Ace of Base is a Swedish pop band consisting of Junas Berggren (lyrics and music writer, guitar, synthesizer, vocals), Ulf Ekberg (lyrics and music writer, synthesizer, vocals), Lynn Berggren (lyrics and music writer, vocals) and Jenny Berggren (lyrics and music writer, vocals). Like many other Swedish musicians, they perform their songs in English.
The band's album "Happy Nation / The Sign" is the best-selling debut album in history. In the United States, the record has been honored as platinum nine times. It was the first debut album in the world, 3 songs from which ("All That She Wants", "The Sign", "Don't Turn Around") reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 charts.
In 2007, one of the central soloists Lynn Berggren left the band. In 2009, lead singer Jenny Berggren left the band. The remaining members, Junas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg, formed a new musical project in 2010, which was called Ace.of.Base. In 2013, the new collective broke up.
The debut album "Happy Nation / The Sign" (1992-1993)
The first song recorded by Ace of Base was the single "Wheel of Fortune". But the song didn't make enough excitement in Sweden, as the Swedes themselves considered the song too naive, predictable and uninteresting. But the band was not going to despair and started to look for a record company that would publish their compositions. And in March 1992 they were noticed by Danish label Mega Records. In the same year the song "Wheel of Fortune" was re-released for the third time, and it managed to reach the second place in the Danish charts.
Encouraged by the initial success of their song, Ace of Base set about creating their first album. At this time, a demo tape of their song "All That She Wants" came to the attention of Dennise Pop, who was known for the songs he had written for Dr. Alban.
The song "All That She Wants" became instantly famous and topped the charts in 17 countries until the album "Happy Nation" appeared on the horizon. Two songs from this album - "The Sign" and "Don't Turn Around" became overnight popular not only in European countries, but also in Russia and Asia.
The process of Ace of Base's ascent to the musical Olympus was not hindered even by the fact that on March 27, 1993, Swedish newspaper "Expressen" reported that Ulf Ekberg was a member of one of the Nazi organizations. Ulf admitted that much of the printed material was true, but denied that he was a racist. In the 1997 documentary Our Story, Ulf stated that "I told everyone that I was really sorry for what I had done. I closed that chapter of my life. I don't even want to talk about this past of mine, as it doesn't interest me anymore."
Ulf's confessions didn't hurt the band's career much and in April 1993, Ace of Base, along with the band Inner Circle and Dr. Alban, perform in Tel Aviv, Israel in front of the largest audience they had ever seen in their career - 55,000 people.
In the fall of 1993, the single "All That She Wants" is released in North America. There it instantly becomes a platinum album. The single was followed by an album entitled "Happy Nation (U.S. Version) / The Sign". It was a special edition of "Happy Nation" for the USA, but with a different cover and four new songs. Ace of Base begins to win the hearts of North American listeners. In Canada more than 1 million records were sold, and in the USA about 8 million copies of the album were sold in one year.
By the end of 1994 Ace of Base already had 6 World Music Awards, several Grammy nominations in different countries, 3 Billboard Awards. In addition, Billboard calculated that the Swedish band Ace of Base became the most popular non-US band in the 20th century. And all this despite the fact that in their native Sweden the album "The Sign" was recognized as the worst album of the year.
Second album "The Bridgе" (1995)
By early 1995, Ace of Base continues to lead the music charts in many countries. But the band members admit that they are tired of the endless comparison of Ace of Base with the equally popular band ABBA. The huge success of the collective puts its imprint on the lives of the participants.
In the middle of 1994, a mentally unstable fan Manuela Behrendt breaks into Jenny Berggren's house and threatens her with a knife. Some time after the intruder's visit, Jenny manages to get her mother's attention and the two of them finally manage to drive the groupie out into the street. In the process, Jenny's mom hurts her arm. And the girl herself after that night was afraid to sleep alone in the dark. Eventually after all the turmoil the band finds the strength and releases a new album "The Bridge" containing 17 songs. The album was different from the band's previous album. After reggae and club tunes, the band released more lyrical compositions. The song "Lucky Love" to the surprise of many becomes the No. 1 song in Sweden, but it was received more coolly in Germany and England, where it reached only 13th and 20th place in the charts respectively. The album was certified platinum, but the phenomenal success of the first album could not be repeated.
After the release of "The Bridge" and a round-the-world tour, Ace of Base disappear for a while and do not perform anywhere. They appear only in July 1997 at the concert dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Princess Victoria of Sweden.
The third album "Flowers / Cruel Summer".
In 1998, Ace of Base finally release their long-awaited new album, which is titled "Flowers". The band explains the name of the album by the fact that their songs are so diverse that together they can make up a whole bouquet of different colored and smelling flowers.
To the surprise of fans, they discover that the band's frontwoman Lynn Berggren left the main vocal parts to her sister Jenny, and on the album, Lynn's face was some distance away from the band members' faces and was blurred out. The band assured the public that Lynne was happy with her current position in the band and informed fans that there was no need to worry, and Lynne had simply damaged her vocal cords, was afraid of flying on a plane on a world tour, and she understood the downside of popularity.
