Gefle Dagblad (GD) & Vestmanlands Läns Tidning (VLT) did e-mail interviews with Marie before the concerts in Gävle and Västerås.
Stefan Andersson from GD asked Marie about the tour and Marie said it’s been better than she ever dared to hope for. The special memory she will take with herself from the tour is the audience’s immense response. To the question which her most beloved song is now she replied “Sista sommarens vals”. The reporter asked her if she would perform “Sparvöga” och “Ännu doftar kärlek” if the audience would be crying out for them. She said they don’t even have to cry out for these songs.
GD asked Marie about how it is working so closely with Micke. Miss Effe said:
“Wonderful! We’ve been working together for so long now, both in the studio and live. He’s an awesome musician and songwriter.”
Regarding her plans for summer she informed she’ll go on vacation and have a rest. Recovery after the tour.
To the question when we will see Roxette again she replied soon, she hopes. Also mentions that her favourite song from The Look era is Dangerous, because it’s so great to perform it live.
She also said that it’s an honor that they are among the first ones in The Swedish Music Hall of Fame.
Regarding Gävle, she remembered Roxette performed there in Folkets Park, in 1987 and it was great one for them.
Sylvia Kadri from VLT asked Marie about how tough the tour is and if there are any tricks to get into shape before the concerts. Marie said they play mostly during the weekends so she recovers herself during the week. Walking, sleeping and eating well. And she gets an enormous energy from the band and the audience.
To the question how cancer changed her life Marie replied she takes everything easy and tries to avoid any kind of stress. She is grateful that she lives and feels joy in so many things that she previously took for granted. She said as an artist she changed like it takes longer time to write music, but her voice has matured and gotten a different depth. To the question what she is doing to keep herself healthy she replied she takes it easy. Eating, sleeping and spending time with family and friends are very important.
The reporter asked her what is inspiring her nowadays. Marie said the nature. She loves sitting in her garden and listening to the birds this time of the year.
Regarding what music she is listening to she said Joni Mitchell remains important in her life and Jimi Hendrix is always with her. Rufus Wainright is a new inspiration for Marie.
She didn’t want to talk about her big dream projects, but the future is more about resting than hectic tour life. Now she is looking very much forward to summer.
After Halmstad concert I was definitely longing for more shows and now I had the chance to come back to Sweden and see the concert in Linköping. Since those fans who were there yesterday said Borås concert was amazing, I expected a fabulous show tonight, too. And it was indeed a fabulous concert.
International fans stood up already during Kom vila hos mig, but this time we missed out on standing up at Så länge det lyser mittemot, however the song would have wanted us to do so. At Efter stormen nothing could stop us, we stood up again and had a great party. After the break, Marie came back and we stood up again. It was just then when the Swedes stood up, too. They seemed to like Mellan sommar och höst. Then we sat down and towards the end of Tro, we stood up again. Then Marie also showed the audience to stand up, but first they were not reacting. After some moments they realized they should also stand up, so they did so. Phew.
Marie Fredriksson’s tour goes on tomorrow. Next stop is Borås. Xtra Borås did a short interview with Marie which you can read