Roxette had a string of hits in the late 1980's and early 1990's on both sides of the Atlantic ("The Look", "Dressed for Success", "Listen To Your Heart", "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride") much of which owed to Fredriksson's powerful voice and distinctive short platinum blonde hair. While I cannot say it's the type of music I typically listened to it does work on the dance floor and their songs have become a staple of soft rock radio.
The reason Fredriksson's passing saddens me is because Roxette was my former roommate Lianne's favorite band. We shared an apartment in Boston near the Berklee School of Music for a year. She got so much joy out of their music and even followed them on their European tour in the fall of 2001 right after she moved out. Lianne managed to snag a picture of herself with Fredriksson while she was performing.
As it turned out, Lianne picked the right time to follow Roxette on tour because Fredriksson was diagnosed with brain cancer the following year and took a lengthy hiatus from music. Fortunately, Fredriksson recovered sufficiently to resurrect Roxette in 2009. Although the group did not regain its former success, three albums and several tours would follow during the 2010's before Fredriksson's health forced her to retreat from music altogether in 2016 leaving her musical partner Per Gessle to carry the band's banner.
I can only begin to imagine what Lianne is feeling right now. No doubt Fredriksson represented good times. But those good times are over now. Good memories might remain but one cannot live in the past. Unfortunately, the future brings uncertainty and good times are not guaranteed.
But it must be kept in mind that Marie Fredriksson lived with a terminal disease for nearly 20 years and made as much as she could of the time she had left. Perhaps this will bring Lianne some measure of solace in her sadness. R.I.P.
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