A career spanning more than a decade, 15 years to be exact, in the pop industry, Roxette is definitely no stranger to anyone who has been listening to pop since the 80s.

Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle met in Halmstad, a small town in Sweden way back in the late 70s', but did not work together due to their personal solo commitments. Per was involved in one of Sweden's most loved acts, “Gyllene Tider” and Marie had an equally impressive solo career.

Finally, in 1986, the pair finally got together to record a one off single “Neverending Love” under the name Roxette. An instant hit in Sweden, the duo then went on to record their debut album, using songs that was planned for Per's third solo album. “Pearls Of Passion” was thus born.

The following year saw Roxette touring around Sweden, playing for almost 100,000 people in open-air festivals. Marie manages to squeeze in her third solo album before their Christmas single, “It Must Have Been Love (Christmas For The Broken Hearted)” was released.

Roxette released their follow-up album in 1988, “Look Sharp!” and toured Sweden again. Though the album was successful in Sweden, it did not score with listeners around the world. In a stroke of luck, an American student returning from Sweden managed to urge a Minneapolis radio station to play “The Look”. This single became an overnight success in the USA and in 1989, it was officially released in the States.

“The Look” grabbed the No. 1 spot in March and topped the charts in 24 other countries. Roxette got another US No. 1 with “Listen To Your Heart” and “Look Sharp!” eventually sold 8 million copies worldwide. Their third US No. 1 single came with the re-written version of “It Must Have Been Love” which was taken off the by-now classic movie, “Pretty Woman”.

After a three-year hiatus, Roxette released their third album, “Joyride” in 1991. The first single, incidentally the title track, reached No. 1 in USA as well as many other countries. The duo began their “Join The Joyride World Tour” in September, at Helsinki, playing a total of 108 concerts all over Europe, Australia, USA and South America, finishing the grueling tour in Stockholm in July 1992.

Using recordings made during their tour, Roxette releases “Tourism” in 1992, with the hit single “How Do You Do?”. Marie releases her fourth solo album, which goes platinum in Sweden.

“Crash! Boom! Bang!” came after that, in April 1994. The previous year, Roxette became the first non-English speaking band to perform MTV Unplugged. With hit singles from this fourth album, “Sleeping In My Car”, “Run To You”, “Fireworks” and the title track, the duo kicks off their second World Tour with 47 shows in Europe. The tour continues on in 1995, and saw Roxette greeted by close to 130,000 South African fans. They also went on to perform in Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, Beijing and South America.

Roxette released their first Greatest Hits collection that same year. Titled “Don't Bore Us - Get To The Chorus”, it became another multi-million success, which featured a newly formed “Gyllene Tider” performing the new song, “She Doesn't Live Here Anymore”.

The following year saw a Spanish version of Roxette's greatest ballads released. “Baladas En Espanol” went platinum in Spain and gold in Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico and Chile.

Roxette got back together in January 1998 to start recording their sixth album. “Have A Nice Day” was completed by November that same year. “Wish I Could Fly” was released in February 1999 and to no one's surprise; it became a European hit. The album was subsequently released with Roxette spending most of their time promoting the album.

Now, Roxette is set to hit the charts again with their new album, “Room Service”. Recorded in 2000, the album's first single, “The Centre Of The Heart (Is A Suburb To The Brain)” was initially canned in 1998, as the pair felt it was too out-of-sync for “Have A Nice Day”. This single premiered at the annual Song Contest in Sweden with much anticipation and was released in February 2001. Come April, fans of Per and Marie will have a reason to rejoice, as “Room Service”, their seventh album, is released.

In a time where most 80s' artistes rely on “Greatest Hits” releases, Roxette's unique mix of tongue-in-cheek pop and romantic ballads gives them a fresh and interesting sound. Their new album is not a “Greatest Hits” collection. It just sounds like one.

Read the review of their brand new album

Read the review of their single
The Centre Of The Heart (Is A Suburb To The Brain)

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