Ace of Base

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Biography

Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg , Sweden . Its original lineup consisted of Ulf Ekberg|Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg , and three siblings, Jonas Berggren|Jonas "Joker" Berggren , Linn Berggren|Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren . They released four studio albums between 1993 and 2002, which sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide.

Happy Nation|Happy Nation / The Sign is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time, and was certified nine times platinum in the United States. It was the first debut album to produce three number 1 singles on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart: " All That She Wants ", " The Sign (song)|The Sign " and " Don't Turn Around ".

Following the formal departure of singer Linn in 2007, the band performed a series of concerts as a trio in Europe and Asia from 2007 through 2009, before Jenny revealed in November 2009 that she would be taking indefinite leave from the band to focus on her own solo career. Jonas and Ulf have since recruited two new female vocalists, Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson . The new line-up released their first album together The Golden Ratio (album)|The Golden Ratio in September 2010.

Career

Formation

In 1987, following a number of years as part of a new romantic and punk music|punk covers band called G Konrad, Jonas Berggren formed a band with two friends, Johnny Lindén and Niklas Tränk for a school project; his sisters Linn and Jenny joined as singers. The new band went through several names: New Arbat Avenue|Kalinin Prospect (after an avenue in Moscow); CAD (Computer-Aided Disco); and Tech-Noir (French for black technology , after a nightclub in the film The Terminator ). They toured the clubs of Sweden with their new self-written material, techno music|techno inspired by the likes of The KLF and Snap! .

Johnny left the group in 1989. Niklas made his departure known by failing to appear at a gig at Bältesspännarparken on 6 August 1990; he preferred to attend a Rolling Stones concert on the other side of town. Jonas asked his friend Ulf Ekberg to stand in for Niklas. The new quartet sought a new name to make a fresh start; Linn was reported saying: "No one could pronounce the name of the group and nobody could remember it". They settled on Ace of Base, because they were the "masters of their studio", the basement of a car-repair shop.

However the band continued to struggle to gain any recognition, partly due to the preference of Heavy metal music|heavy metal over techno in their home town, according to singer Jenny.Happy Nation Home Video, VHS, 1997 In 1991 they responded to a newspaper ad by producer John Ballard who was looking for new talent. He was somewhat unsure about their potential, but did pass them on to Klas Lunding at Telegram Records who helped them record an early demo for the song " Wheel of Fortune (Ace of Base song)|Wheel of Fortune " in their newly renovated studio. But it did not convince Telegram to sign the band, and other labels in Sweden still showed no sign of interest. In the end, the unfinished demo was sold for a small price to the independent Denmark|Danish label Mega Records in March 1992.Our Story, SVT documentary, 1997 "Wheel of Fortune" was re-recorded and released as a single in Denmark in May but failed to hit the charts. A small-budget music video was shot and directed in a small studio by Viking Nielsson and in September, after two failures, the single finally reached the charts.

International success and Happy Nation (1993–1994)

It was another song that was to help Ace of Base's career take off internationally. After hearing Swedish top 20 hit "Another Mother" by Kayo Shekoni|Kayo , the band decided that was exactly the sound they wanted to create.Beatlab, SVT documentary, 2001 They contacted the song's producer Denniz PoP and sent him a demo of a song called "Mr Ace". Coincidentally, the tape got stuck in the cassette tape player in his car, so he was forced to listen to it over and over again, which helped him decide to produce the track. The song became "All That She Wants", a dark fusion of dub music|dub-reggae with pop which became the band's trademark sound. On release in October 1992, it quickly climbed to #1 on the Danish chart while the previous single was still sitting at #2. Keen to rush out an LP album|LP for the Christmas market, Mega Records pressed the band for an album and it was hastily recorded, mixed, and released within a few weeks.

Preceded by a single of the same name, the album, titled Happy Nation was an instant hit in Denmark, and its success prompted interest elsewhere in Europe. A Pan-European license was signed with PolyGram|Metronome/PolyGram (now Universal Music ) but they were turned down by the American division. Within a few months, "All That She Wants" had reached number 3 in Sweden and had spent eight weeks at number 1 in Germany.

In April 1993 the band performed alongside Inner Circle (reggae band)|Inner Circle and Dr. Alban in Tel Aviv, Israel at what would be their biggest audience ever, 55,000 people.

