Ace Of Base

“All that she wants is another baby…”

As 2009 sees the UK’s population at the mercy of a recession-fuelled baby boom, the words of Ace of Base’s anthemic song never rang truer.  But whatever happened to the chart topping, Swedish pop sensation?

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, three siblings (Jenny, Linn and Jonas Berggren) and a Buddha (Ulf Ekberg’s other recording guise) joined forces in 1991 to create what would become the country’s third best-selling band behind ABBA and Roxette with an estimated 50 million record sales.
 
In 1992 Ace of Base was released upon Europe.  Securing a number one in Denmark with their first single Wheel of Fortune and then topping the charts once more with follow-up All That She Wants, (whilst Wheel of Fortune sat at #2) the band were set for a whirlwind of success.

After delivering an equally successful debut album, the band conquered the UK singles chart with ‘dub-reggae’ hit All That She Wants charting at #1 in May 1993.  Proving critics wrong, Ace of Base were also a hit state-side, making #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The band churned out hit after hit from debut album 'Happy Nation/The Sign', releasing The Sign, Don’t Turn Aroundand Living in Danger.

They also enjoyed varied success from follow-up albums 'The Bridge' and 'Flowers' producing stand out tracks such as Beautiful Life, Life is a Flower, Cruel Summer and Always Have, Always Will.

However in 2002, after a greatest hits compilation, their fourth album 'De Capo'*, after only getting a ‘soft release’ in the UK, saw the band fade from the spotlight.

*Interesting Fact: The Juvenile - taken from De Capo was originally intended for the James Bond film Goldeneye but was later shelved and Tina Turner’s version used instead.

So where’d they all go?

Well, good news for any die hard fans is they never really left…although staying out of the spotlight for much of the mid noughties, Ace of Base have returned to the studio.

The band have been back performing concerts since 2007 mostly in Eastern Europe, but in 2007, Ulf stated in an interview that Malin ‘Linn’ Berggren had left the band and she would not be featured on the band's new album.

The band had been performing without her for nearly a decade before the official announcement was made.

Here is what the current line up of Ace Of Base looks like now.

Aside from all things Basey, Jenny has been working on a solo Christian CD and is ready to release a book entitled Vinna hela världen (translated Gains the Whole World – really?).

Ulf is also involved with various charity work and after experiencing the 2004 tsunami founded the Surin Relief Fund to ‘support affected children by providing facilities to school children and care for orphaned children’.

The band is currently working in studio with Swedish producer Peer Åström (who has Madonna and Enrique Iglesias on his CV) for their new album, but mysteriously their official website has been offline since late June 2009 without explanation…

Is this the result of a Cruel Summer perhaps, or it is a Sign of exciting things to come?  All we know is that we love them, Always Have, Always Will.

Apologies; that last bit was atrocious. Anyway, here is their official MySpace page, where you can follow Jenny on Twitter or hear the 2009 remix of some of their most, um, enduring songs.