ROXETTE singer Marie Fredriksson has died at the age of 61.
Marie Fredriksson was known for hits including It Must Have Been Love and Listen To Your Heart.
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Who was Marie Fredriksson?
Marie Fredikksson, from Össjö, Sweden, was born on May 30 1958.
The singer was the youngest of five children of he rparents Charles and Inez.
Marie lost her oldest sibling, Anna-Lisa, after she died in a traffic collision. Anna’s car was completely crushed by a tanker truck while she was going to buy a dress for her engagement party.
Marie later said: “She was 20 – and I can barely remember her today. But I remember the grief, how the family was torn apart.
“After that I had to fend for myself.”
Her parents were unable to afford childcare, so when they were at work, they Marie and her siblings were left alone.
During this time she learned to to sing, read sheet music and play instruments.
She eventually went to the Swedish music school at the age of 17.
She eventually found success as a solo folk artist, before she met Per Gessle.
They formed Roxette, and chose to record their songs in English, catapulting them to international fame.
Fredriksson is survived by husband Mikael Bolyos and her two children Josefin, 26, and Oscar, 23.
She met her husband during her Australian tour Join the Joyride in December 1991.
Their single The Look from their second album Look Sharp! was their global breakthrough hit in 1989, followed by much-loved classics Listen To Your Heart, It Must Have Been Love and Joyride.
Roxette have sold more than 80 million records and won a slew of music awards, including an MTV Video Music Award and in 1990 they were nominated for a Brit Award for best international group.
They have released 10 studio albums, four of which charted in the top 10 in the UK.
What was her illness?
Fredriksson was diagnosed with a severe brain tumour in 2002.
Dimberg Jernberg Management said that she received “an aggressive treatment that took its toll but ultimately was successful”.
“Thanks to her extremely strong fighting spirit, Marie by 2009 was able to start a gradual return to the world’s stages,” they said.
“The unlikely second coming of Roxette resulted in several new albums, and tours that again put the duo in front of screaming, smiling and crying crowds all over the world. During the comeback years Marie was an amazing trooper, overcoming the many rigours of touring in order to meet her fans on stage again and again.
“But by 2016, the show was finally over when Marie’s doctors advised her to stop touring and focus on her health.”
Her bandmate Gessle said in a statement: “Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer.”
What was album The Change about?
Marie released her own album The Change in 2004.
It was about her battle with cancer.
She designed her album cover art, using charcoal to draw while waiting for her brain tumour diagnosis.