In May, "All That She Wants" continued to be a hit all around the world and topped the chart for three weeks in the United Kingdom. However, despite Mega Records ' hard efforts to secure a distribution deal in the United States the response was always the same: "this band will never work in the States". Eventually, however, Clive Davis , founder of Arista Records , thought otherwise, and by the end of 1993 "All That She Wants" had made its way to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 .

In order to freshen up the album for US release, Davis insisted that some new tracks were recorded, including " The Sign (Ace of Base song)|The Sign " which became the new title for the album and the second American single. It was even more successful than the first, spending six weeks at #1 and becoming the best-selling single of 1994. It was also a major hit in Europe, peaking at #2 in the UK and Sweden and doing one better in Germany. PolyGram re-released the album under the name Happy Nation (US Version) .

Two more singles were released: " Don't Turn Around " and " Living in Danger ", by Diane Warren . The former was originally recorded by Tina Turner on the b-side of a single she released which went on to become a UK #1 hit for the reggae band Aswad (band)|Aswad . Davis suggested that the band record the song and it was yet another worldwide hit. By the end of 1994, they were an international commercial success. The Ace of Base version of "Don't Turn Around" is distinguished from other versions by its use of a minor key

Ace of Base on 1994 European Music Awards

In 1994 Ace of Base performed on the first ever MTV Europe Music Awards held in Germany. Ace of Base performed " Living in Danger " in the front of Berlin 's Brandenburg Gate . They were also nominated for Best Cover with " Don't Turn Around " this year.

The Bridge (1995–1996)

Even though the band was exhausted from two long years of international promotion, they could hardly believe how successful they had become. In April 1994, a crazed German fan broke into the Berggren family's home brandishing a knife. After managing to restrain her, the band decided that from then on they needed bodyguard s. However, they were not allowed to take time to reflect before starting work on a second album because their record companies all over the world were demanding a swift follow-up. To speed up the process, instead of Jonas and Ulf writing the bulk of the album, each member was encouraged to submit his or her own tracks for consideration.
In the end, 17 tracks made the cut of the second album titled The Bridge (Ace of Base album)|The Bridge . It marked a considerable change of direction in sound; out were the reggae and club sounds that made the group so popular in favour of a more experimental sound and several ballads. The lead single " Lucky Love " however was a mainstream pop record and on release in October 1995 became the band's first number 1 single in Sweden, which came as a pleasant surprise as they had found that their fellow Swedes had been their harshest critics. It charted at a more modest number 13 in Germany and number 20 in the United Kingdom, but Arista Records decided that it wasn't appropriate for US release so they opted for the pulsating dance beat of " Beautiful Life (Ace of Base song)|Beautiful Life " which peaked at number 15 both in the US and UK. The album was still certified platinum but the phenomenal success of the band's first album proved difficult to follow. In February 1996, the band performed at the Viña del Mar, Chile|Viña del Mar Festival de la Cancion in Chile , topping the bill alongside 2 Unlimited .

Flowers (1997–1999)

After this, Ace of Base disappeared from the limelight for a while, only emerging in July 1997 to perform at a concert to celebrate the 20th birthday of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden|Princess Victoria of Sweden. They were given as much time as they wanted to produce their third album, much of it being recorded in Jonas' own studio "The Barn". When it was finally released in June 1998, the band declared it their best album yet. It was titled Flowers (Ace of Base album)|Flowers because they believed that the songs, wildly different in style including Motown and Gospel music|gospel influences, resembled a varied bouquet of flowers. Fans were surprised to see that blonde singer Linn had relinquished lead vocal duties to sister Jenny, and on many promotional photos Linn's face was blurred. They were reassured that Linn was happy with her new backing role in the group, and many reasons were given for her decision including her having damaged her voice, fear of flying putting her off from travelling round the world, and her dislike of fame.

