The Last Time Marie Fredriksson & Per Gessle Had Played Uruguay Was In 1992.

The mythic Swedish duo set foot on Uruguayan soil after an absence of 19 years.

The show was dynamite from start to finish. And nobody could have guessed it – I think that’s what made it all the more remarkable. The first time Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle came around, the show wasn’t particularly brilliant – Marie’s vocals weren’t really on, and the rainy weather ruined everything for the public (it was allegedly Roxette’s first show ever in which rain came down).

But last night, the band was to take no prisoners – from the opening combo of “Dressed For Success” and “Sleeping In My Car” to the closing “Listen To Your Heart” and “Church Of Your Heart”, they held everybody entranced.

The backing band was impeccable – the bassist made everybody stand up when he played a candombe beat, and guitarist Christoffer Lundquis provided one of the truly memorable interludes of the night when he played “La Cumparsita”.

Still, the defining moment of the show came at the end of “Perfect Day”. When the applause had faded and Marie was staring into the crowd, my great friend Madelaine shouted “We love you Marie!!”. Marie smiled, and breathed into the microphone, “You know what, we all love you too”. The venue exploded.

What incredibly inspiring people… what a show they put on, how they left every single one of us energized. Hopefully, this isn’t the final time we are seeing them around. I sincerely hope younger Uruguayan generations get to see Marie and Per like we did last night. Everybody deserves to see artists who are clearly this passionate about what they do in the flesh.

When the show ended, many were chanting “Dressed For Success” through the aisles. People were playing the videos they had shot using their mobiles into the buses that took everybody home.

As we were leaving, my friend Madelaine remarked her face was hurting from having smiled so much.

I can honestly tell you she wasn’t the only one.