Marie Fredriksson of Roxette DEAD

I was going to POP THE CHAMPERS because I thought you meant ROXETTE as an entity was DEAD to which GOOD RIDDANCE but I see you mean HER OUT OF ROXETTE to whom I bear no PERSONAL ILL-WILL so :(
 
Ooh we've been ISSUED with a CORRECTION and my post no longer makes SENSE
 
Sorry Shirl, but it did feel a bit of a misleading/confusing title.

Anyway, big :( at this. I gather she never properly recovered from her brain tumour, but 61 is still no age.

It never really gets discussed what a fabulous voice she had. It really made a lot of those songs what they were.

MARIE MEMORIAL ROX TOP TEN

1. Queen of Rain
2. Wish I Could Fly
3. It Must Have Been Love
4. Stars (Almighty Poppers o'clock mix)
5. The Look
6. Spending My Time
7. Joyride
8. Almost Unreal
9. The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye
10. Listen To Your Heart
 
Oh that it is sad. Not that I'm a huge fan but I bet I could dash out a top half dozen.
 
I was listening to From A Distance only yesterday. Even without the power of her prime, she's so expressive and knew exactly how to use her voice. It didn't really occur to me how vulnerable she was after the brain tumour, even though she appeared so frail on stage and had aged rather rapidly after the illness. Roxette were incredibly consistent and Marie rarely gets the recognition she deserves. My first musical love in fact (although technically Joyride was my 2nd cassette after Love Hurts).
 
she seemed like a wonderful person and roxette was such a big part of my childhood - the look was one of the first albums i owned and i kept getting them all until tourism.

they really have a great catalogue of pop.

01 things will never be the same
02 queen of rain
03 you don't understand me
04 come back before you leave
05 do you get excited
06 it must have been love
07 fading like a flower
08 stars
09 watercolours in the rain
10 wish i could fly

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAsgQNgjfQrSKJLMiIEZXn_Hx0geAJ_JJ

they definitely had that swedish knack for melodies but, like vor said, i think her vocals really contributed to their charm. she was amazing.
 
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the stars video is so lovely and it's one of the few instances of their music going outside of 80s erotic thriller/power ballad territory that i quite like.



she's gorgeous here but then i've always thought her to be super charismatic.
so much love for them really.
 
I wonder if It Must Have Been Love (for surely that’ll be the one) can re-chart off the back of this? It seems to be making the headlines. I guess you forget how big they actually were.
 
VoR said:
It never really gets discussed what a fabulous voice she had. It really made a lot of those songs what they were.
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Per's quite beautiful tribute mentions this:

"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 year
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:(

Anyway, I LOVED early Roxette, and they still have some corkers up their sleeve, though I haven't played their oeuvre for some time, admittedly. ANYHOO:

1. Spending My Time
2. Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave)
3. The Big L
4. Always Breaking My Heart (Belinda's version would win this poll)
5. It Must Have Been Love
6. Listen To Your Heart
7. You Don't Understand Me
8. Crash! Boom! Bang!
9. Sleeping Single
10.Dressed For Success
 
I have to admit, I mostly missed them at the time. I wasn't listening to music when they first appeared (although It Must Have Been Love was unavoidable). I paid them some attention in 1994 and 1999, but it wasn't quite peak Roxette therefore, her death doesn't quite trigger the same affectionate memories as say Delores.

That being said

  1. Sleeping In My Car
  2. Wish I Could Fly
  3. Stars
  4. Dressed For Success
  5. Crash! Boom! Bang!
  6. Fading Like A Flower
  7. You Dont Understand Me
  8. It Must Have Been Love
  9. Joyride
  10. Listen To Your Heart
 
I've thrown on their Greatest Hits in celebration and I'm thoroughly enjoying things I'd entirely overlooked- "Joyride" is both amazing and KINDA DREADFUL at the same time. You also forget what a risk it was at the time too- opening their second album campaign with his voice (which the radio listening public had NEVER REALLY HEARD and is a bit of an acquired taste, TO BE FAIR) and a Beatles-aping piece of lyrical nonsense with a trippy bit in the middle really wasn't WHAT YOU DID in 1991...
 
