The latest article on our Features page brings you up-to-date on the issue of refunds still being owed to members of the former Official International Roxette Fanclub.

  The website of the International Roxette Fanclub, Roxette.nl, dormant since last spring (see related story on the Features page), was hacked yesterday by a Turkish group that call themselves Ayyildiz VIP Team. At presstime, the site has 31 instances of embedded code that redirects the user from the Netherlands site to a static image that displays the flag of Turkey along with a political message.

  Due to time zone differences, neither members of the fanclub team or a representative of the hacker group were available for immediate comment at presstime.



EDITOR’S NOTE: Since this story was published early this morning, the webmaster for the fanclub site seems to have regained control, as the URL is no longer being redirected to the Turkish site. But rather than redisplay the site that existed – containing promises that have not been kept – they instead seem to have chosen to make the site look as if it is still being hacked. — LEO

• Roxette.nl

NEW YORK - As The Daily Roxette reported back in March, the at-that-time “Official” International Roxette Fan Club (OIRFC), based in Holland for most of its 10-year existance, shut down it’s operation. Based on comments left on various Roxette discussion forums and here on the pages of this newspaper, this came as no surprise to many fans around the world as the organization had been plagued by complaints about poor service for at least the 12 months before it finally folded and increasingly, signs of life became few and far between.

  But even though a half-a-year has passed since their announcement, there are still many unresolved issues about money owed to people who where members of the fanclub – most of which revolve around credit for membership fees paid based on a contract for a certain number of issues of the group’s fanzine. The group claims that all orders for merchandise from their Fanshop have now been fulfilled.

  Several people have asked questions in these discussion forums over these past six months as to when people can expect refunds on their membership/subscription fees. At the beginning of June, Sarah Plunkett, a fanclub “team member” who has emerged as the only remaining spokesperson, said in an email message to several fans that refunds would have to wait until after the summer. It was assumed at that time that people still involved with the group were taking the summer off. With summer now over and October just around the corner, there has still been no word on either the Roxette.nl site (currently under the control of hackers) or via email or posting to the TDR SmallTalk or R2R forums.

“Unless the group [registered as a non-profit organization in the Netherlands] were to declare bankruptcy and/or formally disband in a civil court, then they are still legally obligated to fulfill the terms of these membership contracts,” said Dan Goldfarb, a lawyer in New York who has some familiarity with Dutch law, to TDR.

  An article on March 3rd on the OIRFC website said:

  “We are working out the finer details of closing up the shop and sorting out outstanding services (i.e. fanzines). Please do not spam us with requests as to what is happening with your credits. We are fully aware of them and finding the best way to meet everyone’s needs in an efficient and practical manner. Watch this space concerning Fanshop news!”

  Six months have now passed and still there is no sign of those finer details being sorted. Many fans have reported contacting Roxette’s management company, and writing to the fanclub repeatedly, but without any response. The fanclub’s demise, and all the trouble associated with it, prompted Roxette’s management to issue a statement saying that they would no longer endorse an “official” fanclub.

  “I think all that fans really want is an honest answer as to when and how refunds will be paid,” said Alison Lowther, a fan in the UK who has been active in the discussion threads about this topic. “Many may not want the few euros they are owed, but others might think differently.”

Holland, Switzerland, Poland and Spain have all decided to release the new Roxette material – the “Hits” CDs and the Rox Box. Some countries will release a physical single, some will stay with a digital-only release.

  The Daily Roxette has also learned that the limited edition CD/DVD will not be in the digipak format, but rather the super jewel box format. The super jewel box is the one normally found on SACDs (Super Audio CD) and it has thicker plastic with rounded corners.

  “A stronger, more durable replacement for the traditional ’jewel box’ CD case,” according to the makers.


Additional reporting by Marc de Kort and Thomas Evensson.

NEW YORK - Pick up just about any newspaper, and you’ll find more than just “hard news” stories. You’ll find a lot of other content once you start turning the pages.

  The Daily Roxette has had a Features section for some time now but, for the most part, it’s been utilized only to reprint interviews that have also appeared on the News page. Beginning with today’s edition, TDR plans to revitalize the Features page with interviews, stories about fans, various contests, opinions from columnists, and yes… even the occasional comic strip.

  Click on the Features tab today, and you’ll find an interesting story by TDR reporter Jorge Diaz about a remarkably talented tribute band that’s recently formed in Buenos Aires, Argentina. While you’re reading the story, be sure to click on the link to hear what they sound like. We think you’ll be impressed.

  Since TDR first started publishing almost 10 years ago, we’ve asked for you, our readers, to also serve as reporters. For those of you that like to write, but haven’t really had any “news” to share… well, here’s a chance for you to make a contribution as well! If you think you have something that might fit on this page, please let us know about it (just look for the “Submit Article” link at the top of the page). If enjoy writing, but don’t really have your own idea for a feature story, let us know that too, and we’ll try to assign a story to you. We really do need your help!

