The Daily Roxette

Roxette World Tour 2011 schedule
The Daily Roxette discussions forum has been closed. The forum is only available as a read-only archive.
‹ Wikipedia.com says One Wish to be released in US! mtv unplugged ›

Discussions: :

One Wish - a chance for a hit in Australia?

68 replies

Sparvogamarie said on September 23, 2006 08:35:

Hell, even top 40 would be something!

In recent years several older bands have toured successfully here, including Duran Duran who haven’t had a hit since the 80s. Like I said, the 20 and 30 somethings have the money and want to see their fave bands - not Britney Spears. Unfortunately Marie’s illness has made it impossible for that to happen for Rox, but I think they could do a really successful club tour in Oz.

Sparvogamarie said on :

I was chatting with another Aussie fan and we got thinking that One Wish actually might have a chance in Australia. With other singles, it was pretty obvious there was no hope. Stars was never gonna be a hit in Oz, and neither was Anyone.

Things have changed in the Aussie music world...in the mid 90’s, it was all about grunge and Rox didn’t fit in AT ALL. Then there was the dance scene phase, the rap phase, poppy boy band phase - Rox didn’t fit into any of those, and kept making odd single choices such as ballads when NOBODY was releasing ballads. Now, there’s a big variety of music in the charts, similar to when Rox hit it big here in the early 90’s. Ballads are back thanks to Ronan Keating and James Blunt, and artists like Kelly Clarkson and the Veronicas are bringing back the pop rock that made Rox famous.

“Retro” and 80’s stuff is also pretty cool again, and One Wish certainly fits that. The video is funky and could definitely fit in on our music shows like Video Hits. There’s also an interest in older bands again, and I’ve heard talk on the radio about Roxette and even mention of their European comeback. I’ve met quite a few people who say “Roxette! I used to LOVE them!”

I think there is a chance for One Wish to have some success in Oz - but we’re not getting the single! I think the song should at least be released to radio and TV, and see if there’s a response, and go from there. Aussie fans...what do you guys think?

Roxwriter said on :

Per Gessle needs to realise that ROXETTE and AUSTRALIA’s love affair never stopped. Well it did but through no fault of their music. Times changed and EMI sucks ass.

Want proof Per? In November 1995, the 1st Edition of Dont Bore Us was released in Australia to little fanfare. The album went unnoticed and was on sale in the “cheap bargain bins” for a pathetic $10

Then.

6 months later. EMI release a series of NEW, SLICK ads celebrating the album on high rotation on TV.

The album instantly debuts in the Top 20. Peaks at #10, sells DOUBLE PLATINUM and makes the Top 30 highest selling albums for 1996. FACT.

With this slick new trailer from EMI and sudden interest in nostalgia in this country, One Wish could easily be a top 20 hit.

Per, if you read this, mate I urge you to push for a One Wish release in AUSTRALIA.

Australia unlike the UK never mocked Roxette. Aussies just forgot about you guys. The HITS is the perfect project to remind them and One Wish is a sure summer radio song.

Don’t forget about us Aussies Per....trust me, it seems like we have forgotten about Roxette...but believe me we haven’t.

Don’t let Australia be a blip on your radar, you’d be surprised at how the market is ready for you guys. PUSH PUSH PUSH PUSH for the Aussies and not just the yanks. Better chance of success on Aussie Radio with new material than USA Radio.

Think about it!

Sparvogamarie said on :

Wow, I never knew that about DBUGTTC!! But I can imagine the ads made a big difference. The simple fact is, after 1995 Roxette seemed to disappear in Australia. Us big fans kept up with them through the FC and then the net, but other fans just shrugged their shoulders and forgot. I’ve met so many people who ask what happened to them, where they went, why they split up etc. As I said, for a long time they just didn’t fit in anymore but I think times have changed once again, and with a bit of promo One Wish could actually do quite well! There’s a big audience of 20-somethings who will welcome them back, and the younger audience are more open to older stuff at the moment.

Roxwriter said on :

I’ve never met an Aussie who hates them!

They can always name a song “that one from Super Mario Bros” or “the one where she’s singing in an old castle” or ” the one on the ferrari”.

Aussies by their nature are lazy people. So if EMI don’t let them know, they wont bother looking.

The proof of this took place in 1996 with the eventual but delayed success of Dont Bore Us.

Per knows this. IT IS A FACT. Not some desperado fan theory like million of other posts.

If EMI hooked up with the Classic Hits/Easy Listening stations on AUS FM radio, I think they’d find a market again...their old market but with a few more grey hairs now lol. The days of competing with Justin Timberlake or Coldplay are gone, but Roxette can easily serve a purpose in Australia.

