Roxette is a pop-rock duo hailing from Sweden, with Marie Fredriksson on vocals and Per Gessle on guitar and supporting vocals. Before Roxette, both Fredriksson and Gessle had established musical careers in their home country, until joining to record their first Swedish hit single,” Neverending Love.”
From the band's inception in 1986, they achieved international acclaim in the late ‘80s, thanks to Look Sharp!, their commercial breakthrough album. They have sold over 60 million records globally and received gold and platinum awards for their Joyride and Look Sharp! albums. Their greatest hits album was Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus, which was followed by a hiatus until 1999, when Have a Nice Day was released, followed by Room Service in 2001. After a 10-year break, Charm School was released in 2011, followed by Travelling in 2012.
Roxette have toured globally, with their 1991 worldwide tour going out to over 1.5 million fans across a challenging schedule of 107 concerts. They have also toured extensively throughout Europe and Latin America, where they have won Platinum awards, and featured at the Night of the Proms, as well as a number of international concerts. They have also received multiple awards, including the Grammys, MTV, Rock Music Awards and more. “Listen to Your Heart” and “It Must Have Been Love” have received BMI awards for notching up over four million plays on the radio.
They are notable for breaking the tricky US market almost by accident, when an American student bought a copy of Look Sharp! home in 1988 and passed it to a local radio station. Popular reception saw Roxette's music rapidly spread to other radio stations, and marked the start of their success on the international market. EMI released The Look in the US in 1989 and it went straight to No. 1 in the American charts, later topping the music charts in 25 countries. Other notable releases include Dressed for Success, Dangerous in 1989, and the hit “It Must Have Been Love,” which featured on the film Pretty Woman and was the band's most successful release, topping the charts globally and going platinum three times. Later releases include Crash! Boom! Bang! in 1994 and Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus in 1995. Have a Nice Day was released in 1999.
