The Daily Roxette

Roxette World Tour 2011 schedule

Marie in special TDR interview: “I miss my fans so much!”

Written by tevensso on October 27, 2005 to .

STOCKHOLM - It’s a sunny day here as we arrive in Sweden’s perhaps most beautiful city, and we go directly to Doktor Glas’ gallery to check out Marie Fredriksson’s art exhibit. It’s at the very beginning of the lunch hour, and the place is empty. But the girls behind the counter explain that there’ve been lots of visitors. Among them all, two German girls and a Spanish guy. They also share that a critic came in and praised the drawings without knowing who had done them.

  More drawings arrive as The Daily Roxette is there. All drawings in the exhibition have been sold, and the catalog book is selling very well. Marie Dimberg, Fredriksson’s manager, tells TDR that the book will be sold via musicshop.se and maybe a few other sites. The price will be the same, plus postage. Possibly they will print more copies.

  TDR, along with such other newspapers as Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and Göteborg’s Posten had been invited this afternoon to the “inner sanctum” of d&d in Stockholm to conduct exclusive interviews with Marie Fredriksson. When this reporter walks through the office door, we’re greeted by manager Marie Dimberg (suffering from a bad back) and a radiant Marie Fredriksson.

  Dimberg asks us if we want anything to drink so Marie asks for some tea and I get a glass of water. Marie is dressed in black with a nice leopard shirt. She looks just like the popstar we all know. Dimberg serves Fredriksson a lovely cup of green tea flavored with vanilla. “Yummy,” Fredriksson smiles.

  I start by telling Marie that the first time we met was after a Gyllene Tider concert in Avesta (1984) where we discussed her being very nervous about releasing “Ännu doftar kärlek.”

Don’t you think this is a bit the same?

  Marie laughs, “Gosh, that’s a long time ago. But you’re right, that’s very clever!” Marie continues “I’m so excited about all this. Very proud about my first exhibit.”

How did this exhibit come about?

  A few years back I started drawing in charcoal, and I felt this was special, this was it, so to speak. And I felt I just had to let go. I drew tons of pictures!”

  Marie continues by telling TDR that charcoal is a great material to draw with. “It’s so… raw and black… and yet… soft, you know?” We talk a little about her drawing “Trött” (“Tired”), and Marie laughs and says “Yes this one is a man, and he’s so damned tired with his wife, because she nags and nags and nags. He’s so tired!”

No plans to start dabbling in water colors?

  “Yikes no!” she laughs.

  All through the interview Marie laughs now and then. You can tell that this is truly a happy person right now.

So, is your new title “artist” or “popstar”?

  “Both,” she smiles slyly, and adds “maybe a popartist?”

Like Warhol?

  “Hmmm, no that doesn’t work… of course.”

Why did you start drawing?

  “One day I felt the urge to go out and shop for pencils and large pieces of paper. Large! But now when I see the drawings [points to a corner of the office] I think ’Huh? I thought they were bigger?’ I wish I’d made them even bigger!” she laughs. “I just love that big format!”

We’re crossing over to her music now.

How goes it with your writing?

  “It goes splendidly. I’m writing in Swedish this time, and I feel so much happiness in writing and recording demos again. It feels wonderful!”

  Marie says it’s fantastic to be able to switch between the drawing… and writing music and lyrics. “I feel it’s important to get the Swedish writing going again.” As she said to Aftonbladet as well, she has no deadline what-so-ever. And when she says that, she again looks abundently happy, like she does whatever she pleases. “It’s great to just go on instinct, feeling you know…”

Next year you of course know that Roxette turns 20…

  “No!! Is that true?!? Next year?!? It totally slipped my mind!,” Marie says, more than a bit surprised.

So do you think something will happen then?

  “It would be fun, but I have no idea. We’ll see.”

OK, so you’re back in public again, how does that feel? Are you anxious or tired or…?

  “Oh no, on the contrary. It feels wonderful. So fun! I had to go to Café Opera to meet my good old friends again!” She explains to us that this period of her life is over and done with. She won’t look back.

  We mention the “concert” in Marbella, and ask if that whet her appetite. “Yes of course. But I’ll have to take it bit-by-bit for now.”

How has being a mother been during this ordeal? I mean with the kids’ homework and such.

  “It’s been good actually, Micke has been absolutely wonderful and the kids have been amazing, we are so grateful that we’ve come through this alive. Grandma has been excellent as well. Plus we’ve had help of course.”

  “Like I said, it’s all in the past now…”

Any unfulfilled dreams?

  “Lots! Maybe travel more…?”

Any regrets in your life?

