Marie’s brain tumor… withdrawing from “Night of the Proms”… thousands of get-well wishes from fans around the world… releasing a ballad hits compilation that included new songs… Per in court…

  A lot of things - unfortunately not all of them good - happened to Roxette in the year 2002. We invite you to look back at the year just ending with our Year in review! Read on… and Happy New Year! Read more…

HALMSTAD (UPDATED) - Radio Halland’s Pelle Hörmander tells The Daily Roxette today that he has known Per Gessle for most of his professional life… going all the way back to the days of Gyllene Tider. He feels he knows Per well enough to deeply understand that “the situation with Marie has really ’rocked’ him… it’s really shaken him.”

  Every year around Christmas, Hörmander conducts an interview with Per that is broadcast on this regional radio station. The tradition continued this year, when Per visited the Radio Halland studio on December 23rd.

  “Per says that the treatment Marie is receiving for the cancer is “rough”… but he is optimistic about the future, even mentioning the possibility of touring again.” But, of course, Roxette’s future is dependent upon Marie’s health. He also repeated that when a family member or friend suffers from something like that, it’s clearly obvious that it’s a shock for everyone.
  Per speaks with an open heart about his feelings concerning Marie’s sickness in this interview — sound clips of which are now available (see link below).

   As previously reported, Per says that Marie was able to add her vocal track to the the new single which will come out early next year.

• SR’s Radio Halland Interview with Per (In Swedish)

Read more…

Roxette’s latest single, “A Thing About You,” scored big in Germany. On Sunday, ATAY came in as #1 on the Jump Radio Chart of the Year. The station is generally considered to be the second largest in Germany. The song was the most requested their weekly Top 20 this year. It was #1 for six weeks.

  Some days ago, in the biggest radio station of Germany, SWR3, ATAY showed up as #3 on their year-end chart.

• Jump Radio (In German)

As we approach the end of the year and look toward the possibilities of a new year, we at The Daily Roxette want to wish our readers a very Happy Holiday and more importantly, a Peaceful 2003 full of good health for us all.

  We’re delighted that under special arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment AB, we’re able to let you listen to a track from Peter Jöback’s Christmas album, “Jag Kommer Hem Igen Till Jul” as our Holiday Greeting to you. This song, “Varmt Igen,” was written by Per Gessle.

  Jöback’s album is a huge success in Sweden… topping the album charts there. Additionally, Peter toured Sweden with an enormously successful holiday concert and he’s had not one, but two television specials this December. If you’ve never heard Peter sing before, you’re in for a treat!


e-Card created for The Daily Roxette by Jorge Diaz.

• Flash player (If you do not already have it, the e-Card requires this Flash plug-in)

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STOCKHOLM - The Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet published a message from Marie Fredriksson today in which she thanks all her fans for their support.


  Aftonbladet writes: As you may know, Marie has gone through a surgery to remove the tumor she had in her head and now she is on treatment and on sick leave for some months. During all these months, all her fans haven’t stopped sending her letters, their best wishes and flowers.


  Now Marie wants to thank all of her fans and has chosen to send a message to Aftonbladet. “She really appreciates that people think about her,” says Marie Dimberg. “Marie has received a great support from every part of the world… she has a great audience from all over the world who are always very active and involved. These fans have sent a lot of letters and encouraging thoughts,” reports Dimberg.


  The Daily Roxette has translated the message for our readers:



“Hi everyone! I would like to thank everyone who has sent me warm greetings through Aftonbladet’s website after my operation. I would also like to thank you all for the letters, flowers and thoughts - they have been a big support for me.


  I am now resting at home, and I am looking forward to the next year. I would like to wish all of you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2003!”




  Aftonbladet also reports that Marie is on her way back. She has recently recorded what will be the new Roxette single, “Opportunity Nox,” which will be released in February, before Roxette’s new album, “The Pop Hits” comes out.


  Dimberg also explains that Roxette are planning to shoot a new video. “We are trying to find some new ideas, which we are right now discussing with Jonas Åkerlund,” she says.


  So far, there are no plans for a new tour, or for solo-albums. “Both Per Gessle and Marie are always writing along with Roxette, and then they release an album when they feel there is time and enough material for it,” explains Dimberg.


