Marie Fredriksson

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Marie Fredriksson
Birth name Gun-Marie Fredriksson
Born May 30, 1958 (1958-05-30) (age 50)
Origin Össjö, Sweden
Genre(s) Pop, Rock, Soft rock, Dance, Pop rock, Blues rock
Occupation(s) Singer
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano, guitar
Years active 1978–present
Associated acts Roxette
Website www.mariefredriksson.se

Marie Fredriksson (help·info) is a Swedish pop singer and pianist best known as one half of the pop duo Roxette, which she created together with Per Gessle. She was born on May 30, 1958, in Össjö, Sweden.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Marie Fredriksson was the youngest of five children, growing up in a working-class family in the small town of Östra Ljungby.

[edit] Strul & MaMas Barn

Fredriksson studied music at college. At a concert in 1978, she met a boyfriend, Stefan, and moved to Halmstad to be with him. Marie joined his band Strul, which later became MaMas Barn, but had little success under either name. A friend she'd shared a rehearsal studio with, Per Gessle, got her an audition with a famous Swedish record producer, Lasse Lindbom. He signed her up at once, and she began a solo career.

[edit] The beginning: Het vind

Marie Fredriksson 2000
Marie Fredriksson 2000

Lasse Lindbom asked Marie Fredriksson to record a duet with him, "Så nära nu". He was impressed with her voice, and she joined his band. Per Gessle started to encourage her to start a solo career. Fredriksson finally accepted, and she recorded her first solo album, Het vind, produced by Lasse Lindbom.

"Ännu doftar kärlek" was the first single, and it was a big success, as was the album. So Marie Fredriksson went on tour with the Lasse Lindbom Band, as she didn't have enough self-confidence to tour on her own.

[edit] Den sjunde vågen

Lasse, Marie, Per Gessle and Mats "MP" Persson started a band called "Spännande Ostar" ("Exciting Cheeses"), which toured during a short time in some clubs. That same year, Marie and Lasse went to the Canary Islands to write songs for Marie's second solo album. When they returned to Sweden, they started the recordings, which didn't stop for a long time.

The album was released in 1986, under the name "Den sjunde vågen" (the name came to Marie's mind after she read the book "Papillion"). "Den bästa dagen" and "Silver i din hand" were released as singles, and the album was a huge success, as well as the new tour.

[edit] Start of Roxette and Efter stormen success

In 1986, she teamed up with Per Gessle to form Roxette. Fredriksson was warned against this new career move by friends and her record company, as her solo career was doing very well and Gessles was not. But she went ahead with it anyway, and they had a lot of success in Sweden with the first single "Neverending Love", but failed to generate any interest in other countries.

After the tour "Rock Runt Riket" with Roxette, it was time for Fredriksson to record a new solo album. Once again, she worked together with Lasse Lindbom, both as a producer and as a songwriter. The new album went ahead and was recorded over two sessions, one in May and the other in September of 1987.

The new album was followed by another solo tour but this time the songs were performed in more acoustic way than before, creating a whole new atmosphere. At that time Marie Fredriksson believed the music should speak for itself, and fancy stage accessories were not important.

In February of 1989, she released a new single, one of her most beloved songs in Sweden. The song "Sparvöga" was specifically written by herself as the main theme for a TV series of the same name.

[edit] Roxette Hit It Big

In 1989 Roxette had an unexpected hit in the USA with "The Look". Almost overnight Fredriksson and Gessle were catapulted from being minor celebrities in Sweden to major artists internationally and suddenly found themselves traveling all over the world, selling millions, and receiving awards. Their first international album Look Sharp! was a massive hit, producing two US number one hits. The next album Joyride was even bigger and they followed it up with a huge world tour in over 100 cities during 1991.

[edit] Den ständiga resan (The Eternal Journey)

In 1992 Fredriksson returned to her solo career, recording the soul searching "Den ständiga resan."

Den ständiga resan was her musical self-portrait and was written like a diary, containing very personal songs about her life, feelings and relationships. The song "Ett enda liv" was written about a good friend of hers who committed suicide.

