The lead singer of Swedish pop duo Roxette, Marie Fredriksson, who shot to global fame in the 1990s with her hit “It must have been love” has died at the age of 61 after a long battle with cancer.
Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002 but went into remission and returned to the studio in 2010.
Her manager Dimberg Jernberg Management in a statement issued on Tuesday said the singer had died on Monday, 9 December “following a 17-year long battle with cancer”.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce that Marie Fredriksson of Roxette has passed away in the morning of December 9, following a 17-year long battle with cancer,”
“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,” her band mate Per Gessle said after her death.
Roxette, formed in 1986 by Fredriksson and the guitarist Per Gessle, sold more than 80 million albums worldwide.
Roxette’s hits included “Listen to your heart” and “The Look”.