  “Marie will come back when she feels strong enough,” adds Dimberg, “and she will take the time she needs.”


  Marie will celebrate Christmas with her husband and children in Stockholm.

• Message from Marie (In Swedish)
• Article in Aftonbladet
• Roxette’s official website

“A Thing About You,” Roxette’s current single, is a success in Brazil. The song is number eight on “As 10 Mais” (Top 10) on “Transamérica”, the most listened radio station in the country.

  In addition, the single has reached #41 in just six weeks on Brazilian “Top 100.”


  The “A Thing About You” video was released on MTV Brazil on November 27th and “The Ballad Hits” album has just turned gold.

• Transamérica
• Brazilian Top 100

EDITOR’S NOTE - Marie Fredriksson’s condition is a lot worse than has previously been reported, according to an article appearing in today’s edition of the Swedish newspaper Expressen. The article, written in a style known as “tabloid” or “yellow” journalism, seeks intentionally to sensationalize the story. Realizing this, The Daily Roxette chose to delay publishing this item today until we were able to reach Marie or her spokesperson for comment. We ask our readers not to overreact, as this “news” really doesn’t come as a surprise to any of us. This is the holiday season afterall… a season of hope. - LEO



STOCKHOLM - Marie is undergoing heavy radiation treatment, and her doctors are planning to start with chemotherapy.

  Her Roxette partner, Per Gessle, has stated in several interviews, that she is “as well as anyone can expect”, but - the way Expressen put it - behind these words lurks a darker truth.

  “The cancer is not under control,” claims Expressen’s reporter. Several sources, according to this published report, reveal that Marie is
receiving heavy radiation treatment and also chemotherapy in the near future. According to these same sources, Marie herself has said that the tumor was malignant, and
that she is isn’t feeling well.

  To stop the cancer from spreading, she is now going to the hospital to receive radiation treatment several times a week.

  This kind of treatment is hard on the body, and the common side effects are hair loss and nausea. It’s been said that Marie suffers the most from the later… being sick to her stomach.

  She is, of course, supported by her family, who are by her side constantly.

  Marie Dimberg, Roxette’s manager, told The Daily Roxette this afternoon that “Marie wants all of you to know that she is well and strong under the circumstances. As you know, the entire tumor was removed during the operation and Marie is resting in her home. Out of respect for Marie’s privacy, we will not give any further medical details, but she is very positive and looks forward to the Christmas holidays.”

  Marie Fredriksson has been described as a fighter and a goal-oriented person. Some of her friends have said that she is not even thinking about giving up the fight against the tumor. Marie Fredriksson herself has said that she is looking towards the future, to the moment when this treatment is going to work and the cancer will give in to the strong medications.

• Expressen’s article (in Swedish)

HALMSTAD - Gyllene Tider member Mats “MP” Persson and the Swedish chart-king Ben Olander are writing a song for the upcoming Swedish feature film “I Skuggan av Värmen.”

  The movie is a screen adaptation of Lotta Thell’s best-selling novel of the same title and filming will begin early next year. It’s the story of a narco-dependent night guard, and her fighting man, a police chief.

  “It feels great. I am doing the music and Ben is writing the lyrics. We have some songs from which to choose. But it feels right now that it will be a poppy, mid-tempo song,” explains Mats to Expressen.

  “We have been thinking of making the song a duet. Actually we have thought of having Ben and Anna Lönnberg sing it - they are locally well-known here in Halmstad - but we are also considering other options. This is a new and exciting experience,” says Mats. One of those “other options” appears to be the popular Swedish singer Eva Dahlgren (best known to TDR readers as one of Marie’s closest friends). She’s at the top of their list of possibilities.

  In addition to this project, Mats has produced and co-written Ben Olander’s new album, “Insikter”, which has been recorded in Per and Mats’ studio Tits&Ass in Halmstad. You can listen to the snippets of the songs on Ben’s website.

• Expressen’s article
• Dahlgren-Attling site
• Ben Olander’s site (In Swedish)

EDITOR’S NOTE - When, a few weeks ago, we contacted the Swedish State Railways for permission to reprint this interview, we had yet to read it. We had no idea that it would be just as as interesting as the exclusive interview we conducted with Per at the very beginning of this recent promotional period. Having now translated the article, we’re delighted to be able to share Mr. Lundmark’s engaging interview with our readers.