  Again that laughter “Ha ha, nothing!”

What’s the best thing you’ve ever done?”

  After a moment’s thought; “Getting well again!”

And your favorite song?

  “’Tro’ I think.”

  Finally, before Marie rushes off to another meeting, TDR asks if Marie thinks Roxette will do something next year. Marie replies “Probably not, as I’m working with my new Swedish project. I think it’s too soon. But on the other hand, time moves so fast, so we’ll see!”


  Marie calls a cab and then she’s off, still happy. She sends this message: “I miss my fans so much! Please send my love to them all!”

55 comments

Kiwein1 said on :

Yay! Thank you TDR! Looking forward to whatever may come..

per_mson said on :

Now this is cool! :)

crashroxer said on :

Oh my god.
I love you, Marie!!

daniel_alv said on :

Tro is your best song!

Great to hear that you are writing in swedish.. It will be a success...

gyllene_tjej said on :

wow, you truly radiate, sweet Marie :o) How nice to read such an interview, thanks TDR, you rule :) And oh my, some new Swedish stuff may come our way...this is what makes me so happy...here come the days of eager anticipation, go dear Majsan :o)

sreky said on :

Marie... I love you! Don’t worry be happy... And new album Roxette will in EU on first place in all music charts!

Rox-Van said on :

ohhh my God I am crying ... beautiful Marie i love you much!!!! .......

Marie i miss you so much!!!!!

Vanesa from Argentina (love & peace!!!)

...thank you TDR for this beautiful news and photos

ps:The translation to Spanish of this interview can be read, here/ La traducción de esta entrevista del tdr a Marie, pueden leerla aquí -> http://usuarios.lycos.es/roxamerica/modules.php?name=News&file=article&s...

Nox1983 said on :

Tackar TDR!!! You are great!

patolucas said on :

MARIE I LOVE YOU WHIT ALL MY HEART AND SOUL .I MISS YOU SO MUCH .

LIONEL FROM ARGENTINA

roxtexanet said on :

Fantastic interview, what a treat, thanks TDR for making what seemed a month ago nearly impossible (a face-to-face fan interview with MF) a reality!

You know, there’s been so much Marie news lately, maybe they should rename this site The Daily Marie...

:-D

rox-kuryliw said on :

i miss marie SOOOOOO much, i really do ,

rox-kuryliw said on :

about time marie got her own name for the daily maire, per hogs to much lol, a new swedish project would be good. Im VERY disapointed about roxette 20 years , and nothing, She MUST know its important, to the fans its VERY important,

I think release a new single for the 20TH year, just a single a vid would suit me, be good to hear them on the radio.

Thanks TDR for great news

Nox1983 said on :

I think 2006 would have been the perfect year to release compilations, but we have already so many and a new studio album will not be comercial for any company. I want 2006 to be the Roxette year!!! Maybe a Roxette Revival with Joyride 2006 or even better: Speeling In My Car 2006!!!

ditroia said on :

Thanx Tev, good work.

Dave

Nati80 said on :

Marie, you look soooooooo beautiful! I’m so glad you’re fine! :D

Can’t say I miss you because you never left. You are always in my heart (and in my CD player too ;))

You don’t know what’s going to happen next year? Who believes that? I don’t! :P

Fernanda-Brasil said on :

Ow, it’s so nice to see her safe again!!!!
I’m really happy :D
Fernanda

Leila said on :

New solo album!!!! It’s great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hotblooded said on :

Wow thanks TDR!

It’s great to have all this Marie news, she is looking great :)

Regarding the 20 years next year I think Marie just wants to take life one day at a time, live in the now! I am sure when the time comes they will do something special, don’t stress ;)

It’s just great to see her happy and smiling again :)

roxgirl_germany said on :

Thank you for this, TDR and tev!!! And Marie, too, of course! Awesome pictures!!!!!

We miss you too!!!

And thanks for making the book widely available!! :)

oukkirox said on :

I miss you too,Marie!

n-Somnia said on :

Great to hear from you again, Marie. You’re looking as healthy as ever! :D

Loki said on :

Thanks, thanks, THANKS, TDR! Now, finally, all that had been poisoning my life for the past three years can be left behind. And it’s undescribably wonderful to know that both Per and Marie have changed their lives for the better. You can feel it in their music and even in interviews. No more rush with no sense, no chasing commercial success, no more sacrificing inspiration in sake of soulless industry. They both have learned to live for the moment, and I guess it’s the best way of life and creation.
As for Roxette anniversary: is it really that important to release another brainless hit to celebrate the jubilee ? No, I’ll better wait three more years until they get true inspiration and give us a real masterpiece! Marie, Per, go on down the road of happiness!!!

