Marie Fredriksson was one of Sweden’s great pop voices, who – like only ABBA before her – enjoyed great success around the world. We take a look at the singer’s life, work and untimely death.
Marie Fredriksson was born Gun-Marie Fredriksson on May 30, 1958 in the Swedish village of Össjö. She was the youngest of five children born to Charles Gösta Fredriksson and Inez Dagmar Fredriksson. When Marie was four years old, the family moved from Össjö, where they had a farm, to the larger Östra Ljungby. From then on, her father worked as a postman, her mother Inez Fredriksson in a factory.
When Marie was seven, a family tragedy occurred: her sister Anna-Lisa was run over by a tanker truck. In conversation with the Swedish VI Magazine Marie Fredriksson recalled in 2015: “She was 20 – and I can barely remember her now. But I remember the sadness of how the family was torn apart. Complete. After that I had to fend for myself. Imagine, I was only seven years old. But I think I gained the fighting spirit from that, which helped me enormously – not least when I got cancer. I never give up.”
Marie Fredriksson: Musical beginnings
Marie came into contact with music at an early age – not least because the children mostly had to look after themselves because their parents couldn’t afford childcare. It quickly became clear that she had musical talent. She taught herself to sing, read music and play several instruments.
In 2017 she told “Västerviks Tidningen” that she had a close connection to music from an early age. She remembered going to Sunday school with her sister Tina: “We had a wonderful pastor in Östra Ljungby. I have really fond memories of this place, even when my big sister died. I loved all the songs. “It was such a source of freedom for me… for both of us,” she said, describing her formative experiences.
When she was a teenager she discovered rock music – she was fascinated by Hendrix, Deep Purple, but also Joni Mitchell and The Beatles. She began studying music at the Fridhems Folkhögskola in Svalöv and discovered jazz and soul. After studying at the Fridhems Folkhögskola, Marie Fredriksson began to work actively in the music scene. She moved to Halmstad and joined a number of local bands – including the rock band Strul, which she founded with her then boyfriend in 1978.
Career with Strul and MaMas Barn
Strul established their own music festival, Strulfestivalen, which was lucrative for the band. They signed a record deal with an indie label. In 1981 the band’s only recording release, the single “Ki-I-Ai-Oo / Strul igen”, was released. In the same year, the band broke up after a completely unsuccessful festival performance that was broadcast on Swedish radio.
Marie Fredriksson then founded the band MaMas Barn together with former Strul member Martin Sternhufvud. The band released a long player, the album “Barn som ab,” in 1982, and it was over again a year later.
Marie Fredriksson: Solo career and the creation of Roxette
In 1983 Fredriksson began a solo career. She hesitantly accepted an offer from the major label EMI and initially declined. Things turned out differently. In 1984, her first solo album “Het Vind” was released, which she recorded together with producer Lasse Lindbom. The single “Ännu doftar kärlek” (German translation: “It still smells like love”) became a summer hit in her native Sweden. She also recorded album number two, “Den sjunde vågen” (in German: “The Seventh Wave”) with Lindbom.
After it was a notable success with 90,000 units sold, the next step in his career was to jump into international waters. Fredriksson switched from Swedish to English. Her record company suggested that she record a duet with Per Gessle, as already mentioned, an old acquaintance from the Strul rehearsal room days. Roxette was born.
The international breakthrough with Roxette
It was not yet foreseeable at the time that Roxette would become the most famous Swedish pop act after ABBA. The first song together with Gessle, “Neverending Love”, became a hit in Sweden in 1986. In the same year, Roxette followed up with their debut album “Pearls of Passion”. But it would take another three years before Fredriksson and Gessle made their international breakthrough.
In 1989 the album “Look Sharp” was released with the hit “The Look”. A big hook, striking alternating vocals from Marie and Per and also a visually memorable duo: “The Look” put Roxette on the pop map. Other hits followed: the ballad “Listen to Your Heart” and “Dressed for Success”. Roxette was particularly good at ballads, as the two impressively demonstrated a year later.
