“Joyride” – Single by Roxette from the album Joyride
B-side “Come Back (Before You Leave)”
Released 25 February 1991
Label EMI
Songwriters Per Gessle
Producer Clarence Öfwerman
Charted No.1 in US; No.4 in UK; No.1 in Sweden; No.1 in Germany; No.1 in Australia
Per Gessle 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 compared writing songs with John Lennon to “a long joyride”. Roxette’s former tour manager Dave Edwards is credited with narration on the song.
Gessle decided to add whistling to the tune after watching Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which features the whistle-heavy song “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.” He told Billboard magazine: “I did the whistling myself. It’s overdubbed 12 times, but I did it.”
Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, the other half of Roxette, knew they wanted this to be the lead single, but their record label, EMI, disagreed. Thinking the uptempo track would be too risky, the label recommended the ballad “Spending My Time” as the first single for the US. Luckily, the duo refused to relent and “Joyride” became the duo’s fourth consecutive #1 hit. As for “Spending My Time,” it was their first chart single to miss the Top 30.
