Roxette

Roxette were harbingers of a new era in Swedish pop, the missing link between ’70s hitmakers ABBA and the polished production work of Max Martin. Starting in the late ’80s, the duo had four U.S. No. 1 singles that alternately demonstrated their dance-floor chops (the snappy, funk-rock-tinged “The Look”) and acuity with melodramatic power ballads (the Pretty Woman soundtrack hit “It Must Have Been Love”). Roxette initially came together after vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Per Gessle—a member of the successful pop band Gyllene Tider—teamed up with an occasional backing vocalist for his group, Marie Fredriksson, who was experiencing her own taste of fame as a solo artist. The pair’s 1986 debut album, Pearls of Passion, was a hit in Sweden, and its success was eclipsed by the global dominance of 1988’s Look Sharp! and 1991’s Joyride. The latter produced two more worldwide smashes: the hard-rock-meets-trip-hop title track and the slow-burning, midtempo pop-rocker “Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)”. Fredriksson had a brain tumour removed in 2002, and after a period of recovery, she returned to touring and recording with Roxette, who remained popular in Sweden over the decades. The 2016 studio album Good Karma served as the act’s swan song; Fredriksson passed away in late 2019.