Marie Fredriksson

She was the youngest of five children born of Charles Gösta Fredriksson (1914–1981) and Inez Dagmar Fredriksson (née Hoffert, 1922–1998).

When she was four years old, her parents sold their farm and relocated to Östra Ljungby, where Gösta took a job as a postman and Inez became a factory worker.

Three years later, her oldest sister Anna-Lisa was involved in a fatal traffic collision; her car was crushed by a tanker truck while she was travelling to purchase a dress for her engagement party.

Marie explained: "She was 20 – and I can barely remember her today. But I remember the grief, how the family was torn apart. Completely. After that I had to fend for myself. I was only seven years old."

With both parents in full-time employment but unable to afford child care, Marie and her underage siblings would often be left unaccompanied at home while their parents worked.

It was during this period, with the help of siblings and friends, that she learned how to sing, read notation and play musical instruments.

She also credited her pastor with encouraging her love of music, and said that she had been performing "ever since I was little and me and my sister Tina went to Sunday school. We had a wonderful pastor in Östra Ljungby. I've got really bright, lovely memories of that place, even when my big sister died. I loved all the songs. It was such a source of freedom for me… for both of us."

Her interest in music continued to grow throughout her teens, as she discovered artists such as The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple.

She enrolled in a music school in the Svalöv Municipality at the age of seventeen, where she befriended students from the theatre department by composing music for their amateur plays.

Since no other vocalist in the school could emulate Fredriksson's vocal range, she joined the cast of a musical she co-wrote.

This musical toured throughout Sweden, with its run culminating in a performance in Stockholm for Prime Minister Olof Palme.

Gun-Marie Fredriksson (30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of pop-rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle.

Gun-Marie Fredriksson was born on 30 May 1958 outside the small Swedish village of Össjö.

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.

She was a member of punk group Strul, a band which created their own music festival in 1979.

Strul's dissolution led to the creation of her next project, the short-lived MaMas Barn, after which she began releasing solo work.

Strul established their own independent music festival in 1979, Strulfestivalen, which was financially lucrative for the band.

The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and had multiple hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including four number ones.

Fredriksson had a successful career in her native country prior to forming Roxette.

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 festival was held each summer for three years, until 1981.

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.

Following Strul's breakup, Fredriksson and Sternhufvud formed a new band, MaMas Barn (English: MaMas Children).

The two were the only permanent members, with Sternhufvud moving to vocals and Fredriksson to keyboards.

The name was created by combining the first two letters of both members' given name.

The duo regularly shared a rehearsal space with Gyllene Tider, leading to the latter band's bassist and drummer – Anders Herrlin and Mickael "Syd" Andersson, respectively – becoming members.

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).

Her first album, Het vind, was issued in 1984, followed by Den sjunde vågen in 1986 and ... Efter stormen in 1987.

Roxette's international breakthrough coincided with a period of inactivity for Fredriksson as a solo artist, punctuated only by the release of the non-album single "Sparvöga" in 1989.

Subsequent solo albums included Den ständiga resan (1992) and I en tid som vår (1996).

In 2002, after fainting at home, Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

During her rehabilitation, she continued to record music as a solo artist, resulting in The Change in 2004 and Min bäste vän in 2006, as well as the non-album single "Där du andas" in 2008—her first and only solo number one single in Sweden.

She and Gessle later reunited to record more albums as Roxette, and the pair embarked on a worldwide concert tour.

She also continued to record as a solo artist in her native Sweden, releasing Nu! in 2013.

Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019 as a result of health issues stemming from her brain tumour.