1978–1984: Early work After graduating from music school in 1977, Fredriksson moved to
Halmstad, where she worked in theatre before becoming involved in the local
indie music scene. She formed
punk group Strul (
English: Hassle) in 1978 with then-boyfriend Stefan Dernbrant—the band consisted of an extensive and fractious lineup of musicians, the majority of whom would leave after a single performance. Strul established their own independent music festival in 1979, Strulfestivalen, which was financially lucrative for the band. The festival was held each summer for three years, until 1981. Dernbrant exited the group in December 1980 when he and Fredriksson ended their relationship. Due to the success of the festival, Fredriksson opted to continue performing under the Strul name alongside the band's other longest-serving member, guitarist Martin Sternhufvud. The group's popularity increased substantially in 1981, culminating in several performances on Swedish music television programmes. This exposure led to Strul signing with
independent record label Bastun, which released their first and only single in June, the
double A-side "Ki-I-Ai-Oo" / "Strul igen". The release was timed to coincide with the 1981 version of Strulfestivalen, which would be the last; three months later, the group permanently disbanded following a "disastrous" performance at the Pop Around the Clock festival, which was broadcast nationally on Swedish radio. - leading to that band's bassist and drummer – Anders Herrlin and Mickael "Syd" Andersson, respectively – joining MaMas Barn. This close relationship between the two bands resulted in Fredriksson performing vocals on Gyllene Tider's 1981 song "Ingenting av vad du behöver" (English: "Nothing of What You Need"). The following year, MaMas Barn signed with
CBS Records International before their
recording contract was sold to
WEA International, which financed the recording of their only album,
Barn som barn (English:
Children as Children). The album was produced by
ABBA guitarist Finn Sjöberg and eventually released in November 1982. Although it was a critical success, the record struggled commercially, selling approximately 1,000 copies. The group disbanded shortly after. She performed duet vocals on "Så nära nu" (English: "So Near Now"), the
lead single from the Lasse Lindbom Band's 1982 album
Romantisk Blackout. and she joined Lindbom's band as a featured vocalist for an extensive tour of the country. Following its completion in the autumn of 1983, recording her debut album from December 1983 to June 1984, with Lindbom as co-writer and producer. "
Ännu doftar kärlek" (English: "Still the Scent of Love") was issued as her debut single in May 1984, becoming a top twenty hit on
Sverigetopplistan, Sweden's national
record chart. Her debut album,
Het vind (English:
Hot Wind), was released in September, The title track was issued as the second and final single in October,
b/w a Swedish version of
Cyndi Lauper's "
All Through the Night", retitled "Natt efter natt" (English: "Night After Night"). This
cover band appeared on several Swedish television programmes, and consisted of Fredriksson and Lindbom performing alongside Per Gessle and Mats Persson. The same year, Fredriksson and Lindbom travelled to the
Canary Islands to write songs for her second solo album. "Den bästa dagen" (English: "The Best Day") and "Silver i din hand" (English: "Silver in Your Hand") were issued as singles, She won the 1986
Rockbjörnen award for Best Swedish Female, and embarked on her second tour as a solo artist. The resulting song, "
Neverending Love", was issued under the band name
Roxette—the name Gyllene Tider had used to release
The Heartland Café in North America in 1984. and was one of the most popular songs on Swedish radio that year. Their debut album,
Pearls of Passion, was a major success upon release in October 1986, peaking at number two and eventually selling over 200,000 copies, Fredriksson's third studio album,
... Efter stormen (English:
After the Storm), was issued in October 1987. Both the
title track and "Bara för en dag" (English: "Just for a Day") were top ten hits on Svensktoppen, and she promoted the album with a sold-out concert tour. Two weeks later, EMI released
Den flygande holländaren (
The Flying Dutchman), a
tribute album to musician
Cornelis Vreeswijk, who died the previous year. Fredriksson performed three songs on the compilation.
