Ace of Base occurs as Swedish dance/pop band that consists of Jonas Berggren (Joker), Ulf Ekberg (Buddha), Linn Berggren and Jenny Berggren; the trine Berggrens come sib. It is typically in comparison fellow Scandinavian acts ABBA and Aqua.

History
Inside 1987, Jonas Berggren, together with his 2 friends Johnny Lindén & Nicklas Tränk, formed the house/techno class action. Jonas' sisters, Jenny & Malin, joined when singers. Their band went across many list; 'Kalinin Prospect' (the street inside Moscow), 'CAD' (Computer Aided Disco), and 'Tech-Noir' (French for "black technology'; named for a nightclub in The Terminator). In late 1989, Johnny & Nicklas left the group, and in 1990, Ulf Ekberg joined and they changed their name to Ace of Base. Jenny explained once that the reason was "there are no a single may pronounce a title of the class action & nonentity can remember it".

In 1990 they signed with Mega Records and released Wheel Of Fortune. After several attempts, the song was eventually a Scandinavian hit and the band signed a pan-European distribution deal with Metronome. All That She Wants, produced by the legendary Denniz PoP then became a hit single all over the world.

The months that followed saw the band propel themselves to worldwide fame. More hits followed such as The Sign, which went on to spend six weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a Grammy.

The band's image was tarnished by revelations that Ulf used to be a member of a neo-Nazi group in Sweden. He has long relinquished and rejected these ties.

In 1995, their second album The Bridge sold a respectable six million copies but it seemed clear that with music tastes rapidly changing, the hype about the band died down, much to the relief of blonde singer Linn who decided to hand over power to her sister Jenny for their third album Flowers which was released in 1998.

But before their comeback with "Flowers", in 1997 Malin Berggren decided to step-back of the limelight, and try what her sister, Jenny Berggren, has done in the past two albums. This decision made AoB mostