Even the first single of Roxette, "Neverending Love", was a hit in Sweden.
 First Per Gessle made a Swedish version of the song. Its name was "Svarta glas"
 (Black Glasses). He sent it to singer Pernilla Wahlgren, but she didn't want to
 record it. After that Per made an English version, "Neverending Love". EMI's
 managing director Rolf "Roffe" Nygren heard the song and suggested that Per Gessle
 and Marie Fredriksson would sing the song together. And they did it... History of the
 world's most famous pop group was in the beginning!

 "Pearls Of Passion" was released in 1986. This album is now deleted and it is not
 counted on  the official album list. I don't understand why, because it's a very good
 album. However, Per  Gessle doesn't like it at all. I've heard a rumour it's going to be  re-released spring '96 with the  song "Pearls of passion". "Soul Deep" was first time
 on this album and later Per wanted to  make a new version of the song, which was
 released on "Joyride".

 In summer 1987 Roxette travelled around Sweden. The tour was called "Rock Runt
 Riket" (Rock Around the Country). On that tour Roxette performed live to about
 115,000 people. Ratata and Eva Dahlgren were also on the tour. The artists released
 together a song called "I  Want You" which was only released as a single.

 In summer 1988 Roxette started to record a new album, Look Sharp! It had an
 incredible success in Sweden, but nobody knew it abroad. Everything changed when
 an American exchange student took "Look Sharp!" to a local radio station (FM 101,3
 MHz) in Minneapolis. DJs loved "The Look" and soon copies of the song spread
 from radio station to  another and suddenly everybody knew the song! Then the
 official single was released and it  went straight up to no.1.

 Look Sharp! has sold 8 million copies worldwide.

 Roxette began their first European tour. It started from Helsinki on November 11th
 1989. It was the premiere of Roxette abroad.

 Per Gessle had written a song called "It must have been love (Christmas for the
 broken hearted)" as early as 1987. They tought that IMHBL could be the lead single
 and also the name of a new Roxette album. But then Touchstone Pictures from
 Hollywood contacted EMI and IMHBL got into a movie called "Pretty Woman".
 The movie was a great success. IMHBL was no.1 in the US. World wide the
 soundtrack album sold over 9 million units!

 It is summer 1990. Per comes home and notices a piece of paper on the table. He
 reads the text on it: "Hej din tok, jag dlskar dig! Woody." In English it's "Hello you
 fool, I love you..." Per had also heard an interesting word from Paul McCartney:
 "Joyride". This ex-Beatle had said that making songs with John Lennon was like a
 joyride. These two things mixed up to a song "Joyride" and finally the song got on
 an album with the same name.

 The album was a success (10 million units world wide). The "Joyride" video was
 shown 12 times a day on MTV USA. That is called "heavy rotation". Per Gessle
 said that it's rather like "brainwash rotation".

 It was time for a world tour. The first show was again in Helsinki, now in Jädhalli
 (Ice hall). Join The Joyride tour was 108 concerts on 4 continents. Per & Marie
 have said that on a scale to 10, they'll give this tour 11!

 As Roxette toured, they also made a new album, "Tourism, Songs from studios,
 stages, hotelrooms & other strange places." It's not a live album, it's a tour album,
 says Per. Tourism has sold 4,5 million units! Per and Marie always say that Tourism
 was only a "bonus" album.

 Now it was time for a holiday. There was a rumour going around that Roxette would
 split up, but it wasn't true. Maybe the rumour started, because Marie was pregnant
 and wasn't as much in public as before.

 1994 Roxette released a new album, rougher than any other Roxette album. The
 album was called "Crash! Boom! Bang!". Per and Marie had new hair styles and the
 music was more "back to basics". The album was recorded in many places; in London,  Stockholm and Halmstad and at Isola di Capri, Italy.

 And a new world tour again! Now it's Crash! Boom! Bang! tour. The first concert
 was in Helsinki, of course. On this tour they didn't go to the US at all. Their record
 company EMI USA thought that CBB had sold such little in the US so the tour
 wouldn't be succesful either.

 In USA Roxette released an album called Favorites From Crash! Boom! Bang! It
 contained some songs from CBB and it was only sold at McDonald's fast food
 restaurants. FFCBB sold approximitely 1 million albums.

 October 1995 Roxette released an album called "Don't Bore Us - Get To The
 Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits". There are 14 greatest hits and 4 new songs on
 the album. The new songs are: "I don't want to get hurt", "June afternoon", "You
 don't undertstand me" and "She doesn't live here anymore". The first single of album
 was "You don't understand me". "Don't Bore Us - Get To The Chorus!" has now
 sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

 The release of the new album was kind of odd. It wasn't released in the US at all,
 and the singles were very much different in other countries. In England Roxette
 released first "The look '95" and then in March 1996 "You don't understand me"
 which contained also acoustic versions of "The Look", "Listen to your heart" and
 "You don't understand me". They were recorded at famous Abbey Road studio in
 London. Roxette also recorded old Beatles classic "Help!" but it's not been released.

 The new Spanish album "Baladas en Español" was finished in August. It was released
 before Christmas worldwide, also in the US by EMI Latin. Roxette isn't anymore
 signed with EMI USA.

 Moreover, it is planed that �Pearls of Passion� will be re-released at October 27 of
 1997 !