Ace of Base
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ace of Base | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Gothenburg, Sweden |
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| Genre(s) | House Eurodance Pop Europop Adult Contemporary Techno |
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| Years active | 1990–present | |
| Label(s) | Playground Records (Scandinavia) Arista Records (USA) Universal (Europe) |
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| Website | Official website | |
| Members | ||
| Jenny Berggren Jonas Berggren Linn Berggren Ulf Ekberg |
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Ace of Base is a dance-pop techno band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The members—Ulf Ekberg (Buddha), and siblings Jonas Berggren (Joker), Linn Berggren, and Jenny Berggren—released their debut album in 1992, and went on to major chart success throughout the 1990s. Their worldwide album sales exceed 30 million. Their debut became the best selling modern dance album in American history, with 9 million units sold.
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[edit] Formation
In 1987—after a few years in G Konrad, a new romantic and punk covers band—Jonas Berggren formed a band with two friends, Johnny Lindén and Nicklas Tränk; his sisters Linn and Jenny joined as singers. The new band went through several names: Kalinin Prospect (a street in Moscow); CAD (Computer-Aided Disco); and Tech-Noir (French for black technology, after a nightclub in the film The Terminator).[1] They toured the clubs of Sweden with their new self-written material, 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 the Bältesspännarparken on 6 August 1990; he preferred to attend a Rolling Stones concert on the other side of town.[2] 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.[3]
However the band continued to struggle to gain any recognition, partly due to the preference of heavy metal over techno in their home town, according to singer Jenny.[4] 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" 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 Danish label Mega Records in March 1992.[5] "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[6] and in September, after two failures, the single finally reached the singles chart.
[edit] International success
But 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, the band decided that was exactly the sound they wanted to create.[7] They contacted the song's producer Denniz PoP and sent him a demo of a track called "Mr Ace". The tape got stuck in his car's cassette player 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 unique dark fusion of dub-reggae with pop which became the band's trademark sound. On release in October 1992, it quickly climbed to number 1 on the Danish chart whilst the previous single was still sitting at number 2. Keen to rush out an 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 from elsewhere in Europe. A pan-European licence was signed with 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.
The band were briefly caught up in controversy when on 27 March 1993 the Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that Ulf had once been a member of a white power band called Commit Suiside who sang songs with racist lyrical content. He was also a member of the controversial far-right political party Sverigedemokraterna. Ulf was quick to admit that most of the details printed were true, but denied that he was racist. As a result of his denial a compilation of the songs was released on a limited edition CD called "Uffe was a nazi!" by Flashback Records in 1998. The record also contained a booklet with pictures of Ekberg from this time, including three pictures where he makes a Hitler salute, one picture where he wears a KKK t-shirt and another one where he wears a swastika t-shirt. The songs on the record are quite explicit. In the 1997 documentary "Our Story", Ulf said "I told everyone I really regret what I done. I closed that book. I don't want to even talk about it, that time does not exist in me any more. I closed it and I threw the book away. I took the experience from it, I learned from it. But that life is not me. It's somebody else."
The revelations did not harm the band's career and in April 1993 the band performed alongside 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 hit all round 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". But Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records and the man who had discovered Whitney Houston, thought otherwise, and by the end of 1993 "All That She Wants" had made its way to number 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" 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 number 1 becoming the best-selling single of the year 1994. It was also a major hit in Europe, peaking at number 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; "Living in Danger" and "Don't Turn Around". Originally a Tina Turner b-side which went on to become a UK number 1 hit for reggae band Aswad, Davis asked Ace of Base to record the Diane Warren-penned track and it was yet another worldwide hit. By the end of 1994, there was barely a country in the world where they were not succesful.
[edit] Subsequent releases
The band, who by now were not only tired of being compared to fellow Swedish group ABBA, but exhausted from two long years of international promotion, could hardly believe how successful they had become. In April 1994, a crazed German fan Manuela Behrendt broke into the Berggren family's home brandishing a knife and demanding that Jenny called her sister Linn. After managing to restrain her, the band decide that from then on they needed bodyguards. But 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 their own tracks for consideration.
In the end, 17 tracks made the cut of the second album entitled "The Bridge". It marked a considerable change of direction in sound; out was 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 pulsing dance beat of "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 concert in Chile, topping the bill alongside 2 Unlimited.