A song from the third album, "Life Is A Flower" was received with rave reviews in Europe, it was named the most played song on the radio. The single went on to sell 250,000 copies in the UK, ranking 5th in sales.
In America, the Swedes' new record was released under the name "Cruel Summer", based on the name of the cover of Bananarama, a disco idol of the past. It was a successful move - the song hit the top ten for the first time in 4 years. Besides, both versions had different track lists and even lyrics.
The songs "Everytime It Rains" and "Donnie" were not released in Europe. In the USA, in turn, the songs "Dr. Sun", "I Pray" and "Captain Nemo" were not heard. But despite all the marketing moves, album sales were not high. This time only 2 million copies were sold. The reason was that the new Ace of Base albums were too predictable. Fans wanted to hear something new, but Ace of Base went the beaten path.
The albums "Singles Of The 90s" and "Greatest Hits" (1999-2000)
A collection of 16 of the band's greatest hits called "Singles Of The 90s" was released in November 1999.
The first single "C'est La Vie (Always 21)" was recognized as a #1 hit in Spain to the surprise of everyone. To strengthen their position in the charts, the single "Hallo Hallo" was released, aimed exclusively at the Spanish market.
Other singles such as "Love in December" and "Everytime It Rains" were released as radio singles. A little later they were also released on the American market, selling around 5,000 copies in the first week.
The single "Hallo Hallo" was originally included on the American songbook, but it ended up not being included on the album at all. Only the song "C'est La Vie (Always 21)" was the only new track on the album that was U.S.-oriented. The album also included new remixes of the songs "Lucky Love" and "Beautiful Life".
This was the end of the band's contract with Arista Records. The contract was not renegotiated.
After releasing albums consisting of the band's greatest hits, Ace of Base started recording their new fourth album, which had been in the works for 2 years.
Fourth album "Da Capo" (2002)
In September 2002, Ace of Base release their new album "Da Capo" in Europe and Japan. In Japan, the CD is released with a different cover artwork and three bonus songs. The album contained 12 original tracks and was originally scheduled for release in 2000, but the release was repeatedly delayed due to problems at the record company. With this record Ace of Base wanted to return to the original style of their music.
Despite the fact that the album entered many charts of European countries, it was not as popular as the previous albums of the band. And the band's promotional tour of European countries included only two members out of four - Jenny and Ulf. Jonas stayed home with his family, and Lynn was only present at the performance in Germany. The album was not released in the United States. The first released track from the new album was "Beautiful Morning", which reached number 14 in Sweden and number 38 in Germany. The song "The Juvenile" was a "lost" song on the album; the band had written it in 1995 for the feature film GoldenEye, a feature film about the adventures of James Bond. However, the record company refused to use the song in the movie. After this incident, the band never again wrote songs for feature films.
The single "Unspeakable", the second song from the album, was released in Scandinavian countries, but after reaching low places in the charts, the song prematurely ended the upward movement of the entire album.
2007-2008. World tour and new album
In 2007, Ace of Base decide to start recording a new album, announcing on their official website, "We are back in the studio with lots of inspiration". The band's manager Lasse Carlson suggested that the new album would be released in the spring of 2008. In April 2007, their official MySpace page was updated to announce the progress of their new album.
On August 14, 2007, Lasse Carlson announced that the band would play their first concert in Bangalore, India on November 24, 2007. This concert was later canceled, but several other concerts were scheduled. New concerts were held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on November 15, and St. Petersburg, Russia, on November 17. There were also concerts in Ufa and Moscow. Ace of Base was in Moscow twice in 2007. The band also performed in Denmark, Estonia, and Lithuania. These concerts were a small warm-up before the planned round-the-world tour in 2008. The concert tour will consist of old, popular Ace of Base songs.
On November 28, 2007, Ulf Ekberg confirms in an interview that Lynn Berggren has left the band and she will not be involved in the recording of the band's new album. The band has already performed without Lynn as a trio. Lynn's photos have been removed from all of the band's promotional material. Current frontwoman Jenny confirmed her sister's departure to the Danish press, "She has not been part of Ace of Base for several years." According to her, she left the band to devote most of her time to her studies and family.
Plans for a new album began back in 2004 after a short promotional tour for the Da Capo album. The album was planned to be released in 2005. But events such as Jenny's wedding and problems with the record company forced the band to postpone the release of the album. The band did not begin recording until November 4, 2007. Despite the fact that the band has not signed a record deal yet, they are going to release a new album in spring 2009, which will include 14 songs: 7 new songs and 7 remade old hits.
The band has also met with the manager of Global Remix Project, the company will create remixes of their old songs. The plan is to release the remix album in 5 different forms worldwide; each release will be released in different territories. Each release will contain elements of the national songs of the countries in which it will be released. Local popular DJs will have a hand in working on the releases. Whether it will be released with the new album, or whether it will be released separately, is not yet known.
