Marie Fredriksson

is best known as the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Roxette. She was born on May 30 1958 in Össjö, Sweden. When she was four years old, her family moved to Östra-Ljungby.

From a young age Marie wanted to be a singer, and at a concert in 1978 she met a guy called Stefan and moved to Halmstad to be with him. Marie joined his band Strul, which later became Mamas Barn, but had little success with either. 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 successful solo career with the albums "Het Vind" and "Den Sjunde Vågen."

In 1986, she teamed up with Per to form Roxette. They had a lot of success in Sweden, which Marie followed up with another solo album, "Efter Stormen." It wasn't until 1989 that Roxette hit it big around the world with the hit "The Look" from their second album "Look Sharp." They followed it up with several more hits, including "It Must Have Been Love" and the successful "Joyride" album.

In 1992 Marie returned to her solo career, recording the soul searching "Den Ständiga Resan." The extremely personal album reflected a difficult period in Marie's life.

During Roxette's worldwide Joyride tour, Marie met her husband Mikael Bolyos in Australia. They were engaged within 3 days of meeting each other, and Marie was pregnant within a year. They now have two children, Josefin (born 1993) and Oscar (born 1996).

On September 11 2002, Marie fainted in her bathroom, hitting her head. After being rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and required surgery. The tumour was cancerous, and she endured chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She received some permanent damage to her brain, losing the ability to read and count. During her recovery, she wrote and recorded songs for her first English solo album, The Change, which was released in October 2004. The album was inspired by Marie's brush with mortality and made mostly in partnership with her husband. The album entered the Swedish chart at No. 1, reportedly selling 30,000 copies in its first week. The first single, "2nd Chance", entered the Swedish singles chart in the Top 10. The album to date has sold more than 350,000 and two more singles were released from the album, "All About You" and "A Table in the Sun".

Marie returned in 2006 with an album of Swedish cover songs, titled "Min bäste vän" (My Best Friend). She has also recorded two songs for a Roxette album that will celebrate their 20th anniversary. She continues to take it easy, and was recently quoted as saying she has given up the stressful life she lived before her cancer. She works now only when it feels right for her, and enjoys her life with her family.

Discography

Het vind (1983)
Den sjunde vågen (1985)
Efter stormen (1987)
Den ständiga resan (1992)
I en tid som vår (1996)
Äntligen - Marie Fredrikssons bästa 1984-2000 (2000)
The Change (2004)
Min bäste vän (2006)

External links

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Marie Fredriksson

Discography

See also

External links