634 Hello Roxette - The Look

Chart  entered :  22  April  1989

Chart  peak :  7

Number  of  hits : 22

I'll  try  to  be  fair  to  this  lot  although  I  detested  them as  purveyors  of  the  most  soulless  corporate  pop  around.

Roxette  were  a  duo  of  Per  Gessle  ( born  1959 )  and  Marie  Fredriksson  ( aged  58 )  who  first  met  in  Halmstad,  Sweden  in  the  late  seventies. At  the  time  Per  was  lead  singer  in  a  group  called  Gyllene  Tider   which  translates  as  Golden  Age,  inspired  by  a  Mott  the  Hoople  song. They  released  their  first  EP  in  Sweden in  November  1978, The  lead  track  "Billy "  is  a  pretty  good  Tom  Petty-ish  rocker  with  a  nice  arpeggiated  riff.  The  other  tracks  including  the  interestingly-titled  "Pornografi"  is  more  punky with  a  snarly  vocal  from  Per.

A  year  later  they  were  on  Parlophone 's   Swedish  branch  and  released  second  single  "Flickorna  Pa  TV 2"   ( "The  Girls  on  TV  2  )  in  November  1979, a  reggae-influenced  number  which  suggests  that  someone  had  been  listening  to  Elvis  Costello. Their  eponymous  album,  released  three  months  later,  reached  number  one  in  Sweden   ad  charted  in  Norway. It  also  contained  the  next  single  "Ska  vi  Alska,   sa  ska  vi  alska  till  Buddy  Holly"   ("We  Will  Say  That  Buddy  Holly ")  a  fine  glam  rock  boogie  tune  owing  a  lot  to  School's  Out. It  reached  number  8  in  Sweden. 

Gyllene  Tider  consolidated  their  success  in  Sweden  over  two  more  albums  of  new  wave  rock "Moderna  Tider  " and  " Puls"  which  both  reached  number  one  in  Sweden. In  1982  he  recorded  his  first  eponymous  solo  album   with  a  mellower  AOR   sound  which  got  to  number  5  in  Sweden.  Inevitably  the  band's  thoughts  turned  to  breaking  out  of  their  native  country  which  necessitated  recording  in  English. The  result  was  1984's  "The  Heartland  Cafe". Marie  did  some  backing  vocals  on  the  album. Compared  to  their  previous  albums  it  represented  a  shift  to  bland  all-purpose  Europop  although  it's  not  all  bad - "Demon  Emptiness"  is  a  good  tune.  A  shortened  version  trimmed  down  to  six  tracks  was  released  in  the  US  as  "Heartland". The  record  label  wanted  a  less  Nordic  name  for  the  group  and  so  "Roxette"  , named  after  the  Dr  Feelgood   song,  was  chosen. The  US  failed  to  be  impressed  and  the  change  of  direction  alienated  some  of  their  Swedish  fanbase  with  the  album  peaking  at  number  5.

Though  not  formally  breaking  up  as  such  the  band  then  became  inactive  as  Per  worked  on  a  second  solo  album. "Scener"  came  out  in  1985  and  was  as  dull  and  turgid  a  collection  of  Swedish-language  AOR  and  pop  as  you  could  find  anywhere. It  struggled  to  a  peak  of  number  39  even  in  Sweden.

While  her  future  partner  appeared  to  be  on  the  ropes, Marie  was  doing  OK  for  herself. She  was  a  former  music  college  student  who  started  out  playing  keyboards  and  singing  backing  vocals  in  her  boyfriends'  bands  such  as  Strul  and  MaMa's  Barn. Per  believed  this  was   a  waste  of  her  talent  and  introduced  her  to  Gyllene  Tider's  producer  Lasse  Lindbom. Her  debut  album  "Het  vind"  came  out  in  September  1984. An  eclectic  collection  covering  all  bases, it  showcased  her  impressive  voice  but  the  quality  wavered  from  the  dreary  Barbara Dickson  balladry  of  debut  single "Annu  dottar  karlek "to  the   title  track, an   intense  electro-ballad  that  recalls  Simple  Minds. All  in  Swedish, it  reached  number  20  there. Her  second  album  "Den  Sjunde  Vagen "  saw  her  narrow  her  approach  down  to  moody  synth  pop  and  is  a  decent  listen  despite  the  language  barrier.  It  reached  number  6.