The radio-friendly single " Life Is a Flower " was certified the most-played track on European radio for 1998 and sold more than 250,000 copies in the UK, peaking at number 5; the colorful video of the same name was produced and directed by Andreas Neumann . British label London Records had requested the band record the 1983 hit " Cruel Summer " by Bananarama and it was selected as the second European single. Deciding that "Life Is a Flower" was "too European in nature", Clive Davis pushed "Cruel Summer" as the lead-off single for the United States and it took Ace of Base back into the US Top 10 for the first time in four years, being certified gold. The album was also re-named Cruel Summer (Ace of Base album)|Cruel Summer and featured a different tracklist to the European release. Davis persuaded a reluctant Linn to record a Billy Steinberg ballad " Everytime It Rains " and "Life Is a Flower" was re-recorded as " Whenever You're Near Me " and was the second single, but it could only peak at number 76. " Travel to Romantis " and " Always Have Always Will|Always Have, Always Will " were further hits in Europe while "Everytime It Rains" was issued as a single in the UK along with a re-packaged edition of Flowers released only in the UK.

Singles of the 90s and Greatest Hits (1999–2000)

Singles of the 90s , a compilation of sixteen hit singles was released in November 1999. Its first single, " C'est La Vie (Always 21) ," went on to become a surprise number 1 hit in Spain. Attempting to capitalize on the success of the previous single, " Hallo Hallo (Ace of Base song)|Hallo Hallo " was released with special remixes just for the Spanish market. The album's marketing push closed with the limited radio-only single release of " Love in December ". " Everytime It Rains ", previously included on the Cruel Summer album was released as a radio single in the US the following year in remixed-form (pushed by Clive Davis) in order to promote a new Greatest Hits (Ace of Base album)|Greatest Hits album for the American market, which failed to chart, selling fewer than 5,000 copies in its first week. It completed the band's four-album contract with Arista Records and was not renewed. "Hallo Hallo" was planned initially to be the first single from this American compilation, but in the end it was not included on the album at all. "C'est La Vie (Always 21)" was the only new recording included on the U.S. release. Two old remixes of both " Lucky Love " and " Beautiful Life (Ace of Base song)|Beautiful Life " were also included.

Da Capo (2002–2003)

Ace of Base released their fourth studio album Da Capo (Ace of Base album)|Da Capo in September 2002 in Europe, and in Japan through Toshiba EMI with a different cover and three bonus tracks. The album contained twelve original tracks and had originally been planned for release in mid-2000, but was repeatedly postponed due to record company complications. The album is named after the musical term da capo , meaning "back to the beginning". It was intended to be a return to the band's earliest sound.

Although the album entered the album charts in many European countries, it was not as successful as previous releases. Only Jenny and Ulf went on a promotional tour of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Poland and Austria; Jonas wanted to stay at home with his two children and Linn attended only one performance in Germany. The album was not released in America or Australia, and received only a 'soft release' in the United Kingdom, as their new British label Polydor thought that their sound was no longer relevant to the UK music scene.

The first single release from the Da Capo album was " Beautiful Morning ", which peaked at number 14 in Sweden and number 38 in Germany, where it was followed by " The Juvenile ", which was used for a Christmas campaign by German TV channel RTL Television|RTL . " The Juvenile " was a "lost track"; Ace of Base had previously written it for the Goldeneye James Bond movie in 1995. However, Arista, the band's American record label at the time, shelved the idea. The band was no longer involved in the soundtrack for the movie, and Bono 's composition of the same name was substituted, sung instead by Tina Turner .

In Scandinavia, Edel-Mega released the album's opening track, " Unspeakable (song)|Unspeakable ", as the second single. But its poor chart performance ended the promotion of the album prematurely.

Hiatus (2003–2006)

The band remained out of the spotlight throughout 2003 and 2004, although Jenny kept busy by performing solo live performances in several Christian shows with her husband Jakob Pétren, and joined the Swedish group Arose.

The band returned at the end of 2005 (without Malin) for several live performances at the Night of the Proms in Belgium alongside other artists such as Donna Summer , performing some of their hits such as "All That She Wants" and " The Sign (song)|The Sign ".

Reunion and breakup (2007–2009)

Ace of Base reunited to perform their first full-length concert since 1996 in Yekaterinburg , Russia on November 15, 2007. Several other concerts followed mainly in eastern Europe and Denmark . The set list included various songs from their past albums and notably, a brand new remix of their very first single "Wheel of Fortune".

