Marie Fredriksson (born Gun-Marie Fredriksson on May 30, 1958; died 9 December 2019) was a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and pianist, best remembered for forming one half of the pop duo Roxette, which she created together with Per Gessle in 1986. She and Per Gessle achieved international success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s with a total of six top 10 US hit songs such as "It Must Have Been Love", "Listen to Your Heart", "The Look", "Joyride" and "Dangerous."
Early life
Fredriksson was the youngest member of a family of five children, who was born in Össjö. The family later moved to the small Swedish town of Östra Ljungby. A poor family, both parents were forced to work, often leaving the young Marie alone. It was during this time alone that she developed an interest in performing, standing in front of a mirror pretending to be a star. Together with her siblings, or neighbourhood children Fredriksson began to play music and sing. She was often asked by her mother to perform in front of friends who were impressed by her Olivia Newton-John-like singing voice.
Her interest grew stronger in her teens as she discovered artists such as Joni Mitchell, The Beatles and Deep Purple. At 17, Fredriksson enrolled in a music college and performed in local theatre. However, she found it incredibly boring, instead longing for the thrill of an audience. As she put it - "I wanted to perform. I'm a performer." She became involved in theater, and after moving to the town of Halmstad, she found herself involved in the local music scene. Joining her boyfriend's Stefans band Strul, they played local gigs and even recorded a single. After that group split, Marie and new boyfriend Martin Sternhuvsvud reformed as MaMas Barn. They recorded one album together. Per Gessle, lead singer of the famous Swedish group Gyllene Tider, shared a rehearsal studio with Marie and they became friends. Per believed Fredriksson was far too talented to be hiding behind keyboards in local pub bands, and got her an audition with his producer, Lasse Lindbom who was extremely well known in Sweden. Lasse was suitably impressed with her voice, and offered her a contract.
Going solo: Het vind and Den sjunde vågen
Lasse Lindbom asked Fredriksson to record a duet with him, "Så nära nu," which lead to her joining his group "The Lasse Lindbom Band." Per Gessle started to encourage her to start a solo career, but she was too nervous and lacked confidence. Fredriksson finally accepted, and she recorded her first solo album, Het vind, produced by Lindbom.
"Ännu doftar kärlek" was the first single, which was a big radio hit. The album received mixed reviews. One newspaper wrote "Is this the best you can do Marie?" She was crushed, saying the review felt like a "knife in the heart."[citation needed] She went on tour with the Lasse Lindbom Band, as she didn't have enough self-confidence to tour on her own[citation needed]. Lindbom, Fredriksson, Per Gessle and Mats "MP" Persson started a new band called "Spännande Ostar" ("Exciting Cheeses"), which toured for a short time in some clubs. That same year, Fredriksson and Lindbom went to the Canary Islands to write songs for Marie's second solo album. They returned to Sweden for the recording.
The album was released in 1986, under the name "Den Sjunde Vågen". "Den bästa dagen" and "Silver i din hand" were released as singles, and the album was a huge success[citation needed], and Fredriksson finally found the courage to tour as a solo artist.
Start of Roxette and Efter stormen
For many years Gessle and Fredriksson had talked about working together. Fredriksson had done backing vocal work for Gessle's band Gyllene Tider, and they had worked together on Spännande Ostar and other projects, including an attempt by Gyllene Tider to release an English language album in America. Fredriksson's career was soaring in Sweden, but Gessle - a former boyband member whose solo career was not doing well - was not as successful. Friends and people in the industry warned her against working with Gessle. His idea was to form a duo, singing in English, and try to have some success in Europe. At that time, it was not popular for Swedish artists to perform in English.
In 1986, she teamed up with Gessle under the name Roxette - the name Gyllene Tider had used when they tried to release their album The Heartland Café in the US. Their first single "Neverending Love" was a hit in Sweden, and Roxette's album Pearls of Passion breathed new life into Per's flagging career, and cemented Marie as a major artist.
After the 1987 "Rock Runt Riket" Swedish concert tour with Roxette, she recorded her third solo album album Efter Stormen. Once again, she worked together with Lasse Lindbom, both as a producer and as a songwriter. It was followed by another solo tour.
In February 1989, she also recorded a song for a TV Series called Sparvöga. Her song, the title theme of the show, became one of her most beloved and best known songs. Fredri
