It’s uncanny that in yesterday’s article I mentioned seeing Billy Joel in Sydney on his Stormfront tour in 1991 – because, as it happens, I also saw the Swedish group Roxette at the same venue (the Sydney Entertainment Centre) that very same year. Looking back, today’s featured song, The Look, always struck me as similar in feel and sound to All That She Wants by another successful Swedish group, Ace of Base, who rose to prominence shortly after Roxette. That song was featured here last year.
The Look became an international hit, and was one of the most successful singles of 1989. It topped the charts in 25 countries, and was the first of their four number ones on the Billboard. You might remember some of their other mega-hit singles Dressed For Success, Listen To Your Heart and Joyride. Roxette is Sweden’s best-selling music act after ABBA and have sold between 75 and 80 million records worldwide. They have had nineteen top 40 hits.
The Look was written by Per Gessle one half of the rock duo, with the other being Marie Fredriksson (both pictured above). The two were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band’s formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, while Gessle had been the lead singer and songwriter of Gyllene Tider, a band which had three number one albums in Sweden. I was saddened to read that Fredriksson died on 9 December 2019 at the age of 61, having had cancer for 17 years since her 2002 brain tumour diagnosis. Roxette were reformed by Per Gessle in 2024 with Lena Philipsson taking over on lead vocals, and the band will tour Australia and South Africa in February 2025.
Per Gessle wrote The Look as an exercise while learning how to operate the Ensoniq ESQ-1 synthesizer he had recently purchased. The first two verses are composed of guide lyrics, with Gessle explaining he “scribbled [them] down instantly just to remember the rhythm. But they stuck in my head. ‘Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer…‘ He found it “impossible” to replace the lyrics when trying to rewrite them later, and said he sought to balance the lyrical content by making the “rest of the lyrics intelligent in some way.” The original title was “He’s Got the Look“, with the lyrics using male pronouns. Gessle said this was done because he initially wanted Marie Fredriksson to sing the track.
Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer
She’s a juvenile scam
Never was a quitter, tasted like a raindrop
She’s got the look
Heavenly bound, ’cause heaven’s got her number
When she’s spinnin’ me around
Kissin’ is a color, her lovin’ is a wild dog
She’s got the look
She’s got the look (She’s got the look!)
She’s got the look (She’s got the look!)
What in the world can make a brown-eyed girl turn blue?
When everything I’ll ever do, I’ll do for you
And I go la-la-la-la-la
She’s got the look!
Fire in the ice, naked to the T-bone
Is a lover’s disguise
Bangin’ on the head drum, shakin’ like a mad bull
She’s got the look
Swayin’ to the band, movin’ like a hammer
She’s a miracle man
Lovin’ is the ocean, and kissin’ is the wet sand
She’s got the look
References:
1. The Look – Roxette
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I remember “The Look” very well – pretty catchy ’80s pop rock song!
It’s pretty good. I probably prefer ‘Listen to your Heart’ from their bigger hits. I’m a big fan of fellow Swedish group Ace of Base’s – ‘All The She Wants’. I remember being on holidays with my mates in Coogee Bay, Sydney singing to that song repeatedly in the car. All great memories.