Den flygande holländaren peaked at number two for three consecutive weeks in Sweden, held off the top spot by
Look Sharp!. as well as the
Rockbjörnen award for Best Swedish Female, for the fourth consecutive year. despite the duo not having a recording contract in the US; the local branch of EMI had previously rejected Roxette as "unsuitable for the American market." An
exchange student from
Minnesota returned from Sweden and asked his local
Minneapolis-based
Top 40 radio station to play the song. The track quickly became popular, and the station began distributing the song to their sister radio operations throughout the US. "The Look" topped the chart after just eight weeks, The single's parent album eventually sold over 9 million copies worldwide. "
Listen to Your Heart" was the band's second number one on the Hot 100, while the album's final single, "
Dangerous", spent two weeks at number two. Fredriksson ended 1989 performing on-stage as part of The Husbands, a cover band formed by Lasse Lindbom and
Niklas Strömstedt. In 1990, Fredriksson contributed a cover of the
Evert Taube composition "
Så skimrande var aldrig havet" ("The Sea Was Never So Sparkling") to the tribute album
Taube. The following year, the duo released their third album,
Joyride, which remains their most successful release, with worldwide sales of over 11 million copies.
1992–2002: Continued solo work Fredriksson returned to solo work following the recording of Roxette's fourth album,
Tourism. She was a featured vocalist on "Änglamark" (
"Angel Land"), a
Band Aid-style recording spearheaded by former ABBA vocalist
Anni-Frid Lyngstad under the banner Artister för Miljö (Artists for the Environment), which was released in July 1992. She also performed the track alongside all of the other featured artists during a televised gala the following month. Fredriksson's fourth solo album,
Den ständiga resan (
The Eternal Journey), was released that October, and remains both her highest-selling and most critically successful solo studio album, with sales of over 185,000 copies in Sweden as of 2002. "Så länge det lyser mittemot" ("As Long as There Is Light on the Other Side") and "Mellan sommar och höst" ("Between Summer and Autumn") were issued as commercial singles; the latter song, "Så stilla så långsamt" ("So Still, So Slow") and "Det regnar igen" ("It's Raining Again"), were also top ten hits on Svensktoppen. She toured in support of the record. Her first musical collaboration with husband
Mikael Bolyos, "Herren ber för dig" ("The Lord Prays for You"), was released in November 1994 on the charitable compilation
Vilda fåglar: sånger om barn (
Wild Birds: Songs About Children), the proceeds of which were donated to
children's hospitals in
Nordic territories. The next summer, she was a featured vocalist with Bolyos' band Sugarcane, during their
concert residency in Halmstad nightclub Penny Lane. She took part in this residency every summer between 1995 and 2002, Her fifth solo album,
I en tid som vår (
In a Time Like Ours), was recorded by Fredriksson and Bolyos at their home studio in
Djursholm between February and September 1996. She was eight months pregnant when it was released in November, so was unable to promote it. The process of recording the album was reputedly difficult and confrontational, with Fredriksson later heavily criticising co-producer Michael Ilbert: "I ended up under his thumb. He would only communicate with Per and [Roxette's regular producer]
Clarence Öfwerman. He complained to everyone that my voice was weak, that I needed to re-record vocals, and that my songs weren't good enough. He criticised me until I started crying. I lost all my confidence, and no longer felt happy in Roxette." Her first
greatest hits album,
Äntligen – Marie Fredrikssons bästa 1984–2000, was released in 2000, and was the second best-selling album of the year in Sweden, behind
the Beatles compilation
1. It was also one of the best-selling albums of 2001 in the country, and was certified triple platinum for shipments of almost 250,000 units. The two new songs recorded for the compilation, "
Äntligen" ("Finally") and "Det som var nu" ("That What Was Now"), were both minor hits. In 2001, Roxette released their seventh album,
Room Service. Even though Ilbert was not present for this album's recording, Marie later said she "lost all desire to continue Roxette", and would appear at the recording studio as infrequently as possible; she instructed her taxi driver to wait outside while she recorded vocals for "
Milk and Toast and Honey". The album was supported with a European tour, after which Fredriksson "called for a meeting" with Gessle, wherein she discussed disbanding Roxette, to which Gessle agreed.
