Roxette is a swedish duo formed by Per Håkan Gessle and Gun-Marie Fredriksson (both with solo careers in Swedish too). A "Woman with short hair" and a "Man with lon6g hair" antagonistic style6 definitively enchanted the world. But not only for that style. Roxette is6 glob6ally known by the sweet6 voice of Marie and for the chords, lyrics and inspirations 6of Per.
Then... Who is Pelle? Who is Majsan? Coming, you will can read a little about this duo in this timeline below.
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That mixture is already gi6ving right since 1986, when recording EMI suggested the union of those two great talents. But the success only came even after a student (American) of exchange that was in Sweden heard "The Look".
He liked so much of that hit that took with itself a copy in a K7 for American radios.
It was great... "The Look" was the largest blowout and "opened the doors" definitively to the world knew Pelle and Majsan.
Marie Fredriksson is born in Östra Ljungby (Sweden) in May 30 at 03:38 in the dawn.
Per Gessle is born in Halmstad (Sweden) on January 12.
Per buys your first LP Kinks "The Kink Kontroversy" of your older brother's than needed SKr $5,00 to buy cigarettes. Since then a vast collection of vinyls appeared.
Inspired for Bowie, Per paints your hair of "red". He walked through the streets of Halmstad shocking the people and being the maximum.
Halmstad back to the 60's and becomes the capital of Beattles. Definitively, in that time, Halmstad was the swedish Liverpool. There is a healthy musical scene taking care of the place. In that time, Marie stops studying to be devoted to the music and nor at least knows who is Per.
The Sex Pistols band makes a presentation in a small club of Halmstad. It is a "you should be there also". Per is selling a repeated performance of The Monkees on TV.
I was born! Marie is vocalist and pianist of Strul band. Per is the vocalist, author of songs and guitarist on Gyllene Tider. After receiving a sound "NO" from the largest discography companies of Sweden (including Polar, of Björn and Benny of ABBA), Gyllene Tider finances your own career.
The success of the lyrics and the own financing of the band Gyllene Tider does with that group signs with EMI Svenska.
In this time, Gyllene Tider is a national fever in Scandinavia. Success Singles, albums on the top of the charts, public's records in tours... at the same time, Marie makes an effort with Strul that releases a single without success.
Strul of Marie records an album called "Mamas Barn". Other failure.
Per releases an album with your name very different from Gyllene Tider's agitated style. He surprises all.
That year marks a change in the case Pelle-Majsan. Marie records, in solo career, "Het Vind" that quickly places her as an artist of great value. Gyllene Tider, on the other hand, is bad. The band releases "Heartland Café" in the United States as an attempt of getting success out of Sweden. And do you know what was the name the Gyllene Tider used to your "american version"? Quite so... Roxette! But the album is a failure. Billboard said "Nothing much happening here" - >> "Anything happening here".
Gyllene Tider separates. Per records your second solo album ("Scener") that becomes the less sold album of your career. Already the second album of Marie "Den Sjunde Vågen" places her among one of the largest artists of Sweden.
THAT WAS THE GREAT YEAR. After a suggestion of EMI, Pelle & Majsan finally plan to work together and they release the single "Neverending Love" with the name "Roxette". It is a great success of the swedish summer. Marie is noticed that your solo career can have end. Even so she records. Songs that were done for the third album of Per, were placed in the album "Pearls of Passion" that established them as a new swedish duo. Unhappily, "Neverending Love" makes little success in the rest of Europe.
Roxette makes shows playing to 100 thousand people in swedish festivals. "Efter Stormen" of Marie, is release in the same year before the single of Christmas "It must have been love (Christmas for the broken-hearted). That last one, impassions the swedes.
Roxette releases your second album: "Look Sharp!" and makes tours thru Sweden. The album triumphs in Sweden, but nothing happens in other places. Until that... an American student (ean Cushman) of exchange it comes back of Sweden with a copy of that work (" iracy is also culture!") that is reviewed for a station of radio (KDWB) in Minneapolis. "The Look" plays and the listeners ask this song for telephone. Of KDWB, "The Look" goes to other radios repeating the sweet success. Roxette, finally, has a success hit in America, but no album is release.
EMI quickly release officially "The Look" in United States. This song reaches the first place in March and another success tops in 24 countries. In October, they get the second Number #1 with "Listen to your heart" and accomplish a tour for Europe. The album, "Look Sharp!" sells more than 8 million copies for the world.
An other version for "It must have been love" (without the reference to Christmas) it gets the third Number one in June. This single becomes the "Pretty woman" sound-track and sells 9 million copies.
The third "roxettish" album is release. The song-title of that album (Joyride) is the first single and it reaches the first position in the United States and also in many other countries. The world tour "Join the Joyride" begins in Helsinki on September 4. They accomplish 108 concerts in Europe, Australia, United States and South America finishing later in Stockholm on July 22, 1992. 1 million and 700 thousand people went to the stadiums while the album sold for there of 10 million copies. The famous sentence "Hello, you fool... I love you!" that so much enchanted and still enchants today, was written originally in suedish by Åsa in form of a note to Per. Unhappily, that was the great last tour in the United States in 7 years.
