Roxettes Biggest Hits Almost Never Happened | The Story of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson

The true story behind Roxette's biggest hits, and how close each of them came to never happening. A Roxette documentary about Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, told with their own interviews: from Halmstad to the top of the Billboard charts, Marie's illness and comeback, and Roxette today. In this video: • Roxette's first album was really Per's rejected Swedish solo album, translated into English • An exchange student, one radio station in Minneapolis, and how "The Look" became a Billboard No. 1 • "Listen to Your Heart" and the video shot at Borgholm Castle • "It Must Have Been Love": from a Swedish Christmas single to Pretty Woman and two weeks at No. 1 in America • The Paul McCartney interview behind the title "Joyride" • Gyllene Tider and the Masten tragedy of 1981 • Per and Marie: close friends, never a couple • Marie's brain tumour in 2002, her drawings, and her comeback in 2009 • The men behind the sound: producer Clarence Öfwerman and Christoffer Lundquist at the Aerosol Grey Machine studio • Drummer Pelle Alsing (1960–2020) • What happened to Roxette after Marie: the 2025–26 world tour with Lena Philipsson, and what's next With interviews with Per Gessle, Marie Fredriksson and Mikael Bolyos. 00:00 - Introduction: The Accidental Superstars 00:50 - Per Gessle's Early Life & Gyllene Tider 02:48 - Marie Fredriksson: From Solo Ambition to Early Bands 03:32 - Per & Marie Meet: Friendship Over Romance 04:46 - The Birth of Roxette & "Neverending Love" 06:07 - Pearls of Passion & The Christmas Song That Started It All 06:54 - Writing "The Look" 08:01 - The American Breakthrough: Dean Cushman & KDWB 08:54 - "Listen to Your Heart" 09:35 - "It Must Have Been Love" & Pretty Woman 10:39 - Joyride: Global Domination 11:51 - Marie's Personal Life & The Private Tapes 12:29 - Joyride the Musical 12:54 - Roxette in the 90s: MTV Unplugged, Beijing & More 14:09 - Hotel Tylösand & Per's Passion Projects 15:25 - Marie's Diagnosis & Battle with Illness 17:00 - The Emotional Comeback & World Tours 18:01 - The Masterminds Behind the Sound 19:08 - Remembering Marie Fredriksson & The Vault Demos 20:40 - Passing of Pelle Alsing & Keeping the Music Alive 21:53 - Conclusion: An Unlikely Pop Legacy Archive footage, photos and music excerpts belong to their respective owners and are shown for commentary, criticism and education. Sources are credited on screen. #Roxette #PerGessle #MarieFredriksson