During Roxette's worldwide Joyride tour, Fredriksson met a friend of the band, Mikael Bolyos in Australia. They were engaged within 3 days and Fredriksson was pregnant within a year. She gave birth to their daughter Josefin on April 29 1993.

The Swedish progressive death metal band Opeth has released a cover of the title track off "Den ständiga resan" on one of the three special editions of their 2008 album "Watershed".

[edit] I en tid som vår

In 1996 Fredriksson recorded a ballads album in Spanish with Roxette and a new solo album "I en tid som vår" Her second child, Oscar Mikael was born.

[edit] Äntligen - Marie Fredrikssons bästa 1984–2000

In 1998 and 1999, Fredriksson worked with Gessle on the new Roxette album Have A Nice Day. In 2000 Fredriksson released a greatest hits album under the title Äntligen - Marie Fredrikssons bästa 1984–2000. It was followed by a very popular summer tour, later released as a live CD/DVD package called Äntligen - Sommarturné. The album to date has sold more than 350,000 - two more singles were released from the album, "Äntligen" and "Det som var nu".

Fredriksson released all her albums in a box set, called Kärlekens Guld (Love's Gold). The remastered albums feature previously unreleased songs as well as new packaging.

[edit] Cancer

In 2002 Marie Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the back of her head. She then endured months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments and it was not certain she would make it. She received some permanent damage to her brain, losing the ability to read and count, some vision in her right eye, and some loss of movement in her right side.

In January 2003 Roxette were awarded the 'Royal Medal with Blue Ribbon' by King of Sweden Carl Gustaf XVI. The ceremony was the first event at which Fredriksson appeared after her operation.

[edit] The Change

Cover of The Change, 2004
Cover of The Change, 2004

About 6 months after Fredirisson's cancer diagnosis, she and her husband Micke began to work on her first ever English solo album. She called the album The Change.

The album was well received by the Swedish public and entered the Swedish chart at No. 1 The first single, "2:nd Chance", entered the Swedish singles chart at number 1. November 26 2004, a year after the release, The Change achieved gold status (20,000 copies sold) in Sweden, according to IFPI.

In conjunction with the release of The Change, Marie Fredriksson started a new publishing company together with her husband Micke Bolyos. MaryJane Music was mainly created "as a home for Marie's solo albums," states the label's website, "but as the musical collaboration between Marie and Mikael continues and expands, don't be surprised if you find other exciting projects with some of their musical friends released on this label."

[edit] Min bäste vän (My Best Friend)

In 2006 Fredriksson returned with a new CD of Swedish cover songs called Min bäste vän (My Best Friend) in February. The first single released from this cover album was the song "Sommaräng" by Swedish artist John Holm. "Ingen kommer undan politiken" was the second single outtake off the album later that year (but only as a promotional CD).

During her illness Fredriksson rediscovered her love of drawing. Although she could no longer read or write, drawing was one thing she could still do and she found a real passion for it. She had always been very private about her artwork but for the first time she exhibited a collection of her drawings in a gallery show entitled "After The Change". The vernissage at the Doktor Glas gallery in Kungsträdgården featured 24 of her charcoal drawings and ran from 21–30 October. Later she released the book "After The Change", featuring reprints of all 24 sketches.

[edit] Marie Fredriksson's Life Today

Fredriksson continues to work as a musical artist and as a painter. She's talked about a new art exhibition in the near future and almost certainly a new album either with Roxette or as a solo artist. In the meantime she enjoys her days relaxing, avoiding stress, and most importantly spending valuable time with her children.

[edit] "A Family Affair"

Mikael Bolyos revealed the tracklist of his coming A Family Affair album. The CD, which will be released on June 14, includes a couple of surprises: four Songs will be sung lead by Marie Fredriksson including the legendary song "Hometown" which has only been heard partly in a Swedish film back in 1996. Many of the other songs on the album feature the vocals of Marie also. Marie sings lead on "In the Corner of Your Eye", "Tell It to My Heart", "Outro" and "Hometown", as well as backing vocals on "Me & My Guitar & Lilly".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] See also

[edit] External links