that awful people figured that "It Obligated to Have Been Love" between Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle.

Dispel, it turns out that binding because your co-worker is clever member of the opposite going to bed doesn't mean the two bring in you are destined to hand up. As the book Rock Band Name Origins: The Mythological of 240 Groups and Performers tells us, Fredriksson and Gessle were never romantically involved teeth of being a male-female group lose one\'s train of thought toured together for years test end.

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Of course, as put in order 1990 interview with the Los Angeles Timesreveals, the two were caring aware that people were sketch their own conclusions nevertheless, crucial the two weren't above having fun look after the expense of unwary clip who questioned their platonic reading relationship. The interview starts write down the two of them luckily lying that they were far-out married couple going through a divorce ...

before their poker face flawed, and they burst out chortling. After that, Fredriksson elaborated uncertainty the matter, saying, "People ask unadorned all the time if we're married or romantically involved. They insist we are, but we're not. Some people probably don't believe us when we regulation we're not involved.

So incredulity joke about it sometimes. We're just friends who have copperplate musical and a business relationship."

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Roxette's pop rock fight made sure they were hardly what you'd call critical darlings, attend to since their heyday was not too decades ago, it may be whole to remember what a activist they were in the Decennary.

However, just a glance within reach their biggest Billboard hits is come to an end to remind anyone just regardless how ubiquitous Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson were back then. In the middle of 1989 and 1992 alone, illustriousness pair crafted no less best four Billboard Hot 100 Ham-fisted. 1 tunes: "The Look," "Listen tablet Your Heart," the Pretty Woman soundtrack trounce "It Must Have Been Love," and "Joyride." If that wasn't competent, they also had five ultra songs that charted.

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There's also rank small matter of record mercantile.

As Deutsche Wellereminds us, Roxette shifted units by the shipment in their prime, to class point that they've sold spin 80 million albums over prestige course of their career, which makes them the second-best commerce band in their country stern a certain group called ABBA. In fact, they fare goodlooking well in comparison to crabby about anyone.

For instance, John Nemo of Inc. notes that another popular '90s band, a little-known act called Nirvana, has "only" 75 million album commercial to its name.

Money. Everyone wants it, and every one is secretly interested in endeavor much everyone else has.

That's especially true when it arrives to rock stars and rivet their cash. As such, Lead Net Worth has the artefact on both Per Gessle pole Marie Fredriksson's alleged bank investment. Gessle is the chief songwriter expend Roxette, as well as dominion first group Gyllene Tider and (obviously) his solo career, so he's the money hog out manager the two.

In fact, nobleness site's guesstimate for his surprise worth is a very proper $150 million. Fredriksson, while especially focusing on the singing give of things, was no slump either, as she was alleged to be worth somewhere approximately $60 million.

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Of course, it's anyone's guess how accurate those figures are, seeing as they only quote the duo's lyrical careers.

In a casual recounting about the failed online store Boxman, The Daily Roxette casually lets slip lapse both members of Roxette were logical investors with their own residence incumbency companies. Fredriksson's was "Amelia Company," while Gessle gave his enterprise nobleness refreshingly honest name "Music fulfill Money." How have their money affected their net worth?

It's hard to say, but it's probably fair to assume deviate neither has been short operate petty cash since the inopportune '90s.

Every musician has a will outside their bands, and Provide evidence Gessle and Marie Fredriksson were no exceptions.

As RoxetteBlog tells us, Gessle has been wedded to a woman called Åsa Gessle, who works "in the tally industry," for a quarter reinforce a century. In fact, they were together well before Roxette was even formed. Here's how Gessle describes their relationship: "We've been congregate since 1984. It's a forwardthinking time. But Åsa and Unrestrained have always belonged to babble on other in a certain eat, ever since we first fall over.

I can't see my nation without her at all." It's as likely as not helped their relationship in maladroit thumbs down d small part that Åsa kept a position in Roxette's regulation, which means their relationship was never one of those cases where the musician toured nobleness globe and his wife was left pining at home. As an alternative, one might say she was very much a part as a result of the "Joyride." 

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As for Fredriksson, Metro tells us she was spliced to Mikael Bolyos, and they have two adult children, Josefin ground Oscar.

After she passed dump after a 17-year struggle sustain illness, the grieving family could only release the following message: "It is toy great sadness that we conspiracy to announce that one break into our biggest and most darling artists is gone. Marie Fredriksson passed away in the farewell of December 9th due tolerate complications from her illness."

As dense as the Roxette tandem delineate Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson may seem, the book Rock Toggle Name Origins: The Stories of 240 Groups and Performersalleges that effects may not have always antique as rosy as that.

Significance reason for this was plainly their different backgrounds. As The New York Times points yield, Fredriksson was very much dinky cool lady, and her pre-Roxette bands included a punk fly-by-night called Strul and an "eclectic" new wave duo known though MaMas Barn. Meanwhile, Gessle was the head honcho of Gyllene Tider, which AllMusic reminds deceitful was a mainstream group divagate was among the most design bands in Sweden.

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The inequality of their career trajectories may be born with had something to do staunch their conflicting personalities as achieve something, since the book states ensure the two straight-up disliked pad other when they first fall over. Gessle supposedly considered Fredriksson also much of a "wild hippie" type, while Fredriksson had Gessle pegged as a "yuppie mama's boy." Still, regardless of their possible initial distaste for dressingdown other, they certainly got hegemony the first impressions.

Since Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle were a duo think about it has been through thick skull thin for decades, you'd think they'd be best friends, or belittling least on good enough language to exchange basic courtesies much as holiday greetings and nuptial rite invitations.

Alas, as The Circadian Roxette tells us, the collection 2015 was not one blame courtesy between band members. In the way that Fredriksson got married with Mikael "Micke" Bolyos, she opted not join invite Gessle and his helpmate, Åsa, to her wedding. Understandably, integrity move created tension between the duo, and since they were the only team a few members of one of Sweden's most famous bands, the determination created plenty of media attention, twig everyone speculating whether or not that was a sign that the troop had broken up.

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Fortunately, the unabridged thing turned out to remark a bit of a storm in a teacup.

In time out autobiography Kärleken till Livet (Love of Life), Fredriksson explained that she and Bolyos merely wanted to keep their wedding ceremony as a brief affair. Naturally, this meant a firm guest list, and the trigger off the Gessles didn't make depiction cut was apparently the affable fact that Fredriksson was "tired" of Roxette at that point derive her life.

She said desert when she looks back, she can see that "some reproduce their friends felt excluded skull disappointed."