2002–2003: Brain tumour diagnosis and aftermath On 11 September 2002, Fredriksson complained of feeling unwell after jogging with her husband. She collapsed in a bathroom after becoming nauseated, with the impact of the fall fracturing her
cranium. She then had an
epileptic seizure. The diagnosis led to the cancellation of Roxette's "Night of the Proms" appearances. After waiting several weeks for the effects of the fracture and resulting concussion to subside, she underwent successful surgery to remove the tumour, which was
malignant, and she endured months of
chemotherapy and
radiation treatment. In January 2003,
King of Sweden Carl Gustaf XVI awarded Roxette the
Litteris et Artibus (
Culture and Education) award. Both Gessle and Fredriksson attended the ceremony, which was the first event Fredriksson appeared at after her operation, and one of very few public appearances she made over the next two years. Lasting effects of the tumour included her being blind in one eye and having limited hearing and mobility, as well as being unable to read or write. She was also unable to speak for a considerable period of time after her treatment.
2004–2008: Return to creativity Following her diagnosis and treatment, Fredriksson and Bolyos began work on her next studio album as a form of
therapy at their home studio in Djursholm.
The Change debuted atop the Swedish Album Chart, It ended 2004 as the 18th best selling album in the country. Several of the songs included were debuted during Fredriksson's live appearances with Sugarcane in the mid-1990s. Lead single "
2:nd Chance" was a top ten hit in Sweden. She drew the cover art which accompanied
The Change, In February 2006, she released an album of Swedish cover songs titled
Min bäste vän (
My Best Friend), which peaked at number three on the Swedish Albums Chart. Fredriksson performed vocals on several tracks of Bolyos' debut solo album
A Family Affair, which was released in June 2007. In November,
Capitol Records issued a
ballad compilation of Fredriksson's Swedish-language solo material,
Tid för tystnad – Marie Fredrikssons ballader (''Time for Silence – Marie Fredriksson's Ballads''). The compilation contained two previously unreleased recordings, one of which, "Ordet är farväl" ("The Word Is Goodbye"), was based on a lyric
Py Bäckman wrote for Fredriksson's 1984 album
Het vind. and became Fredriksson's first number one single in her home country. In May 2009, she joined Gessle on-stage at the
Melkweg in Amsterdam to perform acoustic renditions of several Roxette songs, during a concert of his "
Party Crasher Tour". Immediately after the gig, Gessle announced to
Aftonbladet that Roxette would perform at the 2009 edition of "Night of the Proms". On the first night of that tour,
Expressen reported that the duo had been recording material for a new album since May 2009. The duo reunited for a private performance at the
Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling at
Stockholm Palace on 18 June 2010. Roxette then embarked on a seven-date tour of Europe in the summer of 2010. "
She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)" was released in January 2011, becoming a substantial hit in mainland Europe, and their highest-peaking single in Germany since 1992's "
How Do You Do!". Their eighth studio album,
Charm School, followed the next month. "
The Neverending World Tour", their first world tour in fifteen years, began in March 2011, eventually concluding in February 2016. Another studio album,
Travelling, was released in March 2012. In November, she released
Nu! (
Now!), her first album of original Swedish material since 1996. It was supported by a nineteen-date tour of Swedish concert halls, her first solo concerts since 2000. Roxette's tenth studio album,
Good Karma, was released in June 2016, and was due to be promoted with a European tour celebrating the duo's 30th anniversary. However, these concerts were cancelled after Fredriksson was advised by her doctors to cease all touring activity, due to poor health. She released a statement saying: "Sadly, now my touring days are over and I want to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful fans that [have] followed us on our long and winding journey." Fredriksson released three non-album singles after she announced her retirement from touring: "Alone Again" and "I Want to Go" in 2017, and "Sing Me a Song" in 2018. ==Personal life==