.: ROXETTE FOR BEGINNERS . So you're new to Roxette? Well it was about time you decided to listen to them!! Here's a small review of what you should know to be able to access "RoxWorld" without any problems ;-) You will find: "About Roxette", "Their Discography", "Roxette before Roxette", "Roxette Fans" and "What To Do". Enjoy! ABOUT ROXETTE Roxette is a Swedish band formed by Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle. While Per writes basically all of the music, Marie seems to get of the glamour at times. Don't worry, you'll end up knowing what roll they play. Thay're both very happy to be part of Music history. Not only they have been #1 every time they have released a new album, but their fans have always been beside them. Thing you'll notice very soon. THEIR DISCOGRAPHY Roxette started off as an experiment, "to get to know each other". Their first album ("Pearls Of Passion" - 1986) was supposed to be per's third solo work, but they used the music to record it. It actually only hit the charts in Sweden and was listened to only in one or two other countries. "Look Sharp!" (1989) was Roxette's first BIG breakthrough. It actually began in the same way as Pearls did, however, a year after it had been released in their country, an american exchange student asked for "The Look" to be played and passed on a cassette. Radio stations in the US started copying out the cassette and "The Look" became #1. EMI did release both album and single helping them to top the charts! "Pretty Woman" was their first introduction to placing a song in a soundtrack compilation. "It Must Have Been Love" was again, another #1. "Joyride" (1991) has been Roxette's biggest selling album. After a very successful promotion for "Look Sharp!", "Joyride's" songs and melodies made Roxette one of the most popular bands of the moment. They toured the album worldwide. (1991/1992) "Tourism" (1992) was recorded mostly during "Join The Joyride" tour. They recorded in hotelrooms, studios, live concerts... A small pause after the tour let Roxette release "Almost Unreal" (1993), soundtrack to "Super Mario Bros." film. "Fingertips '93" and the MTV Unplugged performance let Roxette carry on with their VERY successful career. "Crash!Boom!Bang!" was then released in 1994 with a more Rock sounding music which identified the band as an everlasting band. They toured "Crash!Boom!Live!" the following year. "Rarities" accompanied the tour being only released in certain parts of the globe such as South America, South-East Asia, Japan with b-side songs, remixes and some of the MTV-Unplugged performances. Quite rare nowadays, though it is accesible if you look for it! A semi-short pause after the tour and Roxette's "Greatest Hits" album is released. Rumours said that this could be the end despite the comment within the sleeve. Four new songs in this album which also become top chartting songs. Then came silence... A year and a half afterwards came what would be their worst move. "Baladas en Español" was successful in Argentina and maybe in Spain. All fans disagree on it being ever thought of. More silence...Everybody thought "Pearls Of Passion" would be released in 96, but as ever, it was delayed till after the summer of 1997. Before that Per released his first solo album in English. This was a frightening move which made fans think Roxette had split! Well, I did... Another BIG pause...1997/1998 and 99...January,...Febru...THEY'RE BACK!!!!! After a pause of five years with no release of a decent full length NEW album Roxette attempt to conquer the world once again with "Have A Nice Day" leaded by "Wish I Could Fly". OK, fine. It did reach #1 in some countries, but making the first single a ballad wouldn't help to their success. "The Look", "Joyride", How Do You Do!", "Sleeping In My Car" were all uptempo songs which helped the albums hit the top. Songs from "Have A Nice Day" were good enough to stand as singles, but VERY bad promotion made three ballads and one dance/techno attempt to be released as singles. By the way, not Per singing in any of them which is believed to be one of the reasons to flop the album. Also, another attempt to singing in Spanish (really to be thought of as an alternative to bring up sales in latin countries) brought "Have A Nice Day Spanish release" (NOT To be done again!!) Late 2000. US release of a Greatest Hits album so as to reinsure Roxette's US market, and another new album hoped to be released early next year. **Fingers crossed** In 2001 Roxette release what in a way would be their comeback (the last full studio album was released back in 1994). Room Service was major hit in Europe and South Africa but wasn't released in the US. A new tour throughout Europe followed in the autumn. During this tour Marie and Per decide to release the following year two new compilation albums. In late 2002 "A Thing About You" tops charts and promotes "The Ballad Hits". Marie is diagnosed with a brain tumour and is operated on and cannot work on promotion with Per. Months later, in 2003, a Roxetteish "Opportunity Nox" supports "The Pop Hits". That same year, Per surprises Sweden with the release of a new solo album in Swedish which became #1 for several weeks (maybe months, it's still as of today, still up there). A 14-concert summer tour makes him "King Of The Year" in Sweden. ROXETTE BEFORE ROXETTE Both Per and Marie were well-known artists in their native country, Sweden, as they already had been part of the pop movement in the late seventies and eighties. On her part, Marie was involved with two bands: Strul and Mamas-Barn. However, her career was mostly solo albums making her Sweden's top female artist. On the other hand, Per's introduction to being a musician was with Gyllene Tider the leading rock'n'roll band in Sweden. He composed mostly all of the musci and wrote all of the lyrics. In between he squeezed two solo albums. Both Marie and Per are still today working now and then with their own work and bands while they pause Roxette. ROXETTE FANS You will guess that Roxette fans are primarily in Sweden due to their nationality, though there is an incredible number of fans all around the world. In several countries, we are known as the "unconditional" fans. Meaning to be always beside Roxette. Before, it wasn't easy to get to know other fans and exchange material, thoughts, ideas, etc. however, thanks to internet, all fans have been able to get together, know each other and get to know Roxette and Roxette related stuff much better. The community is quite big and the number of web pages dedicated to them is uncountable. Well, just. There are many services which make things easy, interesting and helpful for Roxette fans over the net. There is a free webhosting service , a search engine , a regular updated newspaper with a forum or bulletin board to leave your message. Also you will find a mail service and a mailing list directory of all mailing lists. There is naturally a Fanclub where they provide with Official Roxette news in various languages and an online shop ; with online secure order form. And if you are Spanish, checkout the RoxSpain site. WHAT TO DO Well, what I did when I first started on the net was to checkout all the possible sites I could find Roxette related. This way, you will get to know Roxette even better. Message boards are useful. The mostly used are at The Daily Roxette or at Run2Roxette. .The Official Roxette Site is however, a mere promotional site, though you can find some interesting downloads and Per answers questions...or should I say "answerED". Don't forget to join the Roxette Mailing List to get the really hot news. Erm...that's it I think. Well, little by little you'll start to recognise names and meet people. ENJOY!