Ace of Base
Ace of Base is a Swedish pop band from Gothenburg.
History
Origins
Main initiator of the establishment of Ace of Base, Jonas Berggren was. He had worked for several years in a band called G Konrad, and then in 1987 with two friends, one of The KLF and Snap! Founded inspired techno band without international success. For this he won his two sisters Malin and Jenny as singers. The band fell apart with the departure of the two partners. But Jonas was able to win his friend Ulf Ekberg to restart. Thus, the quartet was complete, the formed in 1990 as Ace of Base. Ekberg was previously inter alia, in the neo-Nazi band "Commit suiside " [sic ], pictures from the time show him with a Hitler salute and a Nazi party eagle on the T- shirt. He was at that time a member of the neo-Nazi party Swedish Democrats. Ekberg has repeatedly distanced by its own account of this period of his life and expressed his regret. Whether Berggren or the other band members at that time were aware of this history, is controversial.
The career of Ace of Base began in 1991 when the record label Mega Records took the band under contract. Was released in 1992 as the first single Wheel of Fortune, which reached the charts in Scandinavia. Then, the band received a European record deal with Metronome Records.
1992 to 1999: Achievements
The end of 1992, the single All That She Wants appeared. She was a sales success in ten European countries occupied Germany in eight weeks in the charts and in the UK three weeks. Also published in March 1993 debut album Happy Nation reached top positions in the charts. All That She Wants was then was covered by the German punk rock band Wizo and also the German rock band Knorkator.
With some delay, the band also achieved a breakthrough in the U.S.. In the Billboard Charts All That She Wants peaked at # 2 Their debut album was released there in late 1993 with four additional songs under the title The Sign. The album's title track reached in March 1994, the top of the U.S. charts and had the place six weeks held.
This year, Ace of Base was nominated for three Grammys. From her debut album 24 million copies were sold worldwide, in the U.S. alone, there were over nine million copies. So Happy Nation / The Sign was the hitherto best-selling debut album and made the 1995 Guinness Book of Records.
Her three songs All That She Wants, The Sign and Do not Turn Around stood in 1993/94 a total of 48 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Top Ten. Thus they managed a record which was broken by Katy Perry in 2011, which was represented with their songs a year without interruption in the top ten.
On the night of April 27, 1994 Jenny Berggren and her mother were attacked by a female, apparently mentally ill, German fan in her house in Gothenburg and injured with a knife. The event processed Jenny Berggren Ravine in the song that came on the track list of the album The Bridge.
The second album The Bridge was released in fall 1995. Lucky Love, the first single, was premiered at the Gothenburg World Championships in Athletics. The record sold worldwide about 5 million times. It also published the singles Beautiful Life and Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry. Even with The Bridge reached the band in the U.S. and in some other countries platinum status.
In spring 1998, the third album Flowers has been published. Was pre- coupled the Single Life Is A Flower, which could in many countries reach the Top 10. On this album there is also Cruel Summer, a cover version of hits from Bananarama in the summer of 1983. The single was again a great success for Ace of Base in the U.S., where it reached # 10 on the Billboard charts. The next singles were in late 1998 and early 1999 Always Have, Always Will and Every Time It Rains, both of which came in the British charts in the Top 20. Flowers From the band has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
Malin Berggren, the former main singer of the band withdrew from that date from the public gaze and her sister Jenny was the sole lead singer.
In the fall of 1999, Ace of Base reached with C'est la vie # 1 in the Spanish single charts, the follow-up single Hello Hello came in at number 21 in Spain and 11 in Finland. Both titles are published by the end of 1999 compilation album Singles of the 90s.
Jenny Berggren (2008)
Jonas Berggren (2008)
Ulf Ekberg (2008)
2002-2009: Comeback and separation
After a break of four years, appeared in the fall of 2002 the fourth studio album Da Capo, with the group ( the album was the 10th in Japan) chart success in Asia could celebrate. On the debut single Beautiful Morning ( 14th place in Sweden) the time-critical ballad The Juvenile followed (only released in Germany ) and Unspeakable ( number 45 in Sweden), typical of the four Scandinavian style.
In October / November 2005, there was after a long time the first time live performances by Ace of Base, including in the context of the Night of the Proms in Antwerp. However, the band went on without Malin Berggren.
Since November 2007, Ace of Base gave in Northern and Eastern Europe and in Asia concerts. It was the first tour of the band for many years; this was the first time without Malin Berggren instead, because it was announced on December 3, 2007 that it had definitively left the band.
In October 2008, published Ace of Base is a remake of their first single, Wheel Of Fortune as New eingesungene version ( Wheel Of Fortune 2009). Shortly after, on 14 November a greatest hits album, which was released in two versions for the German market. Version 1 of the album is a normal Greatest Hits album and version 2 is subtitled "Classic Remixes ". On this many previously unreleased remixes of their biggest hits are published.
On 21 August 2009, the Italian DJ Rico Bernasconi published in collaboration with Ace of Base as " Rico Bernasconi vs. Ace of Base " his club orientated remake of the hit " Cruel Summer " from the year 1998. The vocals of Jenny Berggren were retained.
On 30 November 2009 Jenny Berggren was on her Twitter account the phasing out of the band known. She expressed there also regret that Ace of Base could not have done in the period after Malins exit to produce a new album. However, wanted to make music that could be heard by everyone, and therefore saw no other option than to go the way of the solo artist. She wished her brother and friend Ulf Ekberg the common happiness for the future with Ace of Base. Berggren and Ekberg announced then, wanting the band with two new vocalists, Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson continue.
Since 2010: a new beginning
In July 2010, Berggren and Ekberg announced the release of a new single and a new album. Shortly after an audition of the first newly composed single in 2003 entitled " All for you " was published on the Facebook page of the band and on your homepage.
On 10 September 2010, the single was released. The album "The Golden Ratio" followed two weeks later, and rose in the German album charts at number 20.
The influence of Ace of Base on other artists
Many musicians and singers called Ace of Base as a major influence on their own careers: Lady Gaga stated that her album The Fame Monster, was influenced by songs like Alejandro, of " great pop tunes of the 90s " by artists such as Ace of Base. The song Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) The Fame of some critics also compared with the songs of Ace of Base. The Swedish singer Robyn took Ace of Base as inspiration for her song Dancehall Queen what. On her album Body Talk Pt 1 is contained.
Katy Perry said, her follow-up to One of the Boys should sound like The Sign "It is rollerskating. It's the nineties. It is Ace Of Base. It is Cyndi Lauper. It is colorful and much, much more. "Even the British pop group Steps was inspired on her third album Buzz from the early albums by Ace of Base.
Ace of Base stated in some interviews that they felt honored that stars like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have been influenced by them.
Awards
Discography
→ Main article: Ace of Base / Discography