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 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" because they believed that the songs, wildly different in style including Motown and 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. British label London Records had requested the band record the 1984 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" and featured a slightly 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. "Always Have, Always Will" and "Travel to Romantis" were further hits in Europe whilst "Everytime It Rains" was issued as a single in the UK along with a re-packaged edition of "Flowers". However, it was not released as a single in the US until the following year in remixed-form in order to promote a new "Greatest Hits" album.
"Singles Of The 90s", a compilation of sixteen hit singles was released in November 1999 with a single, "C'est La Vie (Always 21)". Their most recent album "Da Capo" was released in 2002 only in Asia and parts of Europe. They were last seen in November 2005, when they performed several concerts at the "Night of the Proms" show in Belgium, their first orchestrated work.[8]
As of 2007, Ace of Base are recording a new album, stating on their official website: "we are now back in the studio again, with more inspiration than ever".[9] The band's manager Lasse Karlsson has suggested that it will be released in Spring 2008, and could be accompanied by a world tour.[10]
[edit] Achievements
Throughout their relatively short time recording and performing together, Ace of Base have won a number of awards and broken records. Their first album "The Sign" was given the Guinness World Record for "Best-Selling Debut Album".[11] Combined sales of "Happy Nation" and "The Sign" are thought to have now reached 23 million. It reached the number 1 position in at least twelve countries: Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and United States.[12]
In 1994, The band were awarded two American Music Awards including "Best Single" for "The Sign", which was also certified the year's best-selling single at the Billboard Music Awards.[13] In addition, they received three Grammy nominations, including "Best New Artist" which was awarded to Sheryl Crow.
Four of the group's singles have received gold or platinum certification by the RIAA in the United States. These are[14]
- "All That She Wants"
- Gold RIAA certification (over 500,000 units sold), awarded October 26, 1993.
- Platinum RIAA certification (over 1,000,000 copies sold), awarded November 12, 1993.
- "The Sign"
- Gold RIAA certification, awarded February 23, 1994.
- Platinum RIAA certification, awarded April 6, 1994.
- "Don't Turn Around"
- Gold RIAA certification, awarded June 29, 1994.
- "Cruel Summer"
- Gold RIAA certification, awarded September 1, 1998.
Two of the band's albums also received multi-platinum certication in the United States:[15]
- "The Sign"
- (10 RIAA platinum certifications = diamond), awarded May 21, 2002.
- "The Bridge"
- (2 RIAA platinum certifications), awarded May 21, 2002.
In addition, "The Sign Home Video Collection" was also certified gold.
In Europe, Ace of Base won the award for "World's Best-Selling Scandinavian Artist" at the 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 World Music Awards in Monaco, at which they performed each year. They also won the "Pop Newcomer of the Year" award at the 1994 World Music Awards. Also, "Life Is a Flower" was Europe's most played single on radio in 1998.
In the United Kingdom, the "All That She Wants" single sold more than 600,000 copies, making it the third-best selling single of 1993 (behind Meat Loaf and UB40. The band scored twelve UK top 40 singles and performed on the BBC's long-running music show Top Of The Pops ten times.
[edit] Discography
- For detailed Ace of Base discography, including B-sides, see: Ace of Base discography.