Per Gessle, you’d be surprised mate. I understand that UK and US are much larger markets, but the Aussies have a soft spot for “the guys who sang that Dressed for success song and that Pretty woman song”.

PUSH FOR ONE WISH PER!

All the Australian masses need is a gentle reminder. Pop your head in. Say hi. Sydney is very warm at the moment ;-)

C’mon Per...you know you want to admit it! Sydney Rocks!

HITS will remind the Aussies “oh yeah I love The Look” and then hit with One Wish and we all die rich fat and happy.

Sparvogamarie said on :

I’m 99% sure Video Hits would play their song - VH have been pushing the old 90’s stuff, even got Rox on their new compilation. They’ve been playing a lot of Belinda Carlisle, Rick Astley etc.

The fact is, the 20 somethings are now the powerful market. We have the money. I work at Fitness First, the gym chain, and they have their own music video network. They are currently playing a LOT of 90’s stuff - because their core market is 20 somethings. That is why 90’s music is making a comeback, and old things like Ninja Turtles suddenly reappeared. Cos our generation is now running the show. And it’s our generation that grew up with Roxette being one of the biggest bands in the world 16 years ago!

Roxwriter said on :

Exactly.

Let’s not forget Roxette’s BRILLIANT run here in OZ.

The Look #1
Dressed For Success #3
Listen to Your Heart #10
Dangerous #9
It Must Have Been Love #1
Joyride #1
Fading Like a Flower #7
The Big L #20
Spending My Time #16
Church of Your Heart #55
How Do You Do #13
Queen of Rain (missed top 60, reached #77 on AMR chart)
Almost Unreal #17
Sleeping In My Car #18
Crash! Boom! Bang! #73
Fireworks #68
Run to You #49
Wish I Could Fly #57

I know a lot of attention has been paid to the USA market and I understand and respect that. But Roxette were still a force here to a certain extent up until at least 1996. Longer than the UK and US.

So PER the HITS album can/will sell but do NOT forget about One Wish here.

Roxwriter said on :

Also for those with Foxtel/Cable TV, there is a channel called MusicMax which plays a wider range of stuff including the odd Roxette track.

They also have a “sessions” series which is an intimate concert for older bands like Blondie etc.

Roxette would be perfect for that concert series. But to seperate Roxette from the usual nostalgia stuff, they need to push ONE WISH.

It can work. I agree Sparvoga, Stars was destined to flop. Wrong time. Wrong place. Unfortunately June Afternoon didn’t work either :-( coz of the wrong market at the time.

But now the charts are a fruit salad. Pop/Rock is back.

Roxette can be too....(at least here in Australia)

Sparvogamarie said on :

Oh god some of their single choices have made me cringe...not just for Australia but worldwide. Releasing Church of Your Heart over Do You Get Excited....what the...??? I think being based in Sweden, they missed the fact that MARIE is the big drawcard in the rest of the world. Per is the bigger one in Sweden for sure, so to them it made sense to release Per tracks. But here, it was all about Marie. Most people think she IS Roxette!!!

Roxwriter said on :

Very true.

I always wanted Fireworks to follow Sleeping In My Car and skip Crash!

But that was 1994.

Here we are now. If Sandi Thom can sit atop the charts wishing she was a punk rocker, then I’d be buggered if Per doing an awkward bop dance in a One Wish video can’t be a hit.

Ok so maybe not a #1, I think we all know that, but a top 20 for sure...which nothing to sneeze at.

The video is cool. There IS a market for it. There was never a market for ducks in a pond singing to Marie about Stars.

ONE WISH IN AUSTRALIA: PER....PUSH FOR IT!

Roxwriter said on :

It’s interesting you mention that Sparvoga.

Most folk here are not aware that Marie was ill and that prevented Roxette from really pushing hard for 4 years.

I think if people knew this, they would view Roxette in a different manner and not as people who faded because they’re crap. But because unfortunately Marie was very ill.

In fact, we Aussies can more than relate. Olivia Newton John, Delta Goodrem and Kylie survived Cancer and the public holds a special spot for them in their hearts.

Australians love a good underdog, they like the battler and warm fuzzy stories and none come more warmer and fuzzier than this one. Roxette are most definitely an underdog and I think we all have a soft spot for this duo.

Naturally Marie is less-inclined to fly out to Australia for radio/TV promo, I respect that, but if Per did it alone it would still work, all he has to do is explain that Marie doesn’t want to leave her family etc and Aussies would understand.

Play One Wish and bingo, they’re back. I’m sure Marie would come down for a concert, but less likely for a chat with Radio DJs.

Food for thought.

Where the hell is EMI in all this?

