Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson dies aged 61
<p>Marie Fredriksson, frontwoman of Swedish pop-rock band Roxette, has died at the age of 61 following a long illness.</p>
<p>The singer-songwriter passed away on Monday after “a 17-year long battle with cancer”, her management team said in a statement.</p>
<p>“You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years,” her Roxette bandmate Per Gessle said in the statement.</p>
<p>“I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour … Things will never be the same.”</p>
<p>Fredriksson was first diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2002. She underwent treatments and survived, but had health problems as a result of radiation therapy, <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/dec/10/roxette-singer-marie-fredriksen-dies-aged-61">The Guardian</a> </em>reported. She was able to continue performing until 2016, when her doctors advised her to focus on her health.</p>
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<p>Debuting as Roxette in 1986, Fredriksson and Gessle achieved success with the single <em>Neverending Love</em>. The duo went on to receive international recognition with <em>The Look</em>, followed by <em>Listen to Your Heart</em>, <em>It Must Have Been Love </em>and <em>Joyride</em>. Roxette’s albums have sold more than 80 million copies worldwide.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr">Marie Fredriksson 😢 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Roxette?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Roxette</a> - It must have been love <a href="https://t.co/b0puf5qDuA">pic.twitter.com/b0puf5qDuA</a></p>
— Alfredo Velazco (@alfredovelazco) <a href="https://twitter.com/alfredovelazco/status/1204474359961837569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
<p>Fredriksson is survived by her husband Mikael Bolyos and their two children, Josefin and Oscar.</p>