STOCKHOLM - Pop addict, father, multi-millionaire, hotel owner, Ferrari fanatic, art collector. You can describe Per Gessle in many different ways. But above all else he’s a songwriter (did you know, by the way, that “Listen To Your Heart” was written to be a parody?). Something you definitely notice now when Roxette collect their hits on not one, but two greatest hits collections.

  The first concert I ever saw was Gyllene Tider. The place was Skellefteå’s Folk Park, the year was 1982, and Per Gessle was my idol (well, I guess one can say that Per Gessle was everyone’s idol back then).

  When Per Gessle almost exactly 20 years later walks into the office at Capitol Records toting his mobile phone it still feels pretty huge (even if my role nowadays is the critic/reporter, not the 10-year-old sitting on his dad’s shoulders…).

  To many, Per Gessle is still an idol - you only need to do a quick Internet search to realize it; there are tons of sites like “Pearls of Per,” “Gessletronic” and “The Daily Roxette” (the latter is Per Gessle’s own start page).

  “The other day it just struck me that I’ve been doing this for a quarter century, for 25 years! It’s nuts!” says Per Gessle as he plops down in the comfortable chair in front of me.

  “We’re outrageously old (about Roxette), we’re over 40 years,” he laughs.

Per Gessle was ready to “work his ass off” this fall. Among other things, there was a two-month long tour planned called “Night of the Proms,” where Roxette were to perform with a symphony orchestra in Germany, Belgium and Holland. This didn’t happen because of Marie Fredriksson’s brain tumor. Per Gessle says that they for now take one thing at a time and that Marie is “as good as one may expect”. The thought is that Roxette, in this case Per, is to keep working as usual though, “then we’ll see what happens.” And carrying on as usual means, among other things, giving interviews.

  “But I can’t lip sync on a German TV-show without Marie, even if it is I who sings on the new single,” Per states with a smile.

  The new single is called “A Thing About You,” and is one of two newly written songs (“Breathe” is the other) on the brand new collection “The Ballad Hits” (and indirectly the reason for Per Gessle and I to sit and talk). This spring it will be followed by another collection named “The Pop Hits,” even if Per Gessle is wondering if it instead should be named “The Powerpop Hits”.

  “Why two collections instead of one?”

  “We’ve released 41 or 42 singles and could’ve released a double CD, but that would’ve felt a bit boring. Besides it’s kind of fun to split it into two sides, Marie and I have two different sides too, maybe it’s mostly the ballads that differentiate us.

  “What do you do best?”

  “It’s harder to write a fast song than a ballad, writing a ‘Joyride’ or ‘The Look’ takes much longer to do. It’s about a simpleness that can’t go wrong, a simpleness that must be smart. Three-chord pop should sound smart.”

  “When I was younger, I never listened to ballads. When I was 20, I listened to T-Rex and punk rock. Maybe it’s an age thing.”

  Gessle picks up speed now.

  “People listened a lot more to music before, pop music meant more. I remember when I saw David Bowie on TV, they showed maybe 20 seconds of ‘Life on Mars.’ It was magical, I had never seen anything like it before,” says Per and compares it to the TV flood of today.

  “When I was small it was a big thing to watch Donald Duck on Christmas Eve. Today there’s the Cartoon Network on 24-hours-a-day.

©2002 SJ. Reprinted with the kind permission of Statens Järnvägar, the Swedish Railway System, and Kupé Magazine. Written by Mårten Lundmark, with translation by TDR News Editor Thomas Evensson. Photos courtesy EMI Sweden.

• SJ - Statens Järnvägar (Swedish State Railways)

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STOCKHOLM - The Daily Roxette has some answers to questions our readers have asked about “The Look For Roxette.”

  The book is written in English and will not be translated into any other language.

  The first edition of the book (3,000 copies) will include a bonus EP, which will feature the songs we previously reported. Should the publisher ever release a second edition of the book, that edition will not include the bonus EP.

  The book is available for purchase from the following places: Premium Publishing, the Roxette Fan Organization, and the International Roxette Fan Club.

