"Dangerous" is a song by Swedish pop duo

Roxette Roxette was a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals and keyboards) and Per Gessle (vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough second a ...

. Written by

Per Gessle Per Håkan Gessle (; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was ...

, the song was released as the fourth and final single from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Look Sharp!'' (1988). Gessle penned it just before Roxette's first tour in 1987. Released in May 1989, it was the group's third top-10 single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching number two. It also entered the top 10 in Australia, Canada, and six European countries. The music video was recorded in the ruins of

Borgholm Castle Borgholm Castle ( sv, Borgholms slott) in Borgholm, Sweden, is today only a ruin of the fortress that was first built in the second half of the 13th century and rebuilt many times in later centuries. It is linked to Halltorp estate, to the south ...

. In the UK and Ireland, "Dangerous" was released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with " Listen to Your Heart".

Critical reception

Bryan Buss from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the song as " A/C-leaning". Bill Coleman from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' stated that this "undeniably infectious popper will no doubt keep the super-hot duo in heavy pop radio rotation well into the winter." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' viewed the song as "another melodic, radio-friendly effort", that's "already doing well in the US."

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Dangerous" was filmed during Roxette's concert at

Öland Öland (, ; ; sometimes written ''Øland'' in other Scandinavian languages, and often ''Oland'' internationally; la, Oelandia) is the second-largest Swedish island and the smallest of the traditional provinces of Sweden. Öland has an area ...

, Sweden, in July 1989. It is a mix of rehearsal and live performance footage from that show, and was directed by Doug Freel.

Track listings

All songs were written and composed by

except "Joy of a Toy", composed by Gessle and Mats Persson. * 7-inch and cassette single (US 50233) # "Dangerous" (LP version) – 3:50 # "Dangerous" (12-inch version) – 6:26 * 7-inch single (Germany 006-1363707 · Australia A-2358) # "Dangerous" (7-inch version) – 3:46 # "Dangerous" (Waste of Vinyl 12-inch mix) – 6:26 # "Surrender" (live) – 3:12 # "Joy of a Toy" (live) – 4:10 * 7-inch single (Sweden 1363417) # "Dangerous" (7-inch version) – 3:46 # "Surrender" (live) – 3:12 # "

Neverending Love "Neverending Love" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 8 July 1986 by EMI as their debut single. The track was originally written in Swedish by Per Gessle, as "Svarta glas" ("Black Glass"), for recording artist Pernilla Wahl ...

" (live) – 3:20 * US 12-inch single (US V-56159) # "Dangerous" (Power Mix – long) – 7:02 # "Dangerous" (Power Mix – short) – 3:39 # "Dangerous" (dub) – 3:50 # "I Could Never (Give You Up)" – 3:49 * CD single (Sweden 1363412) # "Dangerous" (7-inch version) – 3:46 # "Dangerous" (Waste of Vinyl 12-inch mix) – 6:26 # "Surrender" (live) – 3:12 # "Neverending Love" (live) – 3:20 # "Joy of a Toy" (live) – 4:10 # "Sleeping Single" (live) – 4:15 * UK and Ireland CD single (CDEM149) # " Listen to Your Heart" (Swedish single version) – 5:12 # "Dangerous" – 3:46 # "Listen to Your Heart" (U.S. mix) – 4:53 # "Dangerous" (U.S. club edit) – 3:46

Credits

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of ''

The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06 ''The Roxbox (Roxette 86-06)'' is a boxed set compilation by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 18 October 2006 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol. It is an expanded companion piece to the single-disc greatest hits album '' A Collection of Ro ...

''. Studio * Recorded in May 1988 at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) * Mixed at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) Musicians *

Marie Fredriksson Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist and painter, who was best known internationally as the lead vocalist of pop rock pop duo, duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. ...

–

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

– lead and background vocals, mixing * Anders Herrlin – background vocals, programming and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

* Jonas Isacsson –

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s *

Henrik Janson Henrik Janson (born 11 March 1961) is a Swedish music arranger, guitarist, record producer and songwriter. Founding a band at thirteen, in 1974, Janson today works with both domestic and international artists. Career Early years Janson was born ...

–

talkbox A talk box (also spelled talkbox and talk-box) is an effects unit that allows musicians to modify the sound of a musical instrument by shaping the frequency content of the sound and to apply speech sounds (in the same way as singing) onto the so ...

* Jarl "Jalle" Lorensson –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Clarence Öfwerman Clarence Öfwerman (born 22 November 1957) is a Swedish record producer, best known as the longtime producer of Roxette, having been with the band from their debut album '' Pearls of Passion'' in 1986 through to 2016's '' Good Karma'', Roxette ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, programming,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, mixing * Jan "Janne" Oldaeus –

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

* Alar Suurna – mixing, engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangerous (Roxette Song) 1988 songs 1989 singles 1990 singles Cashbox number-one singles EMI Records singles Roxette songs Songs written by Per Gessle