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"When the greatest hits album came out in Europe in '95, we decided not to have it released in America because we didn't really have any communication at all with EMI," says Roxette guitarist/vocalist Per Gessle. "So we just decided to hold it back and see what happened."
What happened was that Roxette faded from America's public
consciousness. The Swedish duo -- Per Gessle and vocalist Marie
Fredriksson -- fulfilled their dream of cracking the
English-speaking market when "The Look" from their second album,
Look Sharp, went to No. 1 in the U.S. Like their
countrymen ABBA before them, Roxette plied their pop on image and
shameless radio-ready hooks, scoring three more chart-toppers with
"Listen to Your Heart," "It Must Have Been Love" and "Joyride." But
by 1992, executive turnaround at EMI America had strained
communication between the band and the label, and the hits stopped
coming. By the 1995 release of the greatest hits compilation
Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus, the duo had decided to
cut their losses and focus their attention on the rest of the
world.
As a precursor to Roxette's attempt to regain a foothold in the
States, Edel America Records will finally be issuing Don't Bore
Us... in September. The revamped track lineup will still
feature the No. 1 hits, as well as Top 5-ers like "Dangerous" and
"Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)" but will add a couple
of tracks from last year's Have a Nice Day, an album that
wasn't released in America. And with the band currently working on
an album slated for early 2001 release, a stateside sojourn seems
imminent.
"Hopefully [we'll tour America] next year, but first of all we have
to work with promotion in America and really show the Americans
that we are back and that we never quit," says Fredriksson. "It's
really important to show our fans -- if there are any still
[laughs] -- that we are here for them."
MICHAEL ANSALDO
(June 1, 2000)