  There may be additional outlets later on, and it’s also possible to purchase it directly from the author, Robert Thorselius.

• Premium Publishing
• Roxette Fan Organization
• International Fan Club
• Robert Thorselius
• TLFR buyer’s Guide

Read more…

PUURS - Last Friday, November 29th, three Belgian fans and their partners were treated by EMI Belgium and Sweden to a Meet & Greet with Per Gessle at the Polar Studios in Stockholm. Sandra Vets was one of the six winners and invited Cathy Carlier of the Belgian Fanclub to join her.


  Per took his time to talk about the Polar Studios, his work and his family. The winners also heard in sneak preview the upcoming single promoting the Pop Album. It sounds like it could have belonged on the Room Service album, with vocals mainly by Per, supported by Marie.


  “We are looking for the right mix,” the artist explained. “It’s a painstaking job sometimes to do so. I played guitar today and we are adding Marie’s vocals today as well.”


  As to answer the question about the title of the new song, Per diplomatically looked at Li Eriksson from EMI Sweden who stated it was too soon to reveal any titles. In fact, they had not decided yet.


  Many questions were answered, amongst others the one revolving around the K-Otic song.


  “It’s like this,” he explained, “some time ago I was asked to give a couple of songs. This particular song was meant for the Room Service album. I had even made a demo of it – which, to be honest – I found much better sounding than the K-Otic version. But it did not make the final cut so I had it lying around. I have no control over where some of my songs go to. Sometimes it goes to bands like K-Otic.”


  “A Gyllene Tider reunion is definitely possible,” he continued. “It might be a tour next year, but we’ll see what happens. I’m also going into the studios to record some of my solo-work. I’m gathering a band to do that. Of course,” he smiled, “I don’t have a record deal yet.”


  About promoting The Ballad Hits in the UK and US, he stated that it all depends on Marie. “I don’t want to do this promotion alone,” he explained. “But I’m respecting Marie’s wishes. If she feels up to it, we will go there. If not, we won’t. The same goes for the upcoming Pop album.”


  Per was relaxed, witty and funny during this Meet & Greet that nearly lasted an hour. It was a treat for the fans who were there.

• Roxette.be (Full story)

LONDON - This week, the BBC profiled Roxette’s record label in a program entitled “EMI & Me”. The program, which is part of a six-part series, examines a series of British-born organizations and discusses how they have adapted their business practices in their respected tough economical markets, over their many years of operating.

  Interestingly, the program attributes EMI’s (Electrical and Musical Industries) early financial success to the development of radar technology during the World Wars. It wasn’t until EMI secured the distribution rights of Elvis’s UK releases that their music empire started to really evolve.

  Their greatest musical success has always been The Beatles. This four man band enabled EMI to not only sell a great many records, but it also allowed them to sell in many new territories for the first time, most noticeably America.

  In the late 90’s, EMI had gained an unhealthy attraction to big name artists who commanded multimillion pound contracts. One such notable example is Mariah Carey, who signed with EMI for £36 million, only to be later released early from her contract due to poor record sales for a sizable £20 million.

  Recently, EMI was in merger discussions with New York-based Time Warner. This was eventually called off because of regulatory concerns with the monopolies commission.

  The program concluded that EMI has been forced to trim most of its fat by shedding 1,800 jobs worldwide. And consolidating its existing artists who include: Kylie Minogue, Iron Maiden, Radiohead, Tina Turner and Robbie Williams. Robbie recently renewed his contract with EMI for an alleged £80 million.

  Editor’s note: Many fans have noted that “The Ballad Hits” album was released on the “Capitol Records” label. Roxette’s record company is still EMI and Capitol is one of the labels owned by the EMI corporation.

• BBC’s “… and Me” series

The latest compilation release “The Ballad Hits” by Roxette has now landed to the Portuguese top 10 album chart at #9. The last time they reached the top 10 was with the Spanish ballad compilation “Baladas en Español” back in 1997.

  The album “Have A Nice Day” in 1999 only managed to reach #12. Two years later “Milk And Toast And Honey” received huge radio airplay and the listeners loved the song but that didn’t allow them to chart with “Room Service”.