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Roxette (Sweden)
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November 21, 20:00
Crocus City Hall 
Roxette - Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle - came out of Sweden in the late '80s. Their game was pop, their mission to conquer the world. With 33 chart-busting singles and total record sales exceeding 75 million, it-s seems safe to say "mission accomplished". Except for one thing. It ain't over yet. Biding their time during Marie Fredriksson's recovery after her brain tumor operation in 2002, the band has gradually staged a comeback that will climax with a new album and a World Tour in 2011.
They entered the world of pop with "The Look" and "Listen To Your Heart" in 1989, followed up with the classic ballad "It Must Have Been Love" in 1990, the uber-platinum "Joyride" album in 1991, and their first World Tour. For the next ten years they were on top of the charts somewhere in the world, the constant flow of hit singles and albums resulting in staggering record sales.
Amazingly, Roxette's seductive mix of romantic ballads and smart pop with tongue-in-cheek lyrics, still seem to posses the same hit potential as when they first stormed the airwaves. During 2005, new cover versions of "Listen To Your Heart" and "Fading Like A Flower" both occupied the dance charts. The song remains the same, indeed...
Marie and Per met in the laid-back West Coast town Halmstad already in the late '70s, but individual success prevented them from "doing something together". Per's former power-pop group Gyllene Tider was – and amazingly enough still is - one of Sweden's most loved acts (although defunct since 1985, their record-breaking 1996 and 2004 re-unions still reverberates through the Swedish show-business annals). Marie's impressive solo career gave her an equally solid platform.
But in 1986 they were finally ready to merge their creative forces. The logic was simple: Per had the songs, Marie had the voice - together they could go places. They sure did. In 1986 after suggestion from EMI, Per and Marie finally realize their much talked-about plan to work together and record one-off single "Neverending Love" under the name Roxette. It becomes a big summer hit in Sweden. Marie is advised not to spoil her solo career by making pop music with Roxette. She decides to do it anyway. Songs originally planned for Per's third solo album are used for Roxette's debut album Pearls Of Passion, which establishes the new duo in Sweden.
In 1987 Roxette tours Sweden, playing for 100 000 people in open-air festivals throughout the country. Marie squeezes in her third solo album, Efter stormen, before Roxette's Christmas single, "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For The Broken Hearted)", dominates the Swedish airwaves.
In 1988 Roxette releases its second album, Look Sharp! and tours Sweden again. The album is a triumph in Sweden, but a flop everywhere else. An American exchange student returns from Sweden and urges radio station KDWB in Minneapolis to play "The Look". From there, "The Look" spread on cassette copies to other radio stations. Suddenly Roxette has a hit single in the USA - and the record isn't even released there.
In 1989 EMI quickly released "The Look" in the USA. It raced up to #1 in March, and toped the charts in 24 other countries. In October Roxette got its second US #1 with "Listen To Your Heart", and toured Europe. "Look Sharp!" eventually sold 8 million copies worldwide.
A rewritten "It Must Have Been Love" (without the Christmas references) became Roxette's third US #1 in June 1990. It took from the soundtrack "Pretty Woman", which sold 9 million copies. (In 2005, the song has been played more than 4 000 000 times on American radio, earning songwriter Gessle a prestigious BMI Award.)
Roxette's third album Joyride was released in 1991. The title track was the first single and reached the #1 position in the USA (and many other countries) in May. The "Join The Joyride" World Tour started in Helsinki on September 4. The band plaed 108 concerts in Europe, Australia, USA and South America, before finishing in Stockholm on July 22, 1992. By then more than 1.7 million people have seen Roxette on stage. After the tour, Joyride passed the 10 million-mark.
"How Do You Do!" was the hit single off Roxette's fourth album Tourism (1992), a collection of live tracks and on-the-spot recordings made during the world tour. Marie picked up her solo career, releasing her fourth Swedish album, Den ständiga resan, which went platinum in Sweden.
As the first non-English speaking band ever, Roxette plays MTV Unplugged (1993). "Almost Unreal", the lead off track taken from the soundtrack "Super Mario Bros", was a summer hit in Europe.