Max-Tob said on :

Well. I am happy for her being healthy again. But she’s not interested in roxette anymore and that’s pretty transparent. I don’t blame her. She doesn’t want pressure and roxette means not only fun, but also stress, roxette is a project, not something to put her heart in. During the interview she seemed rather conventional, but I appreciate tev’s good intentions. thank God she’s alive and takes her time to do what she wants, but i somehow didn’t take “i miss my fans”-line too personally. and now will you excuse me, i am curious to check the new title on sonofaplumber and see if per answered some more questions. Off I go.

roxave said on :

Wow my God, what a great news, i´m so emotioned, uf! my eyes are wet.
It´s great to feel how positive and happy she looks.
Great interview “tvensso”.
I´m so happy to hear about Marie again.
Thank you Marie, we also miss you so much!

realsuga said on :

Brillo pads! Just so good to see Marie being happy and fulfilled. And should the near future not bring us a Rox project, so be it.....am just thrilled to see her so energetic and full of verve! I just want one of those books! lol. Welcome back Marie! (even though you don’t surf and won’t read this, teehee). xxx

Thanks for the fantastik interview TDR......u guys rok!

deimos said on :

since it’s highly unlikely that roxette will release any new material next year i’d suggest that they hire some guys to do more remixes of their old songs in addition to those that already exist and then release a roxette remixed -compilation.

Breathe8 said on :

Fantastic interview!!

Marie, I am very happy that you are healthy, happy!!!! We miss you so much! Please, do some meeting with fans in 2006 in Sweden. We would be very happy to meet you again!

MANY GREETINGS FROM PRAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Petra, fan since 1992

Rox1_4ever said on :

I miss you to Marie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sascha said on :

Wow, thanx for this great interview! Just a few weeks ago this seemed so far away...

I’m really happy for Marie and hope to see her again with Roxette soon!

Roxryder-V2002 said on :

Great way to start the day!!! :)

Thanx TDR you did it in a BIG way!

I was expecting something like this.

Very thanxful!

So Happy!

ggrox said on :

woooww!! so many thanx! great interview!!!!
Gracias Gracias Gracias!
Gonzalo.
Mendoza, Argentina
[email protected]

unreal said on :

great!!!!!!!!! this is the kind of news i have been waiting for such a long time!!!!!!!!!!
great for marie. i am very happy for her.

i hope tdr will , somehow, show marie all her fan best wishes. it will be very nice to her, i think she will be happy.

marie congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Majdy said on :

wow! She looked awesome. Now I am more optimist that we will be able to hear rox again:) (finger crossed!!)

coyboyusa said on :

i was a bit bummed this mornign till i saw this w/b marie and all the love from the fans in the states looking forward to the swedish material !

sommartider said on :

Wonderfull!
It´s amazing to read Marie in that way, she sounds beautiful and full of shine. It´s makes me full of emotion.

But on the other hand, it’s a bit sad ’cause I was still hopping a new roxette album next year, and if she’s recording demos for a new solo album, turns my dreams a little bit impossible =(
Hope I’m wrong.

ktoto said on :

@Tevensso: what do you mean with “More drawings arrive as The Daily Roxette is there” Are they displaying now the 5 drawing that were kept before in a nearby gallery and that were not publicly exhibited or some brand new drawings? The titles of the 3 of the 5 I talk about are Bror, Fri and Ofri, the other 2 I don’t remenber...

Funny the thing about the critic. When I was visiting the exhibition I heard a man talking in English with the woman at the counter, and he seems very interested in the drawings and the painter (drawer??). She told him about Marie’s solo music career and about Roxette, which she spelled so he could check out some records. She even told him about dailryroxette.com ;) Maybe he was the critic? Anyway, the staff at TDR cannot complain, you guys always get publicity! (last Roxette CDs, Per, etc) and you deserve it, so keep up the good work!

I wonder if Spanish guy is me... I don’t remenber saying I was a Spaniard, but maybe my accent when speaking Swedish is betraying :) but I could also be Latin American, couldn’t I?