How do you do! That is the name of the new single of the fourth album "Tourism" with a collection of live tracks in studios, hotel rooms and nightclub. Happily, Roxette recorded for here also. The track "Fingertips" in Rio de Janeiro and "Never is a long time" in São Paulo. All this work was accomplished during the world tour proving that the band can produce great sounds anywhere. Marie, without releasing Roxette, comes back to your solo career releasing the fourth album "Den Ständiga Resan", that is platinum.
As the first band of no-english language, Roxette was invited to play in MTv Unplugged. The event was accomplished in Stockholm. "Almost Unreal" becomes sound-track of the movie "Super Mario Bros.". It's a great success in the European summer. At the same time the band is going among Capri, London and Stockholm recording songs for the next album. Marie becomes a proud mom with your first daughter, Josefine (April 29). Per Gessle marries with, until then, 12 year-old girlfriend... Åsa Nordin. They met each other in a disco.
The fifth album "Crash! Boom! Bang! " is release in April and new hits as "Sleeping In My Car", "Run To You", "Fireworks" and "Crash! Boom! Bang!" are also successes. Roxette makes your second world tour in the autumn and makes 47 concerts in Europe. Marie marries with Michael Bolyos, father of Josefine. For ignored reasons and misunderstood, "Crash! Boom! Bang!" belongs the last album of the duo to be release in the United States. A lot is heard and little is known in fact what happened.
Even so, the tour continues and South Africa receive grandiose show that surrendered an exclusive video. More than 130.000 fans accompanied that show. The tour continues in Australia, Southwest of Asia and Japan. They also play in the capital of Beijing. As the first western group to play in China in 9 years, Roxette was spectacular and got popularity. It was not different in South America, where hysterical fans acclaimed for Roxette. Until then, the effect of the problems with the recording in the USA, they had not given so much problem. The effect was not felt still really and, in the Autumn, "Don't bore us, get to the chorus! Roxette's greatest hits" was release with 4 new songs: "June Afternoon", "You Don't Understand Me", "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "I Don't Want To Get Hurt". The album sold very well thanks to the songs of enormous success, but the band stopped! (A minute of silence, please!) Of turn home, Per didn't have serenity. GT accomplishes a show and Halmstad it is invaded by fans that almost waited 10 years for that moment. GT is again a great success and the press and the fans want a turnê and a new album. Was a meeting made and was the answer... fortune-teller? NO!!!
But they don't lose hope… On that year, they said "Oh, OK… we will return!" And they returned... ehhh. Roxette gives a time during the first semester. Per writes 4 songs in Swedish for Gyllene Tider's new EP and the band comes back to the fame so deserved. The year already went finishing when the album of great successes of Gyllene Tider arrives to the mark of 500 thousand copies. After all this, they say... "Thank you and bye-bye" again. Aaahhh. Marie is also busy. She releases your fifth solo album "I en tid som vår" and she have her second baby, Oscar Mikael (November 26). The new album is a platinum hit. As well as Oscar is made of Gold. In the autumn, Roxette compiles an album of great ballads in spanish. "Balladas en español" is warmly consumed by the countries of hispanic language winning a new platinum disk in Spain and disks of gold in Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico and Chile.
In spring, Per releases "The world according to Gessle". A pop album, solo and with sonority plenty hard. Jonas Åkerlund give an all innovative and controversial tone to the clips of "Do you wanna be my baby?" and "Kix" provoking artists' interests as Madonna and Prodigy. In August, Per and Åsa they become parents of Gabriel. "Pearls of Passion" is released for the happiness of the fans with 8 Xtra-traX.
Roxette is ready to work again. In January they begin the recordings for the sixth album "Have the Nice day". After the summer, they gave a stopped continuing in the Autumn and concluding in November.
The first single " Wish I Could Fly " is release on February 1. "Have Nice Day" was release on February 22. "Anyone" becomes the second single. The clip is directed by Jonas Åkerlund and had great negative repercussion for the scene in that Marie is going in the direction of the sea. That clip was banished of some television channels that said that the effect of the material could cause great negative effects in the people. The clip was recorded in Portugal. "Stars" is release as the 3rd single in 19 of followed July for "Salvation" in the Autumn. A little previously to that, in June, the duo was here in Brazil. Success, success and more success.
Marie releases "Äntligen bästa 1984-2000" and the single "Äntligen" is a noisy success. Roxette comes back to the American scene thanks to an agreement with a small one recording of this country - EDEL AMERICA RECORDS. They said that, in a big recording, they would not be important, but... in a, of smaller load, yes. "Wish I could fly" is release and "Don't bore us, get to the chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits" American version, will be release in September. Roxette will make a presentation as special guest in MixFest in Boston, marking the duo's turn in Uncle Sam's little house. Now, among the Latin fans (mainly of Argentina), there is a great euphoria in placing "Crush on you" in the number one. For here, the things happens half slowly...