History

This isn't going to be the whole Roxette history (we highly recommand you to read their biography). But we'd like to show here some milestones in their relationship with France. 

Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle met in the late 70's. They shared the same rehearsal studio, with their respective bands: MaMa's Barn (Marie) and Gyllene Tider (Per).

They became friends and supported each other's career, until 1986, when they decided to form the duo Roxette (the name came from a Dr Feelgood single). Their first single, "Neverending Love", as well as their first album "Pearls of Passion" became both big hits in Sweden.

1986 - 1989
They came for a French TV show (don't know which one), but everyone thought that the bandname was Marie's, so Per was kinda ignored... And actually some people still think that it's only Marie ! Shame on us !!!

1988 : "Chances" is released by EMI France - Pathé Marconi.
If ever someone knows anything more, feel free to mail us...

1989
The Look is in the French charts, but it only made it til N°12...
Look Sharp ! Live - Tour : concert in Paris at La Cigale, 28.11.89.

Their second album "Look Sharp" and the smash hit "The Look" (1988-1989), brought them their international breakthrough, as well as their first Number 1 in the USA. Followed then "Listen to your heart", second Number 1. "It must have been love" (Pretty Woman soundtrack, 1990) became their third Number 1, and "Joyride"(1991) their fourth ! They then toured through out the world with the Joyride World Tour.

1990
Some magazines relate that It must have been love is on the Pretty Woman soundtrack...

1991
Promo tour, TV shows : Sacrée Soirée (TF1), Sébastien c'est fou (TF1), Avis de recherche (TF1)...
Joyride isn't selling well
Joyride - Tour : show canceled (6.11.91)

1992
Joyride Summer - Tour : concert in Paris, at Le Zénith, 29.06.92. But before arriving in Paris, they were caught in traffic jams (French truck drivers were striking)...

In 1992, they released "Tourism", with songs recorded in studios, hotelrooms or live. "How do you do", became once again a big hit. Followed by "Almost Unreal" (Super Mario Bros soundtrack, 1993, the movie was a flop, but the song a great hit). The same year they did the MTV Unplugged concert, which was very successful and showed everyone that Roxette are also able to play their songs acoustic !

Finally, the long awaited studio album "Crash! Boom! Bang!" was released in 1994, and was followed by the Crash! Boom! Bang! World-Tour, with some historic concerts, in Beijing, Moscow...

1994
The album Crash! Boom! Bang! Is released later as in the rest of Europe, as well as the first single, Sleeping in my car
Sleeping in my car is N°20 in the radio FM charts
Promo tour, TV shows : Dimanche Martin (France2), La fièvre de l'Après-Midi (France3).
Once again the album isn't selling well.
No Crash! Boom! Bang! - Tour in France. No further single is released either.

For most of fans' joy, they released their first Greatest Hits album in 1996, "Don't bore us - get to the chorus!", which contains most of their smash hits...

1996
Don't bore us - Get to the Chorus is released, but no single nor video in France

The 27th of October '97, they re-released their first album, "Pearls of Passion", which also includes several remixes or demo songs. It's really worth to buy it, if you wanna know how their first songs sounded.

In 1999 Roxette is finally back !!! The so long awaited album was  released in February, a good one, but not as successful as expected. Anyway, Room Service came out in 2001 and Per & Marie decided to tour with this album. The following year, they released a new greatest hits album, in two parts : first there was the Ballad Hits and then the Pop Hits...

1999
Midem in Cannes, but nothing on French TVs...
Have A Nice Day is released (30.02.99), and Wish I could Fly is out the 19.04.99.
Promo tour in France : recording of TV shows (Vivement Dimanche - France 2, Hit-Machine - M6), interviews on radios (Europe 1) and TV (TF1)...

2001
Room Service is released (02.04.01) and The Centre Of The Heart is the first single...
According to EMI France Roxette is top priority, so that's new !!! But no promotion in France, nor a show for the Room-Service tour.

2002
The Ballad Hits and The Pop Hits are released, but that's just it !
Some newspapers (L'Alsace) and radio stations (Europe 1) related the fact the Marie got ill...

At the end of 2002, they planned to tour with the Night of the Proms orchestra, but unfortunately Marie became ill and they had to cancel it.

2003 saw the comeback of Per as a solo artist, with a new album called Mazarin. The success is immediate in Sweden and he also went touring through Scandinavia... The following year, he released new stuff with his former band, Gyllene Tider called Finn Fem Fell and went on tour again. Marie will also release a solo album in English called The Change.

2005 saw again a new Per project, this time called Son of a Plumber : a double CD with songs sounding like music from the sixties - seventies. The album got a great welcome from the press. Again at the beginning of 2006, Marie surprised everyone with a new CD in Swedish, Min Bäste Vän, only cover songs.

But 2006, is also Roxette's 20th birthday, so Per and Marie are back in studio to record two new songs. A new Greatest Hits CD will be released in fall as well as the long awaited Rox Box, with unreleased songs, videos and the MTV Unplugged show.