By the way, great to know Marie is feeling so well and... writing in Swedish! I’m really looking forward to get more solo stuff from her, but it is a bit sad that maybe we won’t get any Roxette next year, but... hey! maybe in two years’ time?

roxtexanet said on :

@Max-Tob: It’s funny, I got exactly the *opposite* impression from reading the interview, that Roxette is still very much a part of Marie’s life and in her future somewhere, that while she’s not thinking of doing anything new with Roxette next year, maybe sometime down the road. In any case, what gives me hope that we’ll hear from Rox again someday is what Marie is NOT saying: she’s not refusing to discuss Roxette, she’s doesn’t get all annoyed by people asking about the future of Roxette, and most importantly of all, she still counts Per among her good friends (perhaps moreso than in past years, who knows?). As everyone says, the priority is Marie’s happiness and apparently a happy Marie is a productive Marie... she seems to still feel that need to write and to express herself, and she still seems to want to be in the limelight, at least occasionally. All in all, I think the future looks great for Marie fans and not too bad for Rox fans, either! Time will tell...

Cooper_196 said on :

Thanks a lot for this interview, TDR AND MARIE!

Great to read this. :-)

AURYTE said on :

To sum it up: it was an extremely amazing week :D I’m very happy that Marie is enjoying the life again.

And only time will tell how much Marie is interested in Roxette.

Nox1983 said on :

But if Per go on tour I´m sure she will be at least in one of these concerts ;)

roxetteke said on :

hey marie

marie i love you very much
i’m so happy for you marie
i miss you soooooo much

from belgium

sonia_roxette said on :

It feels so nice to know Marie is doing excellent, I hope something happens next year with Roxette. I miss their music.

alchemiste said on :

Great work Tom... : )

lonely_girl said on :

fantastic interview... It made my day improve very very much ! Thanx TDR!

sweepi said on :

Happiness shines in my heart today. Du ger mej lugn efter stormen.

.......****...................****
....********...........********
..**********.......**********
.************..************
.*************************
...***********************
....*********************
......*******************
..........***************
.............************
................*********
....................*****
......................***
........................*

Neverending love to you our dear Marie.

We miss you too. We love you. We long for you. And be sure we are here for you always. Always have been. Always will be. And I’m certain I’m not speaking alone here. Just set your time and live life to your pace. And more than living it: make sure to enjoy it! Just make us happy. Simply by being happy!

All very best wishes from Portugal to you and your family.

And remember: you’re not alone.

We care. We want you. We love you.

Be free to be happy!

P.S. And if it happens to be no 20th Roxette anniversary celebration there’s a 25th waiting for us all just a handfull of years ahead känna tro everyone! :)

bunny2 said on :

Oh my God !!! Marie you look sooooo great !!
Believe me, we all are missing you so much more !

But it is sooo wonderful to know something now:

You are fine and you are on the way again !!!

God heard my prayings ! THANK YOU !!!

Love always

xarrrr said on :

thanks tdr :) and thanks MARIE!!! :D

missmaja said on :

hej du marie

jag älskar dig mycket

dear marie we all miss you more then you will ever know

happy to see and read you,re fine
greetings maja you,re biggest friend

maja

Kiwein1 said on :

Just found another interview:

http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/kultur/did_10892697.asp

ally77 said on :

Well done TDR for this!

roxtexanet said on :

Whoa, Kiwein, I think you hit a goldmine!! That’s the mother of all interviews!!! I tried translating the page with one of those terrible automated translator service things and there’s definitely some interesting stuff in there:

++++

The eternal question about Roxette comes that återuppstå becomes also responded to with a nod.
- Återuppstå is an awkward word. Entire clear comes per Gessle and I to sing and to play together again, but I have no presentiment about when or where. The important is that we both wants to. Per has meant hugely a lot of, both for my life and for my career. Above all we have had so dread blackness funnily during all years with Roxette. The is few stem allowed that few to experience the we have done. One can well say that he has become as my brother.

+++++

Okay, so in real English, I think that means “It is clear that Per and I will work together again but I don’t know when or where. The important thing is that we both want to. Per means so much to me both personally and career-wise, few people have experienced the things we have together. You can say he is like a brother.”

+++++

So you were never in love in each other, from the start?
- no, no.
Per Gessle has been included in that circuit of friends and near relation as existed round Marie Fredriksson during three the last years. The is at them that she has rested and got new forces.

++++

That one’s not as bad... sounds like Per was among the friends who were with her and supported her while she worked towards getting better. Nothing surprising, but still nice to hear (-:

Anyone else want to try to make sense of it? Preferably someone who can actually read Swedish? :-D

Grasi said on :

Congrats TDR for the interview! Marie looks soooo amazing!

Thank you roxtexanet for this translation, really great to read this!! :)))

ally77 said on :

Nice! :)

AURYTE said on :

I’d also like to thank roxtexanet :)

pearlgirl said on :

Hello there!
There is a brand new interview on goteborgposten:

Go directly har and enjoy it:
http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=286&a=240471

Close

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

Enter your email address:


Delivered by
FeedBurner