"Joyride" 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 ...

, it was released on 25 February 1991 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from their third

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 ...

, '' Joyride'' (1991). It became one of Roxette's biggest hits, and was one of the most successful singles of 1991, topping multiple

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

s across Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The song's 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 ...

received

heavy rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely sh ...

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Recording and release

has said that the opening line of the song was inspired by a note his girlfriend (now wife) left on his piano, which read: "Hej, din tok, jag älskar dig" ("Hello, you fool, I love you"). Its title was derived from an interview in which

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

compared writing songs with

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

to "a long joyride".

's former tour manager Dave Edwards is credited with

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to storytelling, convey a narrative, story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deli ...

on the song.

Critical reception

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 ...

editor Bryan Buss described the song as a "chanting carnival" in his review of the '' Joyride'' album.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

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 ...

'' viewed it as a "playful pop/rock ditty with a catchy chorus that is destined to make a quick sprint up the charts." Jim Farber from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' noted that "they blithely toss a bit of whistling into "Joyride", next to some psychedelic

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

-like flourishes." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' wrote, "Plenty of reason for joy in Top 40 land as

and

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. ...

deliver the first of a new batch of songs. Wisely, the Swedish duo retain "'' Look Sharp''" producer Clarence Ofwerman, and, once again it's clear all three understand the way to a pop music fan's heart. Roxette has re-applied that happy, feelgood formula to making mass appeal records, and it's earned them instant recognition and remarkable chart success. This title track from their new album is certain to not only meet everyone's expectations, but surpass them." 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 ...

'' complimented the song as "a perfect example of their pop sensibilities." Brendon Veevers from ''

Renowned for Sound ''Renowned for Sound'' is an Australian online magazine An online magazine is a magazine published on the Internet, through bulletin board systems and other forms of public computer networks. One of the first magazines to convert from a pri ...

'' commented, "There isn't a soul alive who cannot say they don’t love this track – Roxette fan or not. It's pop at its finest and the video is equally as memorable; the band speeding down a U.S highway, playing guitar on top of a red

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s

J.D. Considine J. D. Considine (born 1957) is a music critic who has been writing about music professionally since 1977. Background J. D. Considine's work has been published in numerous newspapers and music magazines, and he has contributed to several books. ...

said that the song is "decked out in a glossy, Sgt. Pepper-style arrangement". Mark Frith from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' labeled it as a "over-the-top" pop song, "with catchy choruses that remind you slightly of those other musical Swedes,

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

." A writer for

Cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

ranked "Joyride" the 46th best ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one of the 1990s, saying: "Even more so than the group's biggest hit, '

It Must Have Been Love "It Must Have Been Love", originally "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", is a song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The power ballad became the duo's third number one hit in the United ...

,' 'Joyride' showed off Per Gessle's ability to craft fantastic pop-rock songs. The song's pop spirit and rock swagger mesh seamlessly."

Commercial performance

The song became one of the duo's biggest hits and was one of the most successful singles of 1991. It was their first number one single in their home country and their first platinum-certified single there. It also topped the charts in numerous other territories, including Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Switzerland. The song spent eight weeks at number one in Germany, where it was certified gold by the

Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie (English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which ...

for sales in excess of 250,000 copies. "Joyride" peaked at number four on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, their second-highest chart placing there—behind top three hit "

". The song spent three weeks atop the Australian Singles Chart, and was certified platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

for shipments in excess of 70,000 units. It went on to remain one of the top ten-best selling singles of the year in that country. It was their fourth and last number one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It also topped the national ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' singles chart in Canada, where it was certified gold by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(formerly the Canadian Recording Industry Association) for shipments in excess of 50,000 units, and nominated for a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

in 1992 for Best Selling Single by a Foreign Artist.

In popular culture

During the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, the song was used as the intro music of the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

as they took to the ice before each game.

Formats and track listings

All songs were written and composed by

. * Cassette and 7-inch single (Sweden 1364002 · UK TCEM177 · US 4JM-50342) # "Joyride" (7-inch version) – 3:58 # "Come Back (Before You Leave)" – 4:34 * 12-inch single (Sweden 1364006 · Germany 1C-060-1364006) # "Joyride" (12-inch version / magicfriendmix) – 6:08 # "Joyride" (7-inch version) – 3:58 # "Come Back (Before You Leave)" – 4:34 * CD single (Sweden 1364002 · UK CDEM177) # "Joyride" (7-inch version) – 3:58 # "Come Back (Before You Leave)" – 4:34 # "Joyride" (12-inch version / magicfriendmix) – 6:08 # "Joyride" (US remix) – 4:04

Personnel

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 ...

''. Studios * Recorded in July 1990 at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) * Mixed at EMI Studios Musicians * Dave Edwards –

–

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, whistling, mixing * Anders Herrlin – 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 guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

s *

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 and

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 * Alar Suurna – mixing, engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

External links

References