Marie Fredriksson, one half of the popular Swedish band Roxette, has died after a long illness
Gessle and Fredriksson first met when their respective groups shared rehearsal space, and both enjoyed sizeable success in Sweden with various projects before they joined forces in 1986 as Roxette and vowed to pursue international success by singing in English.
In 2002 Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent surgery and a long chemotherapy regime. Doctors put her chances of living at five per cent but she held on and, in the years afterwards, slowly returned to music, eventually joining Gessle in stage in Amsterdam during his solo show in 2009 for an impromptu Roxette performance that became a fully-fledged reunion.Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle perform as Roxette.
Gessle said things would "never be the same" following the death of his good friend of more than 40 years. “Time goes by so quickly. It’s not that long ago we spent days and nights in my tiny apartment in Halmstad, listening to music we loved, sharing impossible dreams. And what a dream we eventually got to share," he said.
"Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything. You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours."You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years. I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour. All my love goes out to you and your family. Things will never be the same.
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