ONE WISH IN AUSTRALIA: PUSH FOR IT PER!

ncurran said on :

OW does have a lot of potential to be a hit in my opinion, but I dont think it will happen, as it really needs the record company to push it, which i dont think will happen much outside of sweden, with the exception perhaps of a couple of european countries

brentnewtown said on :

I really think it could happen. OW is very different to everything else on the radio at the moment and would certainly stand out but we know that EMI won’t promote it so the likelihood is very limited.

I’ve been thinking for a little while that when emi australia eventually update their website (currently it is still all aobut DHT) i would write someting to http://www.poprepublic.tv (an Australian street press that is focussed on pop music) and tell them of the 20 year anniversary and hope something is published.

imazombieinthem... said on :

This is stuff thats been posted before about DBGTTC. Those charts have been up many times. OW needs saturation airplay on radio and Video Hits, then only its a chance of being a hit. Which wont happen.
OW for me took a while to get catchy, remember the melody and stay in my head. Not a good sign for me as a potential hit. I like the song, I just dont think it has potential to be a big hit. Everythings against it, and EMI knows it choosing to not release it.
Anyway, time has just about run out (if not already) to release a single here before the GH release next month.
The only way I can see EMI changing their minds, is if OW does huge things overseas.

RobS said on :

Roxwriter, are you trying to get Per with subliminal messages?! :-P

I knew about the second release of DBU with all the extra promo, but i didn’t realise it sold so well because of it. Just shows what a little money spent on decent promo can do.

I agree about OW being a possible hit, its a great song, that really gets in your head after a few plays. I don’t think there is any reason why OW can’t make it at least top40 in aus, if EMI are willing to push the song, and do some decent promo for it. A bonus would be getting Per out here for a day or two.

And EMI need to to some housework on the website, i’ve even emailed them about it... still waiting.

Still hoping it’s a huge success in Europe and EMI OZ does something with a local release.

Sparvogamarie said on :

I think VH will play it, they’ve always supported Rox even when they were failing. The radios are another story...the playlists here are dictated by money. Radio stations essentially have to be bribed to play anything. That’s why the old “Roxattaqs” never worked, it doesn’t matter if 40000 people request a song, they won’t play it unless they’re paid to. And I can’t see EMI OZ paying to promote Rox, they only care about Robbie Williams.

Hotblooded said on :

I was thinking the same thing! There is such a variety in the charts right now and OW is a catchy fun summer pop song that with a little push from EMI and some possible radio play it could get Roxette back into the spotlight here in OZ! Only problem is do you really see EMI doing anything about it, making any effort? Sadly I don’t :(

Roxwriter: Unfortuantely Roxette have been slaged quite a bit here in OZ. I remember before 1992 I never heard a bad word about Roxette everything was postive, everyone loved their songs. Then around the time of HDYD I started to hear people make fun of them and radio DJ’s were particularly nasty. Having said that I think things may have come full circle and Roxette might be becoming ’cool’ again :)

From a fans point of view what could we do to ’help’?

Btw if Marie was well a club tour in Australia would be very successful even playing the smaller intimate theatre’s like the Enmore and Palais, imagine that *drools at the thought*

Sparvogamarie said on :

I’ve always been the first to say when a single has no chance here, but with OW I really think it has a shot. Even if it wasn’t a massive smash, I think it could do enough to get a little attention back to Rox. There has been talk on the radio of the comeback, there’s definitely interest there!!

And yes...club tour *drools*

It’s nice to dream!

RobS said on :

imazombie... do you think EMI chose not to release it because it won’t work, or because it’s Roxette, and they haven’t released 6 from the last 9 singles here?

Even with a single release, the few lead singles that were released over the past few years were on the same day as the album anyway, so there is still time.

Club tour... if only.

Sparvogamarie said on :

MAN, I just saw that Bonnie Tyler is doing shows at Crown Casino here in Melbourne. Roxette could TOTALLY do that. The cool thing about the casino is you can do a number of shows without travelling at all, just like Celine Dion does in Las Vegas. That would be WAY cool.

Roxwriter said on :

Roachford came down rececntly as did a few other nobodies.

Of course Roxette can still come here and do a club tour. That will help them rebuild their cred and let people know they didn’t just disappear.

I think Roxette doing a small club tour here is a seperate issue to EMI and One Wish though.

Reality is I find it hard to believe that Marie would want to fly all the way to OZ for a tour. Before any of that happens, the public needs to be reminded about Roxette and the HITS is actually a good release to do so.

Nostalgia in so big right now. All of the TV programmes in Australia are looking back over the years and one show “Where are they now” featured The Look for big hits of 1989.

Retrospect is so the new black, and they come no more blacker than Roxette in those leather pants!

