written by Per Gessle and Mats “M.P.” Persson

produced by Clarence Öfwerman

​

Well, all right... let’s get started once again, shall we?

​

The era was spring 1988. Pearls Of Passion had performed nicely in

Sweden, and Per and Marie had just completed the third and final

video for it—“I Call Your Name.” Half the songs written for Roxette’s second album (which would eventually turn out to be Look Sharp!) were in the can, and a month and change ago, Per had just demoed “The Look.” While Roxette still had a few things to prove, Per needed to come up with further ideas for songs to show the world they were more than just a flash in the pan.

​

Earlier today, I made the entry for my tribute to America (it being the... well, 5th of July. Forgive me, I’m a bit behind). “Listen To Your Heart” by the greatest band in the history of the wor—... er... by Roxette... happens to be the next song sequentially in my list. It’s a bit fitting, as I consider “Listen/Heart” the Rox song that rather... belongs to America, in a sense. In the early days, as Roxette were trying to branch out into the international markets and reach a broader audience, critics did what they do best and criticized Rox, for not sounding “American enough.” So Per said, all right, let’s do something about this.

​

At the same time this was going on, a friend of Per’s named Lasse Nordin was going through a rough divorce. One night he and Per got together, sat down and talked through it till the sun came up. He’d had the music semi-written to the song that would become “Listen/Heart,” then partner Mars Persson gave him the verse material he’d put together, which went nicely with Per’s chorus part. The story of Lasse’s divorce provided Per with needed lyrical inspiration to sit down barely a day later and bang it out. Sometimes that’s all that’s necessary.

​

Per didn’t feel he performed the demo very well (hey, I happen to like the demo actually better than the produced album version(s), but that’s just li’l ol’ me...), but he knew Marie would knock it out of the park when it came time to lay it down. “The Look” wasn’t made for Marie to sing; it wasn’t a fitting style for her. But “Listen”... a true big bad power ballad, was just the sort of song absolutely made for Marie Fredriksson. Once they got into the studio, producer and keyboardist Clarence Öfwerman laid down what would turn into an iconic piano riff to both open, and carry through the end section of the song—not unlike guitarist Jonas Isacsson’s “Look” hook. And Per insisted they go all-out on production. Music-wise, he was heavily inspired by American power ballad bands like Berlin, Heart and Foreigner. Per dug them, even if no one else in the Rox camp really did. And he wanted to make a loving power ballad tribute to them—as well as a tribute to the ’80s, before they ended.

​

Per always liked major production value, and instant gratification carrying out his song ideas. Marie and Clarence preferred more to let songs sort of grow on them. Nonetheless, after the song was remixed for America (one of these versions being the U.S. Remix) and single-released for the second time, it resulted in Roxette’s second #1 US hit—after “The Look.” The U.S. Remix is also the version used for the music video. The version that closes Look Sharp! is also known as the Swedish single version. Imagine Lasse’s reaction when a champagne-loaded Per Gessle rung him up one day and said, “Guess what... you’re number one in the States. *hiccup!*”

​

One reviewer stated in regards to the song, “Already doing well in the US, this semi-ballad has all the ingredients of a major worldwide hit. This time it seems that the Swedes have beaten the Americans at their own game.” The next thing they knew, Roxette were suddenly being criticized for sounding “too  American.” It would seem the critics had trouble making up their minds...

​

A decade and a half later, Belgian Euro-trance/house band D.H.T. (Dance House Trance) covered “Listen/Heart” into about a dozen versions. Around the same year, 2005, follow-up monster ballad “It Must Have Been Love” earned Per the BMI award for a total of 4 million radio airplays (reaching 5 million in 2014). In 2009, “Listen” achieved the same feat. As the 1980s closed, this once-little nobody group from Switzer—er, Sweden, abruptly had much less to prove.

​

Check out the AC Mix for a sax solo you’ve never heard before.

​

Also: third song included in “The Rox Medley” (see here).

​

Have notes to add? Let me know!

​

YT:

full demo version

full Look Sharp!/Swedish single version

full U.S. Remix

full AC Mix

music video

​

Rox’s official website