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Roxette

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Roxette was a Swedish pop duo of the singer Marie Fredriksson and the singer and songwriter Per Gessle. They had been friends for years and were both well known in their own country: Fredriksson with Swedish-language solo albums, Gessle as the singer of the band Gyllene Tider. In 1986 their record company EMI suggested recording an English-language song together. Gessle translated one of his songs, and so Neverending Love became the first single. The name Roxette came from a song by Dr. Feelgood. The debut album Pearls of Passion appeared that same year.

Music and breakthrough

The international breakthrough came in a striking way. An American exchange student took the second album, Look Sharp! (1988), home with him and gave it to a radio station in Minneapolis. The Look became a radio hit there before the record was on sale in America, and in April 1989 the song topped the American chart. Listen to Your Heart followed, then It Must Have Been Love from the film Pretty Woman (1990) and Joyride (1991), which also reached number one in the Netherlands. The album Joyride became their best-selling record.

Influence

Roxette made guitar pop with catchy choruses, alternating with big power ballads in which Fredriksson's powerful voice took centre stage. Gessle wrote most of the songs. After Fredriksson's brain tumour in 2002 the duo lay dormant for a long time; in 2009 they came back with a world tour. Fredriksson died in 2019. After ABBA, Roxette is the best-selling music act from Sweden, and thus a link in the long Swedish tradition of pop songs that were sung all over the world.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to The Look and notice how the song is built from short, separate phrases and a tight guitar riff. Hear how Gessle and Fredriksson divide the vocals.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

Mentioned in other articles

See also

Categories: ArtistsSwedish pop (ABBA)