On December 14, 2007, Jonas Berggren announced at a meeting with fans after a concert in Lithuania that they are currently working with very famous American producers, but he could not name them. Susanne Safsund and Linnea Deb, two backing singers who are part of the band's world tour, will take part in the recording of the new album.
On April 4, 2008, the first promo photos for the new album appeared on UnitedStage.se. Ten days later, the band's official website was completely revamped. The band previously announced that they now have a new manager, John Orlando, who was previously the band's agent for Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
On June 14, 2008, the band premiered their new song "Sparks From A Fire" in Midelfart, Denmark.
During the summer and fall of 2008, the band was on a world tour and managed to perform at several summer festivals, including Smukfest in August in Denmark.
On November 14, 2008, the band released the album "Greatest Hits, Classic Remixes and Music Videos". It consists of three CDs. The first CD contains the band's best songs, the second CD includes remixes, and the third DVD contains all of the band's music videos. The album also includes several of the band's new remixes - "Wheel of Fortune 2009", "Don't Turn Around 2009", "Lucky Love 2009" and a bonus track for the Japanese version of the album, "The Sign - Freedom Bunch Mix". In mid-November 2008, Ulf Ekberg and Jan Karel Kleijn (founder of A.C.E. 3.0) began collaborating with Koblo, who had already released the remix compilation "Wheel of Fortune 2009". On January 17, 2009 a new remix of the band "Happy Nation 2009" was released.
In March 2009, the band toured extensively and worked on a new album with Swedish producer Pi Estrom.
In the summer of 2009 it became known that record companies wanted to see Ace of Base with four members. The band faced the question of whether to look for a new band member or to release an album under a new name.
At the end of June 2009, the band's official website stopped working due to the bankruptcy of Mubito, the company maintaining the site.
Meanwhile, band member Jenny Berggren released her first book "Vinna HeLa världen" (English: "Gains The Whole World") on September 20, 2009. Currently the book is only available in Swedish, but it will be translated into other languages after a while. Jenny Berggren is also currently working on her solo album, which is scheduled for release in early fall 2010. Jenny also released the song "Free Me", which was available for free download on the singer's official website, and shot a music video for her first single "Here I Am".
At the beginning of December 2009, Jenny Berggren decided to participate in the "Melodifestivalen" qualifying contest to get a ticket to Eurovision 2010. But in the end her song was not strong enough to qualify for the contest.
2010. New band line-up and new album
On November 13, 2009, Ulf Ekberg, participating in "Idol" as a head judge, said: "We are in the studio at the moment and we plan to release a new album early next year. The album is almost finished and we are in talks with various record companies. That's all I can say."
On November 30, 2009, Jenny Bergren confirmed on her Twitter blog that she is no longer working with Ace of Base and her focus is on her solo career. But she hopes to work with the band again someday.
On December 12, 2009, it was confirmed that Ace of Base will release a new album in 2010 with a revamped lineup, with two new lead singers joining the band to replace the departed members, Jenny and Lynn. It was also confirmed that Timbaland is one of the producers of the new album.
On June 21, 2010, a video was posted on YouTube in which two new songs of the band with two new lead singers could be heard.
At the end of June 2010, the band's official Facebook page was launched. It featured a picture of the band with the new lead singers, who were introduced to the community as Clara and Julia. Klara Hagman is a contestant on the show Idol, on which Ulf appeared as a judge.
On July 4, 2010, it was announced that the band would now be called Ace.of.Base. The pronunciation of the name will not change.
And a little later on July 16, 2010, the band will present the single "All For You" on European radio stations, which was released on September 10, 2010. It is the band's first single from the new album "The Golden Ratio", which was released on September 24, 2010.
2011-2015. Ace Thursdays and the departure of the lead singers
From 2011 to 2013, Jónas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg released previously unreleased material to fans on a semi-regular basis via the band's official Facebook page and through the ReverbNation website. This event to re-release material was titled "Ace Thursdays". In May 2013, "Ace Thursdays" ceased to exist, but as of November 2014, the band's Facebook page continues to be updated on a regular basis.
In 2013, Julia Williamsson announced on her official Facebook page that she had not been a member of the band Ace.of.Base for about a year. She later confirmed that Klara Hagman was also no longer part of the band.
On May 14, 2014, Junas announced via Facebook that they were "working on something big" and that "Lynn Berggren is involved". On July 7, 2014, a mini-album containing remixes of the song "All That She Wants" was released. On September 27, 2014, Jonas Berggren stated that the band was filming the documentary "All That She Wants" at Google headquarters.
On December 24, 2014, the band released one of seven reissue albums, titled "The Sign". The albums would be distributed via digital distribution and contain one bonus track. Thus the reissue album "The Sign" contains an early version of the song "All That She Wants" - "Mr. Ace". On March 6, 2015, the band released the album "Hidden Gems", which consists of unreleased songs by the band.