Marie Fredriksson (1958-2019)

Marie Fredriksson (1958-2019)

Gun-Marie Fredriksson was a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, pianist and painter. She is best known as the lead vocalist and forming the pop rock, soft rock, and duo Roxette in 1986 alongside Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late-1980s and early-1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and had six top two hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "Dangerous", "It Must Have Been Love", "Joyride" and "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)".

Fredriksson had a successful career in her native country prior to forming Roxette. She was a member of punk group Strul, a band which created their own music festival in 1979. Strul's dissolution led to the creation of her next project, the short-lived MaMas Barn, after which she began releasing solo work. Her first album, Het vind, was issued in 1984, followed by Den sjunde vågen in 1986 and ... Efter stormen in 1987. Roxette's international breakthrough coincided with a period of inactivity for Fredriksson as a solo artist, punctuated only by the release of the non-album single "Sparvöga" in 1989. Subsequent solo albums included Den ständiga resan (1992) and I en tid som vår (1996).

Achievements:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Fredriksson_discography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxette_discography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Fredriksson#Awards_and_nominations

"The Look" was issued as the third single from Look Sharp! in Sweden, and was a top ten hit upon release in January 1989. The following month, the track unexpectedly entered the Billboard Hot 100, despite the duo not having a recording contract in the US; the local branch of EMI had previously rejected Roxette as "unsuitable for the American market." "The Look" topped the chart after just eight weeks, and went on to peak at number one in a total of 25 countries. The parent album eventually sold over 9 million copies worldwide. "Listen to Your Heart" was their second number one on the Hot 100, while the album's final single, "Dangerous", spent two weeks at number two. Fredriksson ended 1989 performing on-stage as part of The Husbands, a cover band formed by Lasse Lindbom and Niklas Strömstedt.

In 1990, she contributed a cover of the Evert Taube composition "Så skimrande var aldrig havet" ("The Sea Was Never So Sparkling") to the tribute album Taube. The same year, Touchstone Pictures approached Gessle to compose a song for the upcoming film Pretty Woman. As he did not have time to compose a new song—Roxette had recently embarked on their first international concert tour—a new edit of their 1987 single "It Must Have Been Love" was created, and featured prominently in the movie. The track became their third number one on the Hot 100, and remains one of Roxette's best-known and most successful singles. The following year, the duo released their third album, Joyride, which remains their most successful release, with worldwide sales of over 11 million copies. The title track gave them their fourth and final number one on the Hot 100, while "Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)" peaked at number two. The album was promoted by the "Join the Joyride! Tour", their biggest and widest ranging tour yet.

Charity: Swedish Cancer Society