An upcoming music tour that had fans anticipating the return of some nostalgic pop hits will no longer be happening.
In an Instagram post, Swedish pop duo Roxette announced some sad news for those who’d been looking forward to seeing them live in celebration of the group’s 40th anniversary.
Roxette Scrapped Tour Plans
In the social media message, Roxette founder and co-frontman Per Gessle announced that increased costs and logistics had made a scheduled North American tour financially unviable. As a result, the tour had been postponed indefinitely.
“Due to logistics and hugely increased touring costs, Live Nation US has decided to postpone the Northamerican [sic] tour,” read the message from the group’s official Instagram page. “Hope to see you some other time down the road. / team Rox”
The Group Didn’t Make the Decision
In a followup post, Gessle explained that the decision to postpone the tour was not his.
“Lena, I and the band are of course disappointed. We were really looking forward to this northamerican tour and US is by far our biggest streaming market,” he wrote.
“This decision was made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations,” Gessle continued.
“I hope we can play for our fab fans in the USA and Canada at some point in the near future,” the message concluded.
A Billion on YouTube
As Deadline reports, the tour had planned to include other stars from Roxette’s heyday, including Taylor Dayne and Nick Lowe.
Not only was the tour to coincide with Roxette’s founding in 1986, it was also celebrating another big milestone: its 1987 hit “It Must Have Been Love” recently surpassed a staggering one billion views on YouTube.
As Deadline reminds, the song was first released in 1987. However, “It Must Have Been Love” didn’t hit its heights of popularity until 1990, when it was included in the soundtrack of Julia Roberts‘ mega-hit rom-com “Pretty Woman.”
Other Roxette hits include “The Look” and “Listen To Your Heart.”
A Sad Loss
The orginal lineup of Roxette consisted of Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, who sang on all those beloved hits.
Sadly, Fredricksson passed away at in 2019, “following a 17-year-long battle with cancer.” She was 61.
“Thank you, Marie, thanks for everything,” said Gessle in a heartfelt statement.
“You were an outstanding musician, a master of the voice, an amazing performer. Thanks for painting my black and white songs in the most beautiful colours. You were the most wonderful friend for over 40 years,” Gessle added
“I’m proud, honoured and happy to have been able to share so much of your time, talent, warmth, generosity and sense of humour. All my love goes out to you and your family,” he concluded.
The last time the original iteration of Roxette performed together was in 2016.
A New Beginning for Roxette
Five years after Frederiksson’s passing, Gessle decided to put the group back together, enlisting a new singer to fill his former partner’s shows.
Swedish singer Lena Philipsson was tapped as her replacement, and she’s been touring with Gessle as Roxette ever since.
Philipsson and Gessle are currently in the midst of Roxette’s European tour, which will not be impacted by the postponement of the U.S. dates.
