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Summer festival to host Roxette world premiere

The Local Sweden
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Summer festival to host Roxette world premiere
Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle of Swedish pop duo Roxette. Photo: Balazs Mohai/MTI/AP

A movie revealing the story of one of Sweden's most successful bands (no, not Abba) is to be shown to audiences for the first time next month, organizers behind a Gothenburg festival announced on Thursday.

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Swedish pop duo Roxette has sold more than 75 million albums since it was formed by Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson back in 1986. The band's international breakthrough came in 1989 with the single 'The Look'.

Performing to a sold-out O2 arena in London just days ago, the band is still going strong ahead of the release of brand new documentary 'Roxette Diaries' at Gothenburg's Way Out West festival.

Produced by world-famous Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, the documentary 'Roxette Diaries' will give audiences their first look at backstage material and home videos from the band's heyday.

“Everything (and more) happened to Roxette between 1986 and 1995. This was the era where a video camera wasn't something you saw every day. The technical quality you would get was so-so but today I'm really happy we covered hundreds of hours of film from these magic years,” Per Gessle told fan site the Roxette Blog earlier this year.

"The ambition was to shoot everything. Studio-sessions, backstage parties, rehearsals. My wife, Åsa, was the commander-in-chief when it came to capture promo and TV shows as well as the extensive touring all over the world," he added.

The 1980s duo, who have gained a cult following all over the world, reunited in May 2010 following a long hiatus after Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain tumour in September 2002.

They have produced hits such as 'Listen To Your Heart', 'Sleeping In My Car' and 'It Must Have Been Love' -- the latter made famous in Hollywood blockbuster 'Pretty Woman' in 1990.

Åkerlund, who was also behind Madonna documentary 'I'm Going to Tell You a Secret', is known for his long list of music videos for some of the world's top stars, including U2, Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones.

“[Roxette] are one of the biggest bands to come out of Sweden, and this film shows them in a new light. (...) Of course with Jonas Åkerlund directing, it has a real art feel to it. He's very brave with his material,” Svante Tidholm, Way Out West's Head of Film Programming told online entertainment news site Screen on Thursday.

Gothenburg's Way Out West, which is being held from August 13th to 15th, is one of the most popular music festivals in Sweden and attracts more than 20,000 visitors every year. The line-up this year also includes gigs by Florence & The Machine and Emmylou Harris.

For a sneak peek at the 'Roxette Diaries' trailer, click here.

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