Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. The two were already established musicians in Sweden prior to Roxette's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, while Gessle had been the lead singer and songwriter of Gyllene Tider, a band which had three number one albums in Sweden. Acting on the advice of Rolf Nygren, the CEO of their mutual record label EMI, Fredriksson and Gessle collaborated to record "Neverending Love", the first single from Roxette's 1986 debut album Pearls of Passion, which were both hits in Sweden.
Their international breakthrough came with the release of Look Sharp! in 1988. The album contained two Billboard Hot 100 number ones: "The Look" and "Listen to Your Heart". "It Must Have Been Love", from the soundtrack to the 1990 film Pretty Woman, reached number one as well, as did the lead single of their third studio album, 1991's Joyride. That album is Roxette's most successful, selling eleven million copies worldwide. They performed to over 1.5 million people during the "Join the Joyride! Tour". Subsequent albums included 1992's Tourism, 1994's Crash! Boom! Bang!, and 1995's greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!, which each sold at least five million copies worldwide.
Have a Nice Day and Room Service were released in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and earned numerous gold and platinum awards in Europe and Latin America. Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002, leading to an extended hiatus. The two then released several solo albums, with Gessle also reuniting with Gyllene Tider. Roxette reformed in 2009 for an extensive world tour, which ran until 2016. During this period, they released the albums Charm School, Travelling, and Good Karma. Fredriksson announced her retirement from touring in 2016 due to poor health, and died on 9 December 2019 due to complications stemming from her brain tumour diagnosis.
Roxette is Sweden's second-best-selling music act, after ABBA. They sold between 75 and 80 million records worldwide, and are recognised as one of the highest-certified acts of all time in Germany, achieving sales of almost six million units. They had nineteen top 40 hits in the United Kingdom, where the British Phonographic Industry awarded them certifications of over three million units. In the US, they achieved four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, and have been certified for sales of over three million units by the Recording Industry Association of America. Since 2021, Gessle has released music under the name PG Roxette; their debut album Pop-Up Dynamo! was issued in 2022. In 2024, he announced the live reformation of Roxette, with Lena Philipsson on vocals. (Full article...)
