The Roxette Reunion: It’s Hard To Be Cynical About It (Trust Me)

Swedish pop duo Roxette–whose Pretty Woman power ballad was covered at the Bamboozle this past weekend, thus securing their place in the nostalgia firmament–has decided to reunite for a little tour of its home continent this fall. It’ll be the duo’s first performance since 2001, and it’ll signal an amazing recovery for Marie Fredriksson, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002; it was removed, but she lost the sight in her right eye as a result. From a 2008 interview:

“I bump into things all the time, it takes a long time to get used to,” Marie says to Lasse. Marie also says that she finally got a clean bill of health last summer, and that’s when everything changed, she became a new person. When the cancer was at its worst Marie almost didn’t have the energy to get out of bed, let alone write! “The worst thing was that I didn’t even want to sing. It’s definitely a kick to be back.” However, these last years the singing and writing have been secondary to her new art form – drawing. Marie says it’s a world of difference. “I’ve been singing all my life, I did that part already. This is the total freedom.” This time around Marie has used colors in her drawings, but confides in Lasse that she’s already sick of colors and that she constantly goes back to charcoal. “It’s different day to day” she giggles.

Much respect to Fredriksson and her partner Per Gessle, who I always thought were responsible for some of the early ’90s most sparkly pop songs. Like “Joyride”!

And “The Look”!

Really, the guitars on these tracks could cut through glass. Roxette reunites for European tour dates [AP]