[edit] Albums
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[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | US | UK | Canada | Sweden | Germany | Australia | France | Spain | Netherlands |
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| 1992 | "Wheel of Fortune" | — | #20 | — | #39 | #4 | — | #21 | — | #2 |
| 1993 | "All That She Wants" | #2 | #1 | #2 | #3 | #1 | #1 | #2 | #1 | #4 |
| 1993 | "Happy Nation" | — | #40 | — | #4 | #7 | #80 | #1 | — | #5 |
| 1993 | "Waiting for Magic" | — | — | — | #2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | "The Sign" | #1 | #2 | #1 | #2 | #1 | #1 | #5 | #1 | #3 |
| 1994 | "Don't Turn Around" | #4 | #5 | #1 | #2 | #6 | #14 | #17 | — | #7 |
| 1994 | "Living in Danger" | #20 | #18 | #4 | #15 | #24 | — | #36 | — | #27 |
| 1995 | "Lucky Love" | #30 | #20 | #2 | #1 | #13 | #30 | #9 | — | #16 |
| 1995 | "Beautiful Life" | #15 | #15 | #1 | #22 | #20 | #11 | #10 | — | #27 |
| 1996 | "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" | #106 | — | #53 | #4 | #44 | #76 | #41 | — | — |
| 1998 | "Life Is a Flower" | — | #5 | — | #5 | #20 | — | #16 | — | #40 |
| 1998 | "Cruel Summer" | #10 | #8 | #5 | #13 | #25 | #59 | #24 | — | #55 |
| 1998 | "Whenever You're Near Me" | #76 | — | #71 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "Travel to Romantis" | — | — | — | — | #61 | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | "Always Have, Always Will" | — | #12 | — | — | #47 | #61 | — | — | #78 |
| 1999 | "Everytime It Rains" | — | #22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | "C'est La Vie (Always 21)" | — | — | — | #38 | #64 | — | — | #1 | — |
| 2000 | "Hallo Hallo" | — | — | — | — | #99 | — | — | #21 | — |
| 2002 | "Beautiful Morning" | — | — | — | #14 | #38 | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | "The Juvenile" | — | — | — | — | #78 | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | "Unspeakable" | — | — | — | #45 | #97 | — | — | — | — |
[edit] DVD and VHS
- 1994: The Sign (VHS, Region 1)
- 1994: Happy Nation (U.S. Version) (PAL VHS)
- 2002: Da Capo (DVD, Region 2)
- 2003: Ace of Base: Exclusive Fan Edition (DVD)
- 2005: Universal Masters Collection (DVD, All Regions)
[edit] See also
- Best selling music artists
- List of number-one hits (United States)
- List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)
- List of number-one albums from the 1990s (UK)
- List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart
- List of artists who reached number one on the Australian singles chart
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.aceofbase.co.uk/biography.html
- ^ http://www.happynation.net/aobgbg.htm
- ^ http://www.heathenworld.com/bandname/a-e.html
- ^ Happy Nation Home Video, VHS, 1994
- ^ Our Story, SVT documentary, 1997
- ^ http://www.mvdbase.com/artist.php?last=Ace%20of%20Base
- ^ Beatlab, SVT documentary, 2001
- ^ http://www.notp.com/?mod=forum&sub=onderwerp&id=12099&country=en
- ^ http://www.aceofbase.com
- ^ http://www.aceofbase.com.fr/home/index_en.htm
- ^ Guinness Book Of World Records, 1995 and 1997 editions
- ^ Mark Goodier, BBC Radio 1 UK Top 40, June 1994
- ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/1994/bbyearend.htm
- ^ http://www.riaa.:com/gp/database/default.asp
- ^ http://aceofbase.com/en/main.php?sida=sales
[edit] External links
- Official website
- The Hallo Boards
- Ace Boards
- Ace Of Base UK: Totally Addicted To Base
- Ace Days
- Ace Island
- Ace Kingdom
- Mister-Ace
- SmiLinn: The Ultimate Malin Berggren Source
- Ace of Base MySpace Page
Members: Jonas Berggren • Jenny Berggren • Linn Berggren • Ulf Ekberg
Albums: Happy Nation • The Sign • The Bridge • Flowers • Cruel Summer • Singles of the 90s • Greatest Hits • Da Capo
Singles: "Wheel of Fortune" • "All That She Wants" • "Happy Nation" • "Waiting for Magic" • "The Sign" • "Don't Turn Around" • "Living in Danger" • "Beautiful Life" • "Lucky Love" • "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" • "My Deja Vu" • "Angel Eyes" • "Life Is a Flower" • "Cruel Summer" • "Whenever You're Near Me" • "Travel to Romantis" • "Tokyo Girl" • "Donnie" • "Cecilia" • "Always Have Always Will" • "Everytime It Rains" • "C'est la Vie" • "Love in December" • "Hallo Hallo" • "Beautiful Morning" • "The Juvenile" • "Unspeakable"
Categories: Ace of Base | Swedish electronic music groups | Swedish musical groups | Swedish dance musicians | House music groups | Techno music groups | Synthpop | Dance musical groups | Eurodance groups | Rhythmic contemporary musicians | 1990s music groups | 2000s music groups | Arista Records artists | People from Gothenburg | Musical groups with siblings | Bands with female lead singers