In 1990, the uber-ballad “It Must Have Been Love” appeared on the soundtrack of the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere classic “Pretty Woman.” Gessle had already written the song three years earlier – actually as a Christmas song. “It was one of the first songs we did digitally – everything else we did analogue in the EMI studios in Stockholm. This was a studio called Audio Sweden, partly owned by tennis player Björn Borg. It sounded very different from what we had done before,” Per Gessle recalled to “Songwritingmagazine.co.uk“.
“When we re-recorded the song for ‘Pretty Woman,’ Marie changed some lyrics, we added a new intro and some guitars and sent it to Los Angeles. There was a guy there named Humberto Gatica, who was a very successful engineer and mixer at the time, and he used what he called his ‘lucky snare’ on ‘It Must Have Been Love’. “It must have been lucky because that became the version that most people know,” Gessle continued.
Successes and later years with Roxette
The hit-making continued happily for Roxette. In 1991 the album “Joyride” was released, which catapulted her to the top of the worldwide charts with the title track. Again, there were many big pieces included, such as “Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)”, “Spending My Time” and “The Big L”. The compilation album “Tourism” followed in 1992 (the hit here: “How Do You Do!”), and two years later “Crash! Boom! Bang!” with “Sleeping In My Car”.
Even the best hit streak comes to an end: Towards the end of the 1990s, the music landscape had changed and success waned. Roxette continued anyway. They released new albums and toured occasionally, but on a smaller scale.
Personal life and family
In 1991, Marie Fredriksson met her future husband, keyboardist Mikael “Micke” Bolyos, during the “Join The Joyride” tour. She told Västerviks Tidningen in 2017 that Bolyos was the reason she stayed at Roxette. “If [wir] If we hadn’t met, I don’t know if I would have been able to stay at Roxette longer. I couldn’t handle the personal side of life on tour. I hung out in bars and drank too much. Most of the time I was sad and had a hard time with the press when I always had to be nice and say the right thing, always have to be there for everyone, always have to put on a smile and be happy. Marie Fredriksson, the artist, had gained stature at the expense of Marie, the private individual. I had less and less space to be myself, and when I was myself I felt insecure, small and lost.”
Fredriksson and Bolyos married in 1994 in a private ceremony where only the closest family members were invited. As she recalled, her bandmate was offended that she wasn’t invited. This caused tension in the band. But she didn’t see it that way herself and simply wanted to have as much privacy as possible for her wedding, said the singer. Fredriksson and Bolyos had two children, a daughter and a son.
The fight against cancer
The big shock came in 2002: Marie Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Marie Fredriksson collapsed in the bathroom after jogging with her husband.
“I can remember how it happened to me at first. People were afraid. They disappeared, not daring to make contact. When I had to start taking cortisone, 32 tablets a day, I swelled up so much that no one recognized me. Then it got even worse…” she recalled in an interview with VI Magazine.
Despite her cancer, Roxette went back to work – for Fredriksson it was the best therapy and distraction. In 2006 it seemed as if the cancer had been defeated. In 2015, she recalled: “There were so many people who didn’t believe I could do it. Also doctors. But I knew inside that I would beat cancer. And the years I couldn’t speak were completely isolated. I remember how we sat together with the whole family and had dinner and how Micke and the children chatted with each other. I couldn’t utter a single word. It was terrible. And yet I knew all along that I could do it.”
Unfortunately, she ultimately didn’t win the battle against cancer. In 2016, Roxette actually wanted to go on tour for their 30th anniversary, but Fredriksson had to cancel on the advice of her doctors. “Unfortunately, my touring days are now over and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful fans who have accompanied us on our long and winding journey,” she said in a statement. Three years later, on December 9, 2019, Marie Fredriksson succumbed to cancer at the age of 61.
Reactions to her death
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden released a statement on Fredriksson’s death: “We have received the sad news that the singer Marie Fredriksson has died. For many in our country, even in my own family, their music is closely linked to memories of particularly important moments in life,” said the monarch.
“You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing artist. “Thank you for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colors,” Per Gessle paid tribute to his colleague. “You were a wonderful friend for over 40 years. I am proud, honored and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, your talent, your warmth, your generosity and your sense of humor with you. All my love goes to you and your family. “It will never be the same again,” said Gessle.