Marie  and  Per  then  put  into  action  a  much -discussed  plan   to  work  together  on  some  English-language  songs  for  the  international  market.  They  first  recorded  Per's  song  "Neverending  Love",  a   sprightly  modern  pop  effort  somewhat  like  Bryan  Ferry's  solo  work. It  didn't   attract  any  international  attention  but  it  was  a  Top  10  hit  in  Sweden  and  the  pair  decided  to  take  their  musical  partnership  further , Marie  defying  the  advice  of  others  in  the  business  who  considered  Per  yesterday's  man. 

The  duo  released  "Pearl  of  Passion"  in  October  1986, translating  songs  originally  earmarked  for  Per's  third  solo  album.  Along  with  producer  Clarence  Ofwerman   they  prove  adept  at  assimilating  contemporary  sounds  but  it's  all  pretty  vacuous  and  over-produced, even  giving  Per  some  leeway   for  the  fact  that  he  was  writing  in  a  second  language. Though  it  reached  number  2  in  Sweden  and  yielded  further  hits  there  with  the  bouncy  pop  of  "Goodbye  To  You" and  faux-Northen  soul  bop  "Soul  Deep".

The  following  year  Marie  recorded  her  third  solo  album  in  Swedish, "Efter  Stormen"  and  was  rewarded  with  a  number  one  in  her  homeland  though  there's  nothing  amidst  its  mainstream   pop  rock  that  catches  my  ear.

At  the  end  of  1987  the  pair  recorded  a  new  Christmas  single, the  dreary  "It  Must  Have  Been  Love" with  Marie  handling  most  of  the  vocals . It  reached  number  4  in  Sweden  but  wasn't  released  internationally  until  1990  when  a  re-recorded  version  with  the  Christmas  references  excised  was  included  on  the  soundtrack  to  Pretty  Woman. It  then  became  their  biggest UK  hit  reaching  number  3.

Roxette  then  went  into  the  studio  to  record  their  second  album  "Look  Sharp". The  singles  spiky  yuppie  anthem  "Dressed  For  Success"  and  well-dressed  but  plastic  power  ballad  "Listen  To  Your  Heart " preceded  it  in  Sweden  and  were  big  hits  there  but  were  not  released  internationally. The  third  single  "Chances", a  dull  synth-pop  number  that  sounds  like  a  below-average  Kim  Wilde  single  was  sent  out  to  battle  internationally  but  to  no  effect; unlike  its  two  predecessors  it  was  not  a  subsequent  international  success.

And  so  when  "The  Look"  snuck  out  as  the  fourth  single  from  the  album  at  the  beginning  of  1989  it   looked  like  they  had  once  again  failed  to  break  out  of  their  homeland. However  a  Minneapolis  radio  station  started  playing  it  and  it  quickly  gained  ground  in  America  going  all  the  way  to  number  one  and  blowing  open  every  door  previously  shut  to  them. It's  hard  to  see  why. It's  a   slow-paced  juddery  electro-groove  similar  to  one-hit  wonders  Sly  Fox's  Let's  Go  All  The  Way  from  three  years  earlier,  with  Per  growling  out  some  nonsense  lyrics  which  he   only  wrote  as  a  guide  over  the  top  of  it. Marie  comes   in  on  the  no  more  than  serviceable  chorus. That  something  so  mediocre  could  shoot  to  the  top  is  further  proof  of  the  paucity  of  good   music  around  in  1989.