Ace of Base Artistfacts

1993-
Jonas Berggren
Linn Berggren
Jenny Berggren
Ulf Ekberg
Ace of Base is a pop group from Gothenburg, Sweden. Many fans get confused about their name, assuming that it must be "bass" as in the musical term. In fact, they picked the name because nobody could pronounce their old name (which makes them sound like champion fishermen), and they played in a basement.
The original group was a quartet of brothers and sisters Jonas Berggren, Linn Berggren, and Jenny Berggren, and friend Ulf Ekberg - with women on vocals and men on keyboards. The group has traditionally stuck to the Eurodance side of pop.
Happy Nation / The Sign became the third highest-selling debut album by a group in music history. It spawned the worldwide hit songs "The Sign," "All That She Wants," and "Don't Turn Around."
There's some confusion with that first album. Happy Nation was re-released once and was also retitled as The Sign in other countries. But regardless of what it was called, the album was the #1 charting seller in Argentina, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, the UK, and the US. It was also certified either gold, diamond, or multi-platinum in dozens of countries.
Ulf Ekberg reveals his European-pop roots when he talks about his influences on the official AOB website: "I bought my first Kraftwerk album when I was eight. Our music came from that and the first new wave of Depeche Mode, OMD, Human League and Eurythmics."
Both Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have disclosed in interviews that Ace of Base is one of their influences.
Ace of Base songs have been a part of the soundtracks to many films, amongst them You Don't Mess with the Zohan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, The New Country, and A Night at the Roxbury - in the last case, the Ace of Base song was definitely the best thing about that film!

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvana

Teen Spirit was a kind of deodorant marketed to young girls. That's where Kurt Cobain got the title "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Down UnderMen at Work

Often heard as a patriotic song celebrating their homeland of Australia, "Down Under" by Men At Work is really about the selling of that country, and it makes a strong political statement.

China GroveThe Doobie Brothers

There really is a China Grove (in Texas), but Tom Johnston didn't know about it when he wrote the Doobie Brothers song.

IronicAlanis Morissette

The events described in Alanis Morissette's song "Ironic," like rain on your wedding day, are not examples of irony. Irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning.

Do You Want To DanceBobby Freeman

Bobby Freeman's '50s hit "Do You Want To Dance" was also a Hot 100 hit for Del Shannon, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, Bette Midler and the Ramones.