  A gentle reminder: Please click on the “Change Your Settings” link (top left) and make sure that your subscription information, including your real name and current email address, is accurate. You may elect to not share this info with other readers, but it must be accurate in order to have a valid subscription to TDR, and thus be able to enter our contests. Please take a moment to renew your subscription now.

STOCKHOLM - Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson have been involved in what’s been labeled by the Swedish government as tax evasion.

  After the “Crash! Boom! Live!” tour in Germany back in 1994-95, Per and Marie used their holding company Roxette Productions to account for this income. The Swedish income tax authority disagrees with this bookkeeping method and wants them to pay taxes personally on the income. The authority claims they were employed by tour company EMA Telstar and should therefore pay normal income tax on the 5.6 million kronor (€590,000) paid for the 19 concerts in Germany.

  Per and Marie have been fighting this for almost ten years via their financial advisor Mats Nilemar of Desert AB.

  Per owes 2.3 million kronor in back taxes and Marie owes 2.2 million, according to Swedish press reports.

  When the tax authority first issued it’s claim against them, both Per and Marie appealed the decision to Länsrätten, the first administrative court, which ruled in favor of the government in 2004. Roxette appealed again, to a higher court named Kammarrätten. In rulings issued during the past few days, this court upheld the lower court’s decision.

  Nilemar says that they will appeal once more, this time to Regeringsrätten, the highest administrative court in Sweden. Regeringsrätten will only decide to hear this case if they find it necessary to set a new precedent in this specific part of Swedish tax law. If this high court decides not to take the case, then the current ruling will be considered final.


Additional reporting by Thomas Evensson

BUENOS AIRES - Hot Joy, a Roxette tribute band formed here, performed for the first time at a musical festival in this city yesterday. The free, open-air concert took place at Plaza Longo in the Caseros section of Buenos Aires.

  The crowd that filled the plaza heard Hot Joy perform “Hotblooded,” “Dangerous,” “Fading Like a Flower,” “Cinnamon Street,” “Spending my Time,” “Dressed For Success,” “Sleeping in My Car” and “The Look.”

   The festival opened with The Betters, a Beatles tribute band, and Hot Joy was the third act to perform. According to Juan Infante Camaño (vocals and guitar) the band’s name comes from the songs “Joyride” and “Hotblooded.”

  Other members of the band include Marcela Hatsatourian (voice), Nicolás Fontimpe (bass, vocals and chorus), Federico Fontimpe (lead guitar), Ariel Prados (Keyboards) and Santiago Rey (drums).


  “It was a spectacular show and they had a fantastic sound, which has to reflect a lot of work from these six guys,” said Silvina Arnouil, one of about 20 Roxette fans in attendance amongst a crowd of over 200.

  It was a kind of reunion for the local Roxette fan community, as many had not seen each other in a very long time, and most gathered near the stage.

  “Many of the fans sang along,” Silvina tells The Daily Roxette, “and there was a group of about four that danced like crazy to ALL the songs. It was a lot of fun for the Rox fans, of course, but the bigger crowd seemed to really enjoy the show as well.”

  “I’m one of those fans who have followed Roxette since the beginning, a long time ago… like 1989,” says Juan. “Roxette are what encouraged me mostly to become a musician.”

  “The real Hot Joy project started in February of this year,” he continues. “I say ’real’ because this idea has existed for some time in Nicolás, Marcela and Federico’s minds. They are the band’s founders. They’re the ones who put it all together.”

  “I don’t like to call our band a ’tribute band’ because tributes are for dead bands and they [Roxette] aren’t. So this is more of an homage,” he says.


Zerot contibuted to this article.

• Listen to Hot Joy (four songs available)

Roxette fans in the United Kingdom and most European countries served by iTunes can now legally download “One Wish” from Apple’s online iTunes music store.
  The song is currently the third most downloaded track on iTunes Sweden. Earlier this year the Rox Medley spent more than a week on top of this chart.

BUENOS AIRES - According EMI Spain, the Spanish version of the Roxette Hits collection will include “No sé si es amor” (the Spanish version of “It Must Have Been Love”) instead of “A Thing About You” when the CD is released on October 16.

  It is not yet known for certain if EMI units in other Spanish-speaking countries will follow suit, but The Daily Roxette knows that EMI Argentina is aware that fans there would prefer that “Reveal” be retained, and the expectation is that they will do the same.


Jorge Diaz and Zerot contibuted to this article.

COLOGNE - While Roxette will indeed be performing as part of the “50 Years Of Bravo” television special, The Daily Roxette has learned from EMI Germany that this segment of the show will be pre-recorded and not live and that Roxette will not be physically present at the gala.

  “We don’t want to disappoint fans who buy tickets for the show because they think they will see Roxette live on stage,” said Christian Wißmann of EMI Music Germany to TDR late this afternoon.

  Per and Marie’s segment will be recorded a day earlier in Hamburg, and then spliced into the show. “The television viewer will not be informed that Roxette was not actually there at the actual event,” says Wißmann, “but we want to let the fans know this.” Logistical conflicts prevent Roxette from being there to perform live during the show.

  The show will be broadcast on October 21 on German TV channel Pro7.