Jenny confirmed Linn's departure in Danish press: "She hasn't been part of Ace of Base for several years," she stated in Se og Hør (Denmark)|Se & Hør magazine. The band was on world tour and performed at several summer music festivals in 2008 and 2009. The tour reached Scandinavia , some eastern European Countries as well as Singapore and the Dominican Republic . At their show at Rock Under Broen (Middelfart, Denmark ) on June 14, 2008, the group performed a new song called "Sparks from a Fire".

Ace of Base released a new Greatest Hits CD/DVD, Greatest Hits, Classic Remixes and Music Videos on November 12, 2008. The 3-disc set includes one CD with the hits, a second CD containing remixes, and a DVD containing all the music videos. Five re-recorded songs were released: "Lucky Love 2009", "Don't Turn Around 2009", "Happy Nation 2009", "The Sign - Freedom Bunch Mix", and "Wheel of Fortune 2009", which was released worldwide on October 24, 2008 as a digital single.

Breakup and Name Dispute

During the touring from 2007-2009, the band recorded new songs designated for a fifth studio album. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=GndnwUOJUVE The trio didn't get a record contract with the songs that were produced and Jenny announced she was working on her own solo material. http://marko-saavala.blogspot.com/2010/05/jenny-berggren-slingrar-sig.html http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=zxckegcJz8A

During this time, Ulf and Jonas secretly recruited two other female vocalists, Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson. http://arbetarbladet.se/noje/spellistan/1.2200616-clara-hagmans-spellista http://www.aceboards.com/index.php? showtopic=8385& st=0 http://www.aceboards.com/index.php? showtopic=8401& st=0 When this came to the fans' attention, Jonas and Jenny independently stated that the new band would not be called Ace of Base, but have another name. http://www.tv4play.se/noje_och_humor/forkvall? videoId=1.1643333

This alternative line-up later presented a slightly changed name: "Ace.of.Base", but this was mainly a graphical adjustment used on the cover of their releases only. In an interview for Swedish TV Ulf stated: ''"We're still called Ace of Base. The dots are more for styling and the logo". http://www.tv4play.se/noje/forkvall? title=hur_ar_det_att_jobba_med_farbroder%3F& videoid=1137145 http://www.facebook.com/aceofbase/posts/117459284973810 http://www.aceofbase-music.de/biography

Jenny has stated several times that she has never left the band and on the contrary declared that all four original members are still band members and own the brand Ace of Base, by agreement with her brother Jonas and by legal documents. http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? story_fbid=110543982317036& id=349147288370 http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? story_fbid=116101985084450& id=349147288370

This was later confirmed by Jonas in an interview stating: " She (Jenny) never officially said ‘’I quit’’. But to the record company, she was a leaving member. And they cancelled her contract. But she never said ‘’Oh, I don’t want to be in the band’’ ." Additionally Jonas said in this interview, asked about why Jenny refused to accept a new 4th member beside her: " At first Jenny said ‘’yes, I can do that’’. But then it was always no. And what she wanted to do was impossible, for all kinds of reasons. You say yes, but then you have so many terms, and it has to be this and this and this and this, that you actually really mean no. You can act like you’re very very positive about it all, but you really mean no. And then we found out from the record label that she had gone and recorded her solo album, and that caught us by surprise. She had told us that she was just going to record some church songs, but this was a proper album, so we were really caught by surprise. ". When asked about the record company demanding a new additional singer: " It wasn’t so much that it had to be younger girl, but yes, they wanted a new girl, a new lead vocalist. "

Regarding the name dispute, Ulf stated that he had "No problems using the name even though all the original members are not included" http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/rockbjornen2010/article7429969.ab Jenny commented further on this topic in a 2010 newspaper interview. She said she wasn't allowed by Jonas and Ulf to participate in the songwriting for the band's album. ''"From now on, I want things in writing. I agreed to work under certain conditions, and they just vanished." "They didn't want me in". When asked, "Do you want to go back to Ace of Base again? " she responded " Not right now. It would take some apologies ". http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article7971852.ab

Jenny Berggren released her first autobiography "Vinna hela världen" ("To Win The World") in late September 2009. It is currently only available in Swedish, but will be translated. It was reported in December 2009 that she was being considered as the final wildcard "joker" in Melodifestivalen 2010 , Sweden's national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest . Ultimately, she was not selected.

