Pelle Alsing, the drummer for Swedish rock and pop band Roxette, has died, the group’s Per Gessle announced. “It is with indescribable sadness I have to inform you that our beloved Pelle Alsing has passed away. It’s almost impossible to grasp,” Gessle wrote. “Pelle was not only an amazing and inventive drummer, helping us to create the Roxette sound since Day One, he was also the best friend you can imagine, a kind and generous human being with the biggest heart beating for everyone.” Pelle Alsing was 60 years old, according to NME.
Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson co-founded Roxette in the mid-1980s. Alsing joined them for first five albums, playing on some of the band’s biggest hits, like “Listen to Your Heart,” “It Must Have Been Love,” and “The Look.” He returned to drum on 2012’s Travelling. Beyond Roxette, Alsing performed on albums by Billy Bremner and Ulf Lundell. He also played percussion on Marie Fredriksson’s 2002 solo album Karlekens Guld.