Ace Of Base

Ace of Base is one of the most well known Swedish pop music groups, selling over 60 million records worldwide. The original band consisted of siblings Ulf Ekberg (Ulveson), Jonas Berggren, his sister Linn Berggren, and Jenny Berggren, another sibling. With their distinct sound and first album, Happy Nation, the band enjoyed international success in the 90’s. They are well remembered for their hit tracks “The Sign” and “All That She Wants”.

The songwriting and production was mostly done by the two brothers, Jonas and Ulf. The recording session for the band’s first album Happy Nation happened in Norway in the beginning of 1992 until April 1993. The first album contained the songs such as “Wheel of Fortune”, “Voulez-Vous Dancer”, “All That She Wants”, and the mega hit singles “The Sign” and “Don’t Turn Around”. Ace of Base found major success with their first album as it sold 9 million copies in the United States and topped the charts in multiple countries. Their success continued with a follow-up album called The Bridge, released in 1995. The Bridge continued the band’s success on the charts, containing hits such as “Beautiful Life” and “Lucky Love.”

By 1997, the band began to experience several lineup changes. Ulf Ekberg left the group to pursue personal interests, with his sister Linn taking over many of his songwriting tasks. Jonas, Linn, and Jenny continued on as a trio, helped by several studio musicians. In 1995, the band released their third and last studio album, Flowers. This album was met with great success, with the single “Cruel Summer” becoming popular. The band embarked on an expansive tour to promote the album worldwide and were well received by their legions of fans.

The band pursued a side project of more serious style of music with the Swedish instrumental group Optimus in 2000 and also began work on their final album, Da Capo, which was released in 2002. Da Capo contained songs by all three remaining members, as well as a track written by Ulf, though he was not involved in the recording of the album. Unfortunately, after the release of the album, the Berggren siblings tested the waters of solo projects which marked the end of Ace of Base. Despite this, the band has had a lasting impact on pop culture.

Today, Ace of Base is remembered by fans and critics the world around as one of the greatest pop/dance bands of the 90s. Even though members have come and gone, eight studio albums have been released, showing how much they have achieved in their short career. Truly, the group has left an unforgettable mark in music history. Avery impressive feat, indeed.