On November 13, 2009, Ulf, acting as head judge on Idol 2009 , announced, "We're in the studio right now, planning to release a new album in the beginning of next year. It's practically finished and we're negotiating with different labels. That's all I can say."

New members and relaunch (2010 – present)

In late June, 2010, Facebook and Twitter accounts for an Ulf and Jonas project without Jenny were launched under the name Ace of Base. Pictures have been released via these accounts featuring two new vocalists, whose names have been given as Clara and Julia. One of them is Clara Hagman , who made it to the semi-finals round of Idol 2009 , on which Ulf appeared as a judge. The first single from The Golden Ratio (album)|The Golden Ratio , " All for You (Ace of Base song)|All For You ", was serviced to European radio stations in mid-July 2010 and was released as a single on September 10, 2010. The Golden Ratio was released on September 24, 2010. The album entered the German album charts at #20. " All for You (Ace of Base song)|All For You " reached #38 in the official German singles chart.

Singers and musicians influenced by Ace of Base

Many musicians and singers have cited Ace of Base as a musical influence: Lady Gaga has claimed that her album The Fame Monster , with songs such as " Alejandro (song)|Alejandro ", was influenced by "super pop melodies of the 90s" by acts such as Ace of Base. The song " Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) " from The Fame has also been likened to the band.

Katy Perry has claimed that she would like her follow-up album to One of the Boys (Katy Perry album)|One of the Boys to sound like "The Sign". "It's what I said I wanted earlier," she told MTV. "We nailed it: It's roller-skating& #33; It's '90s& #33; It's Ace Of Base& #33; It's Cyndi Lauper& #33; It's like all these colors and more". The British pop group Steps (group)|Steps ' third album Buzz (Steps album)|Buzz was also reportedly influenced by their early material.

Awards

1993 Swedish Grammis|Grammi & ndash; Best Pop Group

1993 Swedish Grammis|Grammi & ndash; TV audience price

1993 Bronze Bravo (magazine)|BRAVO Otto (Germany) & ndash; Best rock/pop Group

1994 American Music Award & ndash; Favorite Band, Duo or Group - Pop / Rock

1994 American Music Award & ndash; Favorite New Artist - Pop / Rock

1994 Billboard Music Award & ndash; No.1 Single

1994 Billboard Music Award & ndash; Top New Artist

1994 Billboard Music Award & ndash; Artist of The Year

1994 World Music Award & ndash; World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Recording Artists of the Year

1994 Echo (Germany) & ndash; Group of the Year

1995 Grammy Awards & ndash; Pop Vocal Group(Nominee)

1995 Grammy Awards & ndash; New Artist(Nominee)

1995 World Music Award & ndash; World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Recording Artists of the Year

1996 World Music Award & ndash; World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Recording Artists of the Year

1997 World Music Award & ndash; World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Recording Artists of the Year

2007 BMI Award for over 3 million performances of 'The Sign' on US TV and radio

2011 The scandipop award & ndash; Best Group Album

Discography

For more on all single and album releases including extended chart information, see Ace of Base discography .

For a complete list of all the songs, see List of Ace of Base songs

Studio albums

Happy Nation / The Sign (1993)

The Bridge (Ace of Base album)|The Bridge (1995)

Flowers (Ace of Base album)|Flowers / Cruel Summer (Ace of Base album)|Cruel Summer (1998)

Da Capo (Ace of Base album)|Da Capo (2002)

The Golden Ratio (album)|The Golden Ratio (2010)

Number one singles

Year	Single	Chart position
Year	Single	U.S. ^{Hot 100}	U.S. ^Mainstream	U.S. ^Dance	UK	CAN	GER	SWE	ESP	RUS
1993	" All That She Wants "	2	1	3	1	1	1	2	1	1
1994	" The Sign (song)	1	1	13	2	1	1	2	align="center"	1
	" Don't Turn Around "	4	1	36	5	1	6	11	1	1
	" Living in Danger "	20	7	1	18	4	23	15	-	11
1995	" Lucky Love "	30	-	1	20	2	13	1	8	14
1995	" Beautiful Life (Ace of Base song)	15	-	1	15	1	20	22	10	1
1999	" C'est la Vie (Always 21) "	-	-	-	-	-	64	38	1	-
Total number one hits		1	3	3	1	4	2	1	3	4

Copyright Citations

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