I heard Spending My Time blaring at a restaurant last week, they’re still on the airwaves.... it’s time for Per to really attack EMI AUSTRALIA.

imazombieinthem... said on :

@RobS
It would be nice to know EMI’s decision not to release OW. We can only assume they dont have confidence in it and think it will fail based on previous single releases.
Ive said here before when they started skipping HAND singles they told me it cost $10,000 to release a single back then. CBB, Fireworks, RTY, Vulnerable, WICF, Stars, COTH. 7 dud singles in row from a very strong top40 band. HAND, RS, BH, PH(not sure if released) and 4 dud albums in a row. Roxette have cost them alot of money. It sucks, but thats just the way it is.
I agree OW is a fun Spring/Summer tune that is perfect for radio here and gets stuck in your head. Ive heard many stations mentioning Roxettes comeback, yet no new single for them, and this is their best chance in a long time :(

RobS said on :

When you put it like that i can understand where they’re coming from. But with no help from the record co. are they expecting sales just by word of mouth? They haven’t even updated their Rox webpage!

I was told that RS sold about 3000 copies about 3months (i think) after release - not much at all, but no one knew anything about it! Compared to double platinum for DBUGTTC as roxwriter mentioned - quite a difference.

If that same 3000 buys OW, that’ll cover their costs :-P

Roxwriter said on :

There was no need to promote Joyride or Tourism. The public were primed. Rox were the main act here for a short while.

But after so many years, people need a reminder. I think EMI would be surprised.

Here’s a FACT:

Wish I Could Fly debuted at #76 on the charts. After one screening on Video Hits it jumped 19 spots to #57 and then stalled. No promo. Nothing? Why didn’t EMI capitalise on a positive gain after ONE screening.

Such a great A/C song fit for the MIX FM stations and not so much the Austereo networks.

Core fans will buy it. General folk need a reminder.

EMI ain’t doing it...again.

Will always be gutted over Wish I Could Fly :(

Zargo said on :

New, hip young acts get promotion... Roxette’s an “oldies” band left to fend for itself, and rely on it’s established fan base.

ditroia said on :

I will contact EMI to see if there is any chance of OW getting a release.

Here’s My oft told DBU GTTC story.

Bought the album from target christmas 1995 as it was being advertised for $16.95 along with other EMI GH releases such as queen. It slowly built up steam and by june 96 there were ads and you could find DBU GTTC Stands at record stores. it sold triple platinum and was #3 in the SA charts for quite a while.

Both singles did not fare well.

The end

Has OW got a chance. I think so, but we’ll have to wait.

Cheers

Dave

Sparvogamarie said on :

It’s certainly easier to sell a GH than a single, since mostly non fans will buy a GH. I own a lot of GHs by bands I normally wouldn’t by a full album of.

EMI dug their own graves with the previous singles. No promo, only the fans knew they were out, and they wonder why they don’t sell. When Hand came out, a friend of mine found it at one of those Reject Shop type places for $15 and was all excited, she didn’t even know Rox had a new album!!! Goes to show how little they promoted it.

RobS said on :

Does sending a copy of the single/mp3 to radio stations and asking them to play it work? Surely some of the ones that are at least mentioning their european comeback might have some inclination to play it?

Zargo, what you said is totally right. The thing with Roxette is they have a relatively small fanbase here, but have huge potential for sales due to their previous success. The only way to remind people is with some promo to let them know. Sort of a catch-22 situation isn’t it.

Roxwriter, any other interesting facts you have. I never knew about WICF, seems like it could’ve hit the top40 - another wasted opportunity.

Roxwriter said on :

@RobS - No other tid-bits that come to mind at this stage matey. Ummm I remember that HAND peaked #62 or #64 but that’s about it.

No wait. I do recall one. Remember when they released DBU with Tourism as a double CD? The original version was available and then they released it in a double case with this yellow sticker on the front of it that read “includes the special LIVE album Tourism”. I remember cringing as not only does Per state that Tourism was not a Live album, but also this double CD was offered during a short time at a single CD price. I actually remember just before the album was released I saw it in a catalogue and it was already positioned as $19.95 with the golden oldies folk of Kenny Rogers and Fleetwood Mac best of.

Interesting isn’t it? EMI AUS, before the album was even released, determined its fate and where it would be positioned in the market place. They never pushed it as a real competitive product, for them it was a bargain basement bin.

I think this DBU’95 story is a fascinating one. I always wondered what on earth prompted EMI to promote the album half way through 1996? I could never see the logical link. Did EMI Sweden put in a word? It’s not like Roxette were about to tour here? It’s not like they were pushing a new song or new project. Why did they wait over 6 months to give this album a second...or first proper chance when nothing else was happening with Roxette internationally on any level. Strange strange strange.

