Ace of Base

Ace Of Base
From left to right: Jonas, Jenny, Ulf and Linn.
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Country	Sweden, Europe
Years active	1990 – present
Genres	House Eurodance Pop Europop Ballad Adult Contemporary Techno
Labels	Mega Records(1992-1999) Edel-Mega Records(1999-2003) Arista Records - US only (1993-2000)
Members	Jenny Berggren Jonas Berggren Linn Berggren Ulf Ekberg
Website(s)	http://www.aceofbase.com/

History

In 1987, Jonas Berggren, together with his two friends Johnny Lindén and Nicklas Tränk, formed a house/techno group [1]. Jonas' sisters, Jenny and Malin, joined as singers. Their band went through several names; 'Kalinin Prospect' (a street in Moscow), 'CAD' (Computer Aided Disco), and 'Tech-Noir' (French for "black technology'; named after a nightclub in The Terminator). In 1990, Johnny & Nicklas left the group, and Ulf Ekberg and Jonas "hobby" project became the main band. Jenny and Malin joined and they changed their name to Ace of Base. Jenny explained once that the reason was "no one could pronounce the name of the group and nobody could remember it"[2].

Achievements

Throughout their relatively short time recording and performing together, Ace of Base set a number of world records and other achievements. The following is a partial list.

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Happy Nation/The Sign'

• Argentina: 4 times platinum (160,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign')[31]
• Australia: 1 platinum (70,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[32]
• Austria: 1 platinum (30,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[33]
• Belgium: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[34]
• Brazil: 1 gold (for 'The Sign')[35]
• Canada: 1 diamond (1,000,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign')[36]
• Chile: 1 platinum (for 'The Sign')[37]
• China: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[38]
• Czech Republic: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[39]
• Denmark: 4 times platinum (160,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[40]
• Finland: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[41]
• France: 1 diamond (1,000,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[42]
• Germany: 3 times platinum (900,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[43]
• India: 1 platinum (200,000(?)+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[44]
• Indonesia: 4 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[45]
• Ireland: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[46]
• Italy: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[47]
• Greece: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[48]
• Japan: 4 times platinum (for 'The Sign')[49]
• Korea: 7 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[50]
• Mexico: 3 times platinum (450,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign')[51]
• Netherlands: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[52]
• New Zealand: 3 times platinum (45,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[53]
• Norway: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[54]
• Portugal: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[55]
• Singapore: 3 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[56]
• Spain: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[57]
• Sweden: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation')[58]
• Switzerland: 2 times platinum (80,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[59]
• South Africa: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[60]
• Thailand: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation')[61]
• United Kingdom: 2 times platinum (600,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation')[62]
• United States: 9 times platinum (9,000,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign')[63]

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'The Bridge'

• Canada: 2 times platinum (200,000+ units sold)[64]
• China: 2 times platinum[65][66]
• Denmark 1 Platinum [67]
• Finland: 1 platinum[68]
• France: 1 platinum (300,000+ units sold)[69]
• Germany: 1 gold (300,000+ units sold)[70]
• India: 1 gold (100,000(?)+ units sold)[71]
• Indonesia: 1 platinum[72]
• Japan: 1 platinum[73]
• Korea: 3 times platinum
• Malaysia: 1 gold [74]
• Mexico: 1 platinum (150,000+ units sold)[75]
• New Zealand: 1 platinum (15,000+ units sold)[76]
• Philippines: 2 times platinum[77]
• Poland: 1 gold[78]
• Spain: 1 gold[79][80]
• Sweden: 1 platinum[81]
• Switzerland: 1 platinum (40,000+ units sold)[82]
• United States: 2 times platinum (2,000,000+ units sold)[83]

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Flowers' / 'Cruel Summer'

• Canada: 1 gold (50,000+ units sold) (for 'Cruel Summer')[84]
• Denmark: 1 gold (20,000+ units sold) (for 'Flowers')[85]
• Japan: 2 times platinum (for 'Flowers')[86]
• Korea: 1 platinum (for 'Flowers')[87]
• Sweden: 1 gold (for 'Flowers')[88]
• Switzerland: 1 platinum (40,000+ units sold) (for 'Flowers')[89]

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Singles of the Nineties'

• Denmark: 1 gold (20,000+ units sold)[90]
• Japan: 1 Platinum[91]

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Da Capo'

• Japan: 1 Gold

The Music

From early on, Ace of Base drew inspiration from the growing European club scene. Their earliest performances were in small clubs in Gothenburg and their first recordings were simple reproductions of their live performances. Their first recording sessions took place in a basement converted into a studio (hence the name)[92][93].

