Lead Singer of Roxette Dead at 61
Most likely from your high school dance, or maybe you were just listening to and falling in love with their music on the radio, we are sad to report that this morning (Dec.10) the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Roxette, Marie Fredriksson died at the age of 61.
Her Roxette partner, Per Gessle paid tribute to his friend in an emotional statement: “Time goes by so quickly. It’s not that long ago we spent days and nights in my tiny apartment in Halmstad, listening to music we loved, sharing impossible dreams. And what a dream we eventually got to share!” he wrote. “Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours. You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years. I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour. All my love goes out to you and your family. Things will never be the same.”
In 1986 Fredriksson and Gessle teamed up to form Roxette. Both had the ambition to reach outside of Sweden and started their journey that would lead them to becoming one of the biggest pop acts in the world, first with 1989’s “The Look” which was the group’s first number one song. “The Look” would go on to be followed by 3 other number one hits, including their biggest hit “Must Have Been Love”, which was also featured in the film Pretty Woman.