But thankfully they did, it resulted in great success for both parties.

I remember seeing the album in an ad for Brashs (remember that shop???) for $9.95. This was November/December 1995. I was so ashamed. Reduced from its already embarrassing $19.95 price.

When all this happened in 1996, I got excited hoping that maybe they’d give June Afternoon a chance as it’s my favourite song. When I saw the video, I kind of quietly agreed with EMI on that one. SDLHA would’ve been a great spring hit, very much in the right tone with other American/Garage rock bands such as Third Eye Blind who were starting to make a name at the time.

Shame. Again.

I’ve always wanted to ask Per on the “ASK PER” section about that mysterious EMI promotion of DBU but it seems he wont be returning anytime soon, can you blame him really though when majority of the questions were something like this “Hola Per, how is your cat, Marie is queen of my rain but love plenty of good in Crash Boom Bang. Tell me Per, do you dance when Joanna Says you to, Chances is the best xxx”.

Hopefully he’ll return and we can find out one day ;)

Sparvogamarie said on :

RobS: as far as I understand it, radios have a set playlist that they choose basically according to how much they get paid to play certain songs. It has little to do with requests. I once spoke to a radio DJ who told me that they have a list of songs that they intend to play, and if someone happens to “request” it they get credit for it. The request system is totally bogus and just a way to get people to listen - if you request your fave song you’ll sit there all night waiting for it.

RobS said on :

Marie: that would explain why my attempts at getting TCOTH to get played never worked.

Roxwriter: I don’t remember that double disc, but i do remember the LS!/Tourism one, can’t recall what the idea was behind that.

I actually submitted a question to “Ask Per” about promo/EMI OZ/what happend, sadly it never got answered :-(

Sparvogamarie said on :

Yup, there is absolutely no chance of getting a song played that has not been put on the radio’s playlist. I don’t know how Dean Cushman did it, maybe he knew someone at the station, or maybe it was just a fluke that the DJ loved the song and decided to play it. In any case, one station picking up the song is not enough to make it a hit and as it turned out that’s not what happened in the Cushman story either. When WICF came out, one station picked it up (TTFM) and played it constantly. And the song barely made the Top 60. We’d have to get ALL the big stations to start playing it if a Roxattaq was going to work, and unless we have a few hundred grand in bribe money I don’t think we have a big chance.

ditroia said on :

By the time EMI started promoting DBU GTTC it had already built up momentum of it’s own volition. The Publicitiy did help, but it’s funny how EMI, instead of promotiong an album to make it popular, they completely ignore it, then once it does get popular they step in and promote it.

Wierd.

Dave

P.S. Why oh why did EMI release that 2nd edition CD with out the flower printed on the cd, but that stupid black background with clear text, and a missprint.

Hotblooded said on :

@Roxwriter: I remember feeling the same way when I stumbled across DBU at Brashes in late 1995 and remember feeling really disappointed that a Roxette greatest hits would not sell at all and end up in the cheap section almost directly after release!! It was to my great surprise then in 1996 that I saw a commercial for this very album but I thought “Why now?” Of course I was thrilled and kind of relieved when it went on to be so successful.

@Sparvogamarie: You are so right! I have had it happen to me several times in the past when I have called up to request a song and they say yeah I’ll see what I can do and you wait by the radio for hours and they never play it!! It’s so obvious to me now that they have a play list and that if you ring up and request a song that’s on there then they will play it other wise forget it. Which kinda defeats the purpose of requests :(

sweepi said on :

Sorry to be “nosy” in a thread which is dedicated to discussing Roxette in Oz (as myself I’m not from Australia) but, as reading Rob’s comment about sending songs to radios, I couldn’t help it to feel curious about how do you people exactly do that?... I mean, do you simply attach an mp3 to an e-mail and send it along to the station, or?... :P (Many of you to have tried such “initiative” before?...)

Roxwriter said on :

@RobS - Yes I do remember the 2Pack Series that EMI brought out and do recall the Look Sharp/Tourims combo.

Which was fair enough I guess, Roxette were just one of the EMI artists part of that deal.

@Hotblooded - I’m glad you too remember the Brashs $9.95 price tag. Was utterly humiliating. I was so used to Roxette being number one, that their best of collection was in the same bin as Dolly Parton, Boston and Air Supply really hurt.

But of course as history shows, we sorta got the last laugh.

On another note, The Big L(ove) is not my favourite track but not having it as part of the HITS collection is... I dont know. Strange? I understand they wanna keep it at 20 but they could’ve lost Milk Toast Honey or Run To You. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE these two tracks but The Big L is a more recognised song internationally, especially here in OZ.

