Roxette are releasing Let Your Heart Dance With Me – one of their last-ever recordings – on Friday.
Almost 10 months after the death of singer Marie Fredriksson last December, the group’s songwriter, Per Gessle, is releasing the single, which was recorded for Roxette’s final studio album, Good Karma.
“I wanted to write a classic and simple ‘clap your hands and stomp your feet’ song, and Let Your Heart Dance With Me came out of it,” he says in a press release.
“I liked it already in the studio, but as usual we already had so many strong contenders that it had to wait for a second chance. And when the idea for this project came up, it was a given.”
The new track features on Bag of Trix – Roxette’s forthcoming collection of unreleased material which will be released later this year.
“Just a couple of months before Good Karma was released, Marie’s doctors advised her to quit touring for good,” Gessle recalls. “We cancelled the Summer tour and all future commitments. But even a studio recording was demanding for her.
“She wanted so much, but really had to fight to get it out. And she did. Marie was a real trooper to the very end.”
The upbeat, optimistic number will be released on Friday, with a video premiering on YouTube at 10.30 pm UK time that day. After the visual is unveiled, Gessle will take part in a live Q&A with fans online.