The Most Ruthless Collapse In '90s Pop, Roxette

[TMC]

Above all others I've done, this one really hit me hard.

The Roxette Story. This week, we dig into the wild rise and devastating collapse of Roxette, the Swedish pop duo that sold 75 million records, landed four number-one hits in America, and then watched it all unravel when a brain tumor nearly killed the singer. Per Gessle was a pop songwriter from a small Swedish town who wanted to conquer the world. Marie Fredriksson was a rock vocalist with a voice that could peel paint off walls.

Their label stuck them together in 1986, and within three years they owned American radio. We cover the whole ride — the exchange student from Minnesota who hand-delivered their demo tape to a radio station and accidentally broke them in America, the Pretty Woman soundtrack that turned "It Must Have Been Love" into one of the biggest ballads of the '90s, and the Joyride album that moved 11 million copies.

We get into how grunge killed their American career overnight, how EMI gutted their US operation and turned their album into a McDonald's promotion, and how Marie's world came crashing down in 2002 when she collapsed on her bathroom floor and doctors found a tumor pressed against her brain stem. We cover the surgery that took her sight, her balance, and her ability to speak — and the impossible comeback tour she pulled off anyway, performing from a stool because she couldn't stand without falling over.

And we cover what happened after she died in 2019 at 61, when Per brought the Roxette name back with a new singer. Kindly like and subscribe - it really helps this channel a lot. I do appreciate it!

[Hawkee]

In between UK and America Sweden had become somewhat of a new homebase for new rising singers and groups starting with ABBA and with ABBA making their American debut Sweden would soon become the top country for new singers and bands to make their marks in America. When Roxette debuted in 1988 with their first album Look Sharp! little did we know how big Roxette would become in America and when The Look became a radio hit in 1988 it became their signature song that everyone associated Roxette with. After the ballad Listen To Your Heart became a hit on radio stations all over the world in 1989 Roxette was soon on a roll. But it would take a hit movie to introduce Roxette's best known hit. And that hit movie would be Pretty Woman and the song which was the love theme of Pretty Woman was It Must've Been Love and that song jettisoned Roxette to the top of the Billboard Charts in both 1990 and 1991 and because of that song Roxette became top superstars in pop music. But when the albums Joyride and Crash Boom Bang came out in the 90's Roxette was being overshadowed because another Swedish based group made it's debut in 1993 with The Sign/Happy Nation album and that group was Ace Of Base and with Ace Of Base becoming successful due to The Sign being a top hit of the 90's Roxette couldn't keep up with Ace Of Base. But what I think hurt Roxette was the health issues of the lead singer and when Marie Fredriksson died in 2019 Roxette changed direction and with their lead singer developed a rock sound. I first heard of Roxette from my mom who loved the song It Must've Been Love because Mom also is a fan of Pretty Woman and she liked the song's lyrics. But I really got into Roxette's music when I heard The Look in CBS's Cold Case and for Christmas I got the Look Sharp! album too