"Fireworks" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 5 September 1994 by EMI as the third single from the duo's fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). Written by Per Gessle, the song achieved moderate success in various European countries, peaking within the top 20 in Austria and Finland and reaching number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. Its accompanying music video was directed by Michael Geoghegan.
Release
The song was the only internationally released single by Roxette to be omitted from their career retrospective The Rox Box, which included every other single released by the duo up to 2006, and it has never appeared on any of the duo's compilation albums—excluding the Jesus Jones remix of the song included on Rarities (1996). In an interview with The Daily Roxette in 2009, Per Gessle was asked why the song was ignored on compilations, saying: "I guess it just wasn't big enough. There are so many other [Roxette] tracks that kick its ass. And on The Rox Box, we decided to use demos and other uplifting stuff instead."[2]
Music video
Irish filmmaker Michael Geoghegan, who also directed videos for their preceding three singles "Almost Unreal", "Sleeping in My Car" and "Crash! Boom! Bang!", directed the music video, which centers around twin sisters who emigrate from the Swedish countryside to London to pursue fame and fortune. In London, the sisters are seen at various locations, including Piccadilly Circus and the London Underground. During the song's bridge, the sisters are sexually assaulted underneath a bridge. They return to Sweden, and, at the end of the video, their younger brother is revealed to be Per Gessle.[3]
Formats and track listings
All songs were written by Per Gessle.
7-inch single and cassette (Australia 8651124 · UK TCEM324)