I actually heard The Big L on MIX 106.5 as part of a 90s special recently. Would we ever hear Run To You or Milk? I dont think so. I’m just concerned that the “part time fans” wont get the full Roxette treatment, I want to maximise the Roxette history as much as possible so they can really say “wow, I forgot about all these songs” and The Big Love is definitely one of them!

Not having Big L on the CD wont reduce sales but I just wouldn’t leave anything to chance, here in Australia we need to make sure every track makes someone go “Oh I was in year 9 when that came out” or “My sister had that cassingle”. We can’t just rely on The Look and Dressed For Success.... I dont know, I just wish Big L was on the CD for the sake of milking every possible memory of a “part time/former fan” so they go “oh yea”. One more semi-hit like The Big Love is better than an unknown such as Milk/Toast/Honey.

Just my thoughts.

Bottom line. In this nostalgic era we’re living in, Roxette Hits compilation would definitely work.

Hopefully Per hasn’t forgotten about us downunder, after all, that’s where Live-ISM and most live Tourism tracks were recorded. So he better have a soft spot for us!

Oh yea...and push for ONE WISH release her PER :-)

Sparvogamarie said on :

Hotblooded: The request system is a cheap tactic stations use to keep listeners hanging around. If you think your song is being played, you’ll stay and listen. Sometimes they do all request weekends, to get all the listeners to phone in and waste their money on a fake request. If you request the new Robbie Williams track, there’s a good chance your wish will be granted.

Sweepi: I doubt very much that attaching an MP3 would work. Most business places don’t open attachments in case they are viruses. And radio stations probably get all kinds of new bands sending in their songs, not to mention fans trying to get their fave band on the radio. When do you ever hear of a new band getting a start from a radio station supporting them? It doesn’t happen because stations only play what the record co pays them to play.

sweepi said on :

Well Marie, that’s exactly why I was curious and wondered. I mean, does an e-mail with an attachment sent to radio stations even get opened/read?... Or does it even get delivered in the first place (coming from an outsider mail domain, maybe such e-mails just get automatically eliminated, due to oversize)?...

QUOTE: “And radio stations probably get all kinds of new bands sending in their songs, not to mention fans trying to get their fave band on the radio. When do you ever hear of a new band getting a start from a radio station supporting them? It doesn’t happen because stations only play what the record co pays them to play.”

Then again, regarding that, I suppose/believe the name of the artist by itself alone can also have some/its own effect on drawing attention to it. (For instance, why, if not for that, has the name Roxette been “attached” to both Per’s previous international solo releases, “TWATG” and “SOAP”?) Take the example of “Breathe”, here in Portugal. As in any other place, the song wasn’t released, nor certainly it hadn’t EMI here backing it up. Yet it made it to radio stations (eventually thanks to some UK radio compilation, as it’s been mentioned at the time, http://www2.dailyroxette.com/smalltalk/thread.php/5105). And once that, it got on high rotation on several of them. And it made it to radio airplay charts on over a couple stations. Heck it even charted the listeners’ daily top 10 on one of those untill late Autumn 2003 (that’s almost a whole year among the listeners’ favourites, that must also be a sign of something)! Meaning: what led the stations here to play that song, when it hadn’t been promoted to the radio by the record company whatsoever, if not, well, surely, 1) the eventual potencial of the song itself (which should obviously come as essential, I mean, if the radios wouldn’t be convinced with a song, then I suppose they’d simply choose not to play it at all?) but as well, 2) the fact of it being a song by an internationally known and established artist as is Roxette, no? (I doubt every single song on that radio compilation got to get airplay, thus, amongst all, why to have chosen “Breathe”, if not also by the sole fact of it being from Roxette? I mean, ok, they’re not Elvis or The Beatles, and ok, the name Roxette may even not “bare the same weight” as in past years, but c’mon, they’re also not “just someone else / some unknown someone”!!...) Get my point (do I make myself make sense at all)?... :)

Sparvogamarie said on :

I don’t know how the radio stations work in Portugal or other countries, they possibly have a looser system where they can play what they like. But certainly in Australia and USA, and probably the UK, the radios are “in bed” with the record companies. I’ve heard record companies do things like “You can have the new Robbie Williams single, but you have to agree to also play this single by our new artist to get Robbie.”

Where I live, this radio DJ Kyle (Aussies will know him from celeb Big Brother and Australian Idol) started promoting a single by his girlfriend, and got in major trouble when he got caught. A DJ who loved Rox could certainly try to play their song, but the big bosses might have something to say about it.

RobS said on :

Just a thought, just assume sending songs to radio stations did work. Would it be better to send the song anonymously (don’t mention Roxette) seeing as some stations seem to tune out once they’re mentioned? That way they see the song on its own merits rather than “oh another Roxette song”.

