Roxette Lead Singer Marie Fredriksson Dies of Cancer at 61
Sad news for Roxette fans: Marie Fredriksson, the pop-rock duo’s lead singer, has died at the age of 61.
Dimberg Jernberg Management, Fredriksson’s management company, confirmed her death in a press release on Tuesday, sharing that the Swedish singer had died following a 17-year battle with cancer.
The group also shared the news on their Twitter account, writing Fredriksson’s name and her year of birth and year of death.
https://t.co/uvxOsTPN2I pic.twitter.com/JjfmGmg6d2
— Roxette (@TheRealRoxette) December 10, 2019
Roxette is perhaps best known in the U.S. for their song “It Must Have Been Love” from the 1990 Pretty Woman soundtrack, a power ballad certified gold in six countries (including the United States) and platinum in Australia. It would go on to become one of the most memorable hits of the 1990s.
Fredriksson and her group mate Per Gessle had three more No. 1 hits in the U.S.: “Listen to Your Heart,” “Joyride” and “The Look.”
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Roxette’s ride began in 1985, when Fredriksson, daughter of a postman and a factory worker, teamed up with Gessle, son of a plumbing contractor and his artist wife. They released one LP in Swedish, then decided to record in English because “we both wanted to reach an international market,” Fredriksson told PEOPLE in 1991.
The group went on hiatus in 2002, after Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had it removed but ultimately lost sight in one of her eyes.
However, she recovered from the experience, and in 2009, Roxette reunited for a global concert tour. The Neverending World Tour spanned more than 250 shows over the course of seven years.
Before Fredriksson’s death, the pop duo would go on to release three more albums after her tumor diagnosis: Charm School, Travelling and Good Karma.
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Following news of Fredriksson’s death on Tuesday, Gessle, 60, tweeted a photo of his bandmate of almost 35 years and wrote, “Time goes by so quickly. It’s not that long ago we spent days+nights in my tiny apartment sharing impossible dreams.”
“And what a dream we eventually got to share! I’m honoured to have met your talent+generosity,” the musician added. “All my love goes to you+your family. Things will never be the same.”
“Marie leaves us a grand musical legacy,” Dimberg Jernberg Management said in a statement. “Her amazing voice — both strong and sensitive — and her magical live performances will be remembered by all of us who was lucky enough to witness them. But we also remember a wonderful person with a huge appetite for life, and woman with a very big heart who cared for everybody she met.”
Fredriksson is survived by her husband of 25 years, Mikael Bolyos, and their two children: son Oscar Mikael, 23, and daughter Inez Josefin, 26.