Albums

• Happy Nation (1992)
• Happy Nation US Version (1993)
• The Sign (1993)
• The Bridge (1995)
• Flowers (1998)
• Cruel Summer (1998)
• Singles Of The 90s (1999)
• Greatest Hits (2000)
• Da Capo (2002)
• Platinum & Gold Collection (2003)

Singles

• Wheel Of Fortune (1992)
• All That She Wants (1992)
• Happy Nation (1993)
• The Sign (1993)
• Living In Danger (1994)
• Don't Turn Around (1994)
• Lucky Love (1995)
• Beautiful Life (1995)
• Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry (1996)
• Life Is A Flower (1998)
• Cruel Summer (1998)
• Whenever You're Near Me (1998)
• Travel To Romantis (1998)
• Always Have, Always Will (1998)
• Everytime It Rains (1999)
• C'est La Vie (Always 21) (1999)
• Hallo Hallo (1999)
• Everytime It Rains (Metro Radio Mix) (2000)
• Beautiful Morning (2002)
• Unspeakable (2002-2003)
• The Juvenile (2002)

DVD & Video

• 1994: The Sign (VHS, Region 1) (1994)
• 1994: Happy Nation (U.S. Version) (Pal Video) (1994)
• 2002: Da Capo (DVD, Region 2) (2002)
• 2003: Ace of Base: Exclusive Fan Edition (2003)
• 2005: Universal Masters Collection (DVD, All Regions) (2005)

Singles Chart Performance

Year Single Album US UK Canada Sweden Germany Australia France Spain Netherlands 1992 "Wheel of Fortune" Happy Nation / The Sign — #20 — #39 #4 — — — #2 1992 "All That She Wants" Happy Nation / The Sign #2 #1 #2 #3 #1 #1 — #1 #4 1993 "Happy Nation" Happy Nation / The Sign — #40 — #4 #7 #80 — — #5 1993 "Waiting For Magic" Happy Nation / The Sign — — — #2 — — — — — 1993 "The Sign" Happy Nation / The Sign #1 #2 #1 #2 #1 #1 — #1 #3 1994 "Don't Turn Around" Happy Nation / The Sign #4 #5 #1 #2 #6 #14 — — #7 1994 "Living In Danger" Happy Nation / The Sign #20 #18 — #15 — — — — #27 1995 "Lucky Love" The Bridge #30 #20 #2 #1 #13 #30 — — #16 1995 "Beautiful Life" The Bridge #15 #15 #1 #22 #20 #11 — — #27 1996 "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" The Bridge #106 — #53 #4 #44 #76 #41 — — 1998 "Life is a Flower" Flowers / Cruel Summer — #5 — #5 #20 — — — #40 1998 "Cruel Summer" Flowers / Cruel Summer #10 #8 #5 #13 #25 #59 — — — 1998 "Whenever You're Near Me" Flowers / Cruel Summer #76 — #71 — — — — — — 1998 "Travel To Romantis" Flowers / Cruel Summer — — — — #61 — — — — 1998 "Always Have Always Will" Flowers / Cruel Summer — #12 — — #47 #61 — — — 1999 "Everytime It Rains" Flowers / Cruel Summer — #22 — — — — — — — 1999 "C'est La Vie (Always 21)" Singles of the 90's — — — #38 #64 — — #1 — 2000 "Hallo Hallo" Singles of the 90's — — — — #99 — — #21 — 2002 "Beautiful Morning" Da Capo — — — #14 #38 — — — — 2002 "The Juvenile" Da Capo — — — — #78 — — — — 2003 "Unspeakable" Da Capo — — — #45 #97 — — — —

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