Roxette (#ad) is a Swedish Rock duo formed in the suburbs of Stockholm, with Marie Fredriksson being the lead vocals plus keyboard and Per Gessle who does both the guitar and vocals.
The two member band was formed in 1986 and they became an international act after they released the album Look Sharp.
But it was their third album, Joyride that propelled them to stardom, released on 27th February 1991, the lead single Joyride hit the no.1 spot in every chart around the globe, including the Billboard US Hot 100 charts.
The duo didn’t stop there as they went ahead and achieved nineteen of the Top 40 Hits in the UK and four US number ones.
The duo graced the television for some time and all of that time was worth it all.
They first met in Halmstad, Sweden in 1985, where Gessle was performing in Gyllene Tider, a popular Sweden band at the time, while Marie was performing in a less successful band.
The two later broke off from their respective bands, went solo before they met and made the duo Roxette.
The duo is more of a band and they have done so many hit songs including “Never ending Love”, “Don’t Bore Us”, “Get to the Chorus” among many others.
These were among the first ever songs to be released by the band.
The band was famous at a time when the internet was evolving, with sites like Napster making them more popular among the American teens, offering them free downloads.
However, let’s see some of the unknown facts on the band today:
1. Marie Had a Brain Tumor and The Duo Had to Stop Touring
While the duo was still active in the millennium, they had to stop recording and touring, after Marie was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumor in 2002.
They could have easily disbanded the band and moved on, but the resilient Marie Fredriksson decided to continue, created magic with her voice, all the while battling an invisible enemy who would eventually take her away.
2. Marie Fredriksson Sang Happy Birthday in a Wedding
She was either stoned, high or the joke was not bad or good enough.
She once got invited to a wedding and the first thing she thought of is singing Happy Birthday.
She however performed her hits during the course of the event.
3. Marie Hated Her Name
Her full name is Gun-Marie and she hated the name.
She struggled with the name up until she grew up and wanted to change it.
She dropped the name Gun in college and started calling herself Maggie.
4. Chain Smoker
Marie was a chain-smoker.
She used to smoke a lot of cigarettes up until she became pregnant.
Before that, she had tried to give them up, but to no avail. Her doctors suspect that her addiction to smoking, would have been the chief cause of her brain tumor.
5. Marie Started Smoking When She Was Young
When Marie was eleven years old, she was caught smoking.
Out of fear that she would be severely punished, she ran to the balcony and broke her nose.
6. Marie was Secretly Married
Some rumors erupted that Marie was married.
She was married to a drummer Gert Claeson.
It has never been confirmed but it could be true to some extent.
7. Arrested for Being in a Stolen Car
The duo has a song called “Joyride”, but that is not what they were expecting on that fateful day.
They were arrested for being in a stolen car and Marie said they were taking Joyride way too far.
8. They Drank Before Hitting the Stage
Roxette may be an iconic duo, but they were just as nervous as teenagers in front of the mic, when they were not drunk.
They would ask for water and beer backstage before coming out to perform. Not the extremely drunk drinking but the tipsy kind.
9. Own Goal
When Marie was playing football with a home team in her hometown, she scored an own goal against her team.
10. Still Maintains The Look
The band has been out of play for a long time but they are still a wonderful team.
The two still have the performing looks and maybe the energy is a bit gone but it still remains in them.
They might be old but they still rock.
11. Marie is Happily Married
Not so many people know who she is married to but let me give you a hint.
She rarely uses the name Bolyos which she got after she got married.
Her husband Micke Bolyos is a Swedish composer, producer and a musician, who had a successful musical career in the early 80s.
12. Famous Up to Now
The good thing with releasing awesome music is that, your fans never forget you.
Even today their songs get a fair amount of air-play on radios, music apps, because they do have some evergreen songs that will never go out of fashion.
Their song “It Must Have Been Love” received the Million Air Award after getting played more than 5 million times in the US.
13. The First Swedish Band To Make It Big in America
When Roxette started recording their songs, they had no idea the kind of impact hey would have on the world.
The band is originally from Sweden, but they made it big in the US, such that, they had to hold a show there, during Marie’s last days, to show solidarity with the American fans, just before Marie’s relapse.
14. “It Must Have Been Love” was Initially a Christmas Song
The song took a long route to success and it languished as one of their less popular songs for almost three years, before it was revealed that the song was written as a Christmas track.
But these days, the song is more popular because of Julia Roberts, Richard Gere and their ground-breaking movie Pretty Woman (#ad).
15. No More Tours
The duo in 2016 put a stop to touring the world, after Marie was scheduled to undergo a surgery for malignant brain tumor removal.