Or in this case would the Roxette name actually help?

Oh and i sent an email to EMI about a week ago, still no reply.

Sparvogamarie said on :

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but I don’t think we fans have much power in regards to EMI or radio stations. I’m sure stations get inundated with fans of all kinds of artists begging to get songs played. I imagine if the entire public got excited about a song, it could make a difference but not 5 or 6 demanding fans. I do wonder how much influence Per has in this...can he push EMI to do something? I think he’s probably not that interested in having a hit in the arse end of the world though...but hey, we gave you Kylie Minogue and Steve Irwin!!!!!!!!!

RobS said on :

Yeah i was just thinking hypothetically.

Just on a side note were there any other big promo campaigns for Rox?? I never got to see the DBU ad, but was told about it. The only one that I remember is a print ad in SmashHits (i think, i’ve got it somewhere) for the CBB album, but nothing apart from that (not including some ads for the CBB tour.)

ditroia said on :

it depends on the DJ, I was good friends with a DJ in the late Nineties he was a bit of a rox fan, and I just emailed the station out of the clear blue sky one day, and we corresponded by email for a while, but he movied stations.

If the DJ is a nice guy/girl they may go to the trouple of digging up the song, or playing an attached file.

Cheers

Dave

brentnewtown said on :

Tv advertisements that I am aware of are:

- joyride tour
- cbb tour
- joyride album
- tourism album

And I think I remember seeing the DBUGTTC ad on tv but unlike the earlier ones I mentioned I never recorded it.

A little OT, but did anyone go to the Roxette instore appearance at HMV Pitt St? Seeing the footage on Liveism and knowing the success Roxette had that year (4 Sydney concerts, international group of the year at the AMAs) it really was the year where their success in Australia was most evident and especially sad that it turned out to be a watershed year.

Sparvogamarie said on :

Yeah I was “good friends” with a DJ for a bit too, I’d ring to request and we’d chat since we lived in the same suburb and he went to the shop I worked at. Didn’t make a lick of difference getting Rox played, he had to play what was on the playlist. I think a DJ could sneak in a song here or there, but a couple of plays would probably not be enough to get things going, unless the song just blew people away...like once when SMT was big, the DJ accidentally played the b-side, “The Sweet Hello the sad goodbye.” There was a BIG response to it, people calling and asking what was that new Rox song. I happened to be listening that day and got a shock to hear Sweet Hello (one of their all time best songs IMO). There was a massive response to that one play - but nothing ever came of it. Too bad EMI didn’t think to release Sweet Hello instead of boring old Church of your boring heart. Sweet Hello was a frickin awesome song.

I think OW is pretty cool...but cool enough to get a big response from one play? It sure is different and would get a bit of attention, and the Roxette name might get some interest too. But I think it’s up to EMI to pull their finger out and release the song to radio, we fans have been trying for years to get a song on ourselves and it just doesn’t happen.

Roxwriter said on :

I can only speak from a Sydney-siders perspective but Roxette shouldn’t aim for 2Day FM or Nova FM.

They need to re-claim their audience who have grown up and resting in the quiet nursery of daggy old MIX 106.5.

They often play their hits and new tracks from artists like Ronan Keating, Corrs etc. Bands that Aus-Stereo and DMG (companies that own 2DAY/2MMM and Nova respectively) wouldn’t touch.

They need to strike the Australian Radio Network (ARN) who here own MIX and WS-FM.

ditroia said on :

Yeah Mix in Adelaide play a fair bit of roxette. Just happens to be that the DJ I was friends with works there.

I may give them an email.

Cheers

Dave

Hotblooded said on :

@brentnewtown: Is there any chance of putting those commercials on the net? I do have the CBB Tour, DBU and Tourism album but don’t recall the rest.

Does anyone watch idol? See Jessica’s mum mention Roxette as an artist she used to play to Jessica when she was young and a couple of weeks ago Jessica was singing a bit of LTYH in her intro :) She should do a Roxette song!!!

shannyn77 said on :

Yeah I saw her singing LTYH - hope she sings it on a future show ;)

imazombieinthem... said on :

I recordered the DBU ad at the time and made an mpeg out of it for someone here a few years back. I’ll see if I can find it..

brentnewtown said on :

I’ve started putting some stuff up:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=brentnewtown

I would love it if others would do the same.

Roxwriter said on :

Brent

Mate that is bloody awesome! Cheers for that! I love little tid-bits like that. So cool. Really captures how popular they were here.

I too have bits and bob like that, for instance I have the Look Sharp TV Ad from 1989. Very cute.

But it’s all on VHS, would love to share but not sure how to upload VHS stuff to YouTube?

