page_title: The Neverending World Tour
section_title: Critical reception
hierarchical_section_title: The Neverending World Tour / Critical reception
caption_attribution_description: English: Roxette (Marie Fredriksson and per Gessle) concert in Halmstad 14 august 2010
context_page_description: "The Neverending World Tour" was the umbrella name used to describe a series of concert tours by Swedish pop duo Roxette. The name was derived from the title of the duo's debut single, 1986's "Neverending Love". Their sixth and final concert tour, it took place from 23 October 2009 until 8 February 2016, and consisted of 17 separate legs which saw the duo performing a total of 256 concerts in Europe, North and South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia and Asia.
  It was their first concert tour in over eight years, following vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis in September 2002. That diagnosis led to the cancellation of Roxette's planned appearance at the 2002 Night of the Proms concert series. "The Neverending World Tour" began with the band performing at the 2009 edition of that series, followed by a seven-date warm-up tour of Europe the following year, and more extensive tours in support of studio albums Charm School and Travelling.
context_section_description: Neal McClimon of The Hague Online gave a positive review to their 18 November 2009 Night of the Proms performance at the Rotterdam Ahoy, saying that they were given the "warmest welcome of the night. The fact that [they] had to cancel their previous tour due to Marie Fredriksson's well-documented [illness] seemed to resonate with the audience, [and they were] greeted by a crowd that offered thanks, warmth and love." He contrasted Roxette with other acts performing on the tour, writing: "There was one thing that stood out for me as they sang: they looked to be having a lot of fun, and it [was] great to see a band actually looking as though they wanted to be there." Time Out Dubai said that the duo "put on a phenomenal performance" for their 20 May 2011 concert at the Dubai World Trade Centre, but said the show was spoiled by the poor acoustics at the venue. They were also disappointed by the "lacklustre" crowd and asked: "If you want to stand and stare at your BlackBerry, what's the point of buying a ticket?"
  The 2012 tour also received positive reviews. A writer for AusPop complimented the set list of their 14 February performance at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, particularly the "near-flawless finale of mega hits", although was critical of the inclusion of "7Twenty7" – an album track from 1999's Have a Nice Day – "one of their least successful albums in Australia, which ultimately had everyone back in their seats." Their gig four days later in Melbourne was praised by the Herald Sun, which said: "From opener 'Dressed for Success', they had one of the most rapturous reactions the Rod Laver Arena has seen in years." The West Australian praised the entire band, writing that they "owned" Challenge Stadium during their two concerts at the Perth venue at the end of February. Fredriksson's performance at the Manchester Arena on 4 July was singled out for praise from The Guardian's Dave Simpson, who said that "the poignancy she invests into their more wistful lyrics suggests [that performance is] part of her recovery."
  In a review of their 31 August show at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Gazette praised Gessle's songwriting, saying: "There's much to be said for the way [he] has been able to take the eternal beauty of the I-IV-V chord progression (think "Wild Thing" or "Twist and Shout") – one of rock's most basic and perfect statements – and use it as a foundation for his own evergreens, which still sound pretty fresh. Look no farther  [sic] than 'Dressed for Success' or 'How Do You Do!' for confirmation." Rock Subculture applauded Fredriksson in their review of the band's 14 September concert in San Francisco's Nob Hill Masonic Center, writing: "The fact that she can still put on an amazing performance like last night is simply stunning. If I had not known about her history, I would never have imagined that she had such challenges in the past and overcame them in such a way."
  By the beginning of the "XXX – The 30th Anniversary Tour" in late 2014, Fredriksson performed the entirety of concerts while sitting on a chair on stage. Will Gore of The Independent said of their 13 July 2015 London concert that there were "any number of '80 bands who make a living from neatly-packaged nostalgia tours. But not many could sell-out The O₂ Arena on their own on a Monday night. ... Yet more than any other European band of that era, Roxette bridged the pop craft of their compatriots ABBA with the rockier sensibilities of American counterparts Heart and even Madonna. Their American success is easy to forget—four number ones between 1989 and 1991. Yet they became, unfairly, regarded as a pastiche almost as quickly." He contrasted this with Fredriksson's "current physical vulnerability" while performing on stage, which he called "a genuinely moving counterpoint to the charge of soullessness which often dogged Roxette's critical reception in the past. It might not be too late for a proper reappraisal."
  Andy Rudd of the Daily Mirror reviewed the same concert, and remarked that Fredriksson "still hit all the power high notes, despite remaining 
caption: Fredriksson, Gessle and Clarence Öfwerman performing at Marknadsplatsen in Halmstad, Sweden on 14 August 2010.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 450D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "4798907/10000", "Image YResolution": "4798907/10000", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2010:08:15 01:14:09", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "224", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1086", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4473", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/100", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:08:14 22:07:26", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:08:14 22:07:26", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "53/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "85", "EXIF SubSecTime": "62", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "62", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "62", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1889", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2834", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "960", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2136000/439", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "356000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}