UK iTunes

#37 It Have Been Love
#64 Listen To Your Heart

Although Joyride and The Look are both hovering outside.

They were so much bigger in the US.
 
Ag said:
UK iTunes

#37 It Have Been Love
#64 Listen To Your Heart

Although Joyride and The Look are both hovering outside.

They were so much bigger in the US.
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They were for the first two albums but faded pretty quickly. Their (mainland) European success lasted much longer though...
 
And despite some dubious "Johnny Foreigner" lyrical stumbles, I do think:

Lay a whisper on my pillow
Leave the winter on the ground
I wake up lonely, this air of silence
In the bedroom and all around...

...is as beautiful a lyric about being brokenhearted than you'll find.
 
There was a remix of Wish I Could Fly, that is not on UK streaming, that I loved back in the day when I could pull off an exposed midriff and a bottle of poppers.
 
I thought she was aces in that 'tough spiky girl' kinda way. I'm sad she's gone and 61 is no age!
 
Roxette is one of those bands (like Shakira :side-eye:) who are actually much bigger around the world than they ever were in the UK. They were EVERYWHERE in Spain in the late 80s / early 90s.
 
Sheena said:
I've thrown on their Greatest Hits in celebration and I'm thoroughly enjoying things I'd entirely overlooked- "Joyride" is both amazing and KINDA DREADFUL at the same time. You also forget what a risk it was at the time too- opening their second album campaign with his voice (which the radio listening public had NEVER REALLY HEARD and is a bit of an acquired taste, TO BE FAIR) and a Beatles-aping piece of lyrical nonsense with a trippy bit in the middle really wasn't WHAT YOU DID in 1991...
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I loved the Look Sharp! album but I definitely cooled on them with the release of Joyride. It definitely sounds much better in retrospect.

Anyway, :(. I think I'll bung on the ROXBOX for some choice selections while I do dinner.
 
Regarding their fleeting US success wasn't there something ridiculous like a McDonald's exclusive mini-album by the time of Crash! Boom! Bang!?
 
Pleased they are making inroads on iTunes, as I wondered if it wouldn't get that much interest here. Glad to be wrong.

She was indeed a great vocalist and a really charismatic performer.
 
This is terribly sad. I wasn’t a HUGE fan, but the hits are undeniably great.
 
I'm halfway through the ROXBOX and having a SPLENDID time.

I'd forgotten I have her big Swedish solo album "Efter Stormen" on vinyl as well and will give that a spin later on.
 
I'll probably be able to get away with squeezing in a quick play of Alla Mina Bästa År, and that will be it.
 
I did always forget that as kids we used to believe the lyric was "I'm going to get DRESSED for solid SEX".

In retrospect, I'm not ENTIRELY sure why :D
 
Per's tribute really is lovely, isn't it?

As much as I hate the social media culture of needing to be seen to say something (and the cries of WHY NOT? if someone doesn't), I'm also pretty obsessed by it.

 
Sheena said:
You also forget what a risk it was at the time too- opening their second album campaign with his voice (which the radio listening public had NEVER REALLY HEARD and is a bit of an acquired taste, TO BE FAIR)
Click to expand...
The look is sung almost entirely by him, isn't it?
 
It's where the water flows
It's where the wind blows...

As it pops up on LE ROXBOX EN SHUFFLE, what a DEPRESSINGLY beautiful song "It Must Have Been Love" is.
 
01. It Must Have Been Love
02. Silver Blue
03. Things Will Never Be The Same
04. Paint
05. You Don't Understand Me
06. I Wish I Could Fly
07. Sleeping In My Car
08. Watercolours In The Rain
09. (Do You Get) Excited?
10. The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye

Of the more recent songs, Speak To Me (Bassflow Remake) just misses out.
 
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