Any tips?

imazombieinthem... said on :

just uploaded the DBUGTTC ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2FOJz42DBg

Roxwriter said on :

awesome! Thanks for that....but grr...how do I upload stuff so I can share with you guys?

brentnewtown said on :

imazombieinthemoonlight

thank you so much for that. great quality. funny how familar the voiceover guy is. having watched the ad i do remember it.

roxwriter

i would love to see the look sharp ad.

i tried to copy my vhs onto my computer using a belkin converter thingo but i found it diffiult and the video/audio were out of sync. i bought a hd dvd recorder recently and used that and it was very easy.

imazombieinthem... said on :

the way I do it, I connect my sony camcorder to the tv while its playing a video and record straight onto a memory card on the camcorder, creating an mpeg videoclip. Then just connect camcorder to pc via usb to get the mpeg video.

brentnewtown said on :

imazombieinthemoonlight

i’m trying to use videodownloader on mozilla firefox to save your video. it doesn’t work. do you know of another way to capture it?

Roxwriter said on :

Bugger guys :-(

Wish there was an easier way. I’ll look into it.

I got the Look Sharp ad with what appears to be the same voice over dude doing the commerical... “six months ago they were the hottest thing in Sweden, now they’re about the hottest thing on the planet”

Cue: Dressed for Success lol

And then it continues to the other singles.

Also got the CBB World Tour ad. Both versions, a short and long one. Got the DBU ad but Zombie’s quality is way better than mine.

Few intros from Video Hits and a competition giveaway to see them live in Sydney on Video Hits and then they play Run To You the new video lol

Roxwriter said on :

I like the camcorder suggestion Zombie.

Cheers for that! :-)

Might take a while as I need to get my hands on one but will do so.

We need to share our roxette bits and pieces. I love this nostalgic stuff!

imazombieinthem... said on :

Brentnewtown - I’ll send it to your email address
Roxwriter - its the easiest/slackest way I know of!

some cool clips brentnewtown, like the joyride ad, dont think Ive ever seen that.

brentnewtown said on :

Besides what I have been uploading tonight, I don’t have much else. Other stuff:

- China news reports (Ten, SBS and ABC but not all complete)
- some American interview promoting Tourism
- NBN (Newcastle tv station) story and interview about the Newcastle concert

This person (see link below) has got heaps of early Australian stuff (search for ’Oz’) but unfortunately s/he only swaps and doesn’t appear to upload. It is partly why I have been hesitant to upload stuff previously in the hope that I could swap with him.

http://hem.bredband.net/b255755/

imazombieinthem... said on :

I dont think there is too much more except for Hey Hey performances/Molly, Countdown Revolution, Smash Hit video interviews... Marie was interviewed on C’mon Kids once from her hotel room. I watched it, dont think I recorded it in time, caught me out.

brentnewtown said on :

imazombieinthemoonlight

received. thank you very much.

RobS said on :

Wow, loved seeing them old ads for the joyride album & tour. I never got to see any of them.

Hopefully more of this stuff can be uploaded.

brentnewtown said on :

Does everyone expect to actually see the new greatest hits cd in the shops in two weeks?

Sanity etc have it listed (although for the 14th not 16th) but EMI (surprise surprise) still haven’t updated their website. The Rox ’news’ (which is incorrect anyway) remains the same and the new releases makes no mention of it. The site’s new releases are only up to 14/10/06 though so maybe when that list is updated Roxette will appear.

I still think it is odd how the release dates of cd, cd/dvd and box seem to be staggered. What could the reason behind it be?

ditroia said on :

Thanx for all the uploads guys.

Cheers

Dave

Sparvogamarie said on :

I’ve got the C’mon Kids interview, it’s ok but kinda crappy since it’s only Marie’s voice and a picture of her. I’ll see if I can dig it up and put it online.

RobS said on :

Brent, see the other topic with my explanation :-) Just so we don’t too off topic here.

18 good reasons to buy DBU, hehe i liked that.

They could almost use the same ad for the Rox20 release and just change the image at the end!

Hotblooded said on :

Wow thanks for that! Keep them coming!

They brought back soooo many great memories!! OMG i so remember the show Power Cuts and the little tid bits of information they’d give you. I can remember watching that ID they do with the Joyride stage in the background a million times over. I think I really took things for granted back then, I remember The Big L not making the top10 was the biggest tragedy now it would be nice just to see a release!!

Loved watching when they got the Australian Music award :) My how things have changed!

I’m sure I can remember taping all this stuff but haven’t the faintest on what tapes they could be?! But thanks heaps for uploading them, it really brought back some great ’roxette’ in their prime memories :)

Close

Get the latest articles to your mailbox, subscribe to The Daily Roxette newsletter.

Enter your email address:


Delivered by
FeedBurner