Roxette's fifth album Crash! Boom! Bang! was released in April 1994, and included hit singles "Sleeping In My Car", "Run To You", "Vulnerable", "Fireworks", and the title track. Roxette kicked off its second World Tour in the fall and played 47 shows in Europe. The tour continues to South Africa, where Roxette was greeted by 130 000 South African fans. Australia, South East Asia and Japan were next. They also performed in Beijing's Capitol Indoor Stadium, and 11 000 Chinese fans went crazy. In South America, the temperature again reached fever pitch.
In the fall Roxette's greatest hits-collection Don't Bore Us - Get To The Chorus! was released and quickly became another multi-million seller. A re-formed Gyllene Tider played on the new Roxette song "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore", taken from the hits collection.
Roxette takes a well-deserved time-out while Gyllene Tider made a historic comeback in the summer. The former teen-heroes conquered the country in the most successful tour of open-air shows ever in Scandinavia. Sales of "Halmstads parlor", a Gyllene Tider hits collection, reached the mind-blowing figure of 600 000 copies. In the fall, a Spanish-language album of Roxette's greatest ballads, Baladas En Español, was warmly received in all Spanish-talking countries. It became a platinum record in Spain and gold in Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico and Chile.
In the spring 1997 Per released his power-pop solo album The World According To Gessle. For the singles "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?”", "Kix" and "I Want You To Know" he recruited up-and-coming video director Jonas Akerlund, whose innovative and controversial work causes much debate and interest (Madonna and Prodigy are quick to make phone calls).
Roxette was ready to work again. In January 1998 they took off to El Cortijo, Spain, to start recordings for their sixth album of new material, Have A Nice Day. After a summer break, recordings continued in the fall. It was finished by November. Thoughts of releasing "The Centre Of The Heart" as a single was dropped in the last minute, since the song was deemed too out-of-sync with the rest of the album.
The first single, "Wish I Could Fly", was released on February 1, 1999 and became a major European hit. "Have A Nice Day" was received as an innovative and fresh comeback, including sizeable hits as "Anyone", "Stars" and "Salvation". Per and Marie spend the better part of 1999 promoting the record around the world.
2000. New millennium, new year, new songs. In the spring, Marie sumed up her solo career with triple-platinum selling collection Antligen. She made a successful summer tour of Sweden before returning to the Roxette camp to finish the year long recording for the new album, Room Service. This time they've decided to record in Stockholm.
Per and Marie travel to the legendary California hotel Madonna Inn to shoot an inspired Jonas Akerlund-directed video for the first single, "The Centre Of The Heart" in 2001. The leftover from 1998 was speeded-up, re-recorded, and ready for chart action. In Sweden the single got maximum exposure as Roxette guests the annual Eurovision Song Contest TV show. In April, Room Service was released. "Real Sugar" and "Milk And Toast And Honey" became huge radio hits in Europe and South America during the year. In the fall Roxette returned to the stage for yet another successful European tour, ending in front of 11 500 cheering and singing fans in Gothenburg's Scandinavium.
Roxette decided to back up the compilation CD The Ballad Hits and the single "A Thing About You" with a tour, but on September 11, 2202 Marie Fredriksson collapsed at home. She is rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a brain tumor. After a successful operation Marie withdraws to regain her health, only weeks later gathering enough strength to record vocals on the upcoming Roxette single "Opportunity Nox". It's the new single from the upcoming compilation CD The Pop Hits.
Due to Marie's illness, Roxette kept a low profile. Marie recorded her first English solo album, The Change, in 2004. In 2003, Per reached new commercial and artistic heights with the 300 000 selling Mazarin, his first Swedish solo album in 18 years. In 2004, the 25th anniversary reunion of Gyllene Tider broke all previous records, becoming the year's second biggest tour in Europe, selling more than half a million tickets in Sweden alone. The new GT album Finn 5 fel! also found the former teenage idols in great shape, easily surpassing the 200 000 mark. Not resting on his laurels, Per shiped platinum of his solo double album, released under the name Son Of A Plumber in November 2005. On November 29, Per and Marie reunited on stage in London to pick up the BMI Award for the 4 000 000th US airing of "It Must Have Been Love".
During 2006 Roxette fans got a treat when the duo celebrated their 20th anniversary with a box set; the 4 CD and 2 DVD set The RoxBox, containing the group's biggest hits as well as unreleased material, demos, live recordings and videos. But with Roxette mostly on hold, Marie devoted some time for her art while regaining her strength. Having received favorable reviews for her first exhibition, a series of charcoal drawings titled "After The Change" in 2005, she returned three years later with a series of color drawings called "A Table In The Sun". She also released two albums: Min baste van, with covers in Swedish, as well as Tid for tystnad, a collection of her own ballads. She also performed "Where Your Love Lives", the main theme for the blockbuster movie "Arn: The Kingdom At Road's End". Meanwhile Per kept himself busy by recording and touring around his Swedish solo album En handig man, following it with the '80s tinged pop collection Party Crasher in 2008.
In the spring of 2009 Per embarked on a solo tour of Europe backed by Roxette stalwarts Clarence Ofwerman (keyboards), Christoffer Lundquist (guitar) and Pelle Alsing (drums) as well as Magnus Borjeson (bass) and Helena Josefsson (backing vocals). The set mixes solo material with Roxette classics and after eight years, misty-eyed Roxette fans sees Marie Fredriksson reunite with Per in "It Must Have Been Love" and "The Look" on stage in Amsterdam. Shortly thereafter the dreams of many loyal fans came true when Roxette announced that it will reunite for the 25th anniversary "Night of the Proms" tour in Holland, Belgium and Germany during the fall of 2009. The tour was a magnificent success comprising 42 shows, and more than 600 000 ecstatic Europeans experience the group's comeback in a neo-classic surrounding with a full symphony orchestra. The tour worked so well that Roxette started to look ahead, writing material for a comeback album as well as lining up new shows for 2010.
On June 18, 2010 Roxette performed live at the Crown Princess Victoria's and Daniel Westling's wedding party at the Royal Castle in Stockholm. A few weeks later the band kicked off their summer tour at the Hotel Tylosand, standing in front of a Swedish audience for the first time since 2001. Six shows in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Russia weres convincing proof that Roxette was back in the game. Ticket demand was unexpectedly high and in Moscow Roxette outsold both Ozzy Osbourne and Sting, who play the same arena the same week.
Back home in Sweden Roxette continued the recordings of the upcoming album while announcing its 2011 World Tour - their first trek around the globe since the "Crash! Boom! Bang!" tour of 1994-1995.
On December 6, 2013 the Blu-ray/dvd/cd package "Roxette Live: Travelling The World" was released as a no-brainer Christmas gift for the world's Roxette fans. Considering that Roxette is one of Scandinavia's most successful acts ever, it was about time a documentary on their phenomenal career sees the light of day. And considering that the group played in front of 1.5 million people in 46 countries during their sensational comeback tour 2011-2012, it was about time for a concert film that shows where this magnificently rejuvenated group stands today. All this and a lot more were included in "Roxette Live: Travelling The World".
On February 6, 2014 Roxette was inducted into the Swedish Music Hall of Fame as one of the bands that have had major influence over the development of popular music in Sweden.
On April 23, 2014 Roxette officially announced that they are ready to embark on yet another world tour this year. It has been two years since one of Scandinavia's biggest pop exports ever ended their sensational comeback World Tour 2011-2012. A tour that took them around the Globe twice, playing for 1.5 million people in 46 countries on 6 continents! And now it's time for Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle to bring their string of much loved hits to the world once again.
Roxette's fantastic come-back started with the release of the hit album Charm School (2011) with the #1 single "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)" and during the first leg of the world tour, the album Travelling was recorded and released in 2012.
Since the last tour ended, Marie and Per have been working on their separate Swedish careers; Per with his former band Gyllene Tider who did a massive Swedish tour last summer on the back of a brand new #1 album. Marie released her first studio album in Swedish in eight years and is currently ending her first, highly praised, solo tour in Sweden since the year 2000. This year marks the 25 anniversary of Roxette's world wide break. The hit single "The Look", from the album Look Sharp, reached #1 on Billboard US Chart in the spring of 1989 and that was the start of one of the world's biggest and longest pop careers. Their first Billboard #1 was followed by three more; "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride" and their albums have sold well over 75 millon units to date. And so the Roxette joyride continues and their next world tour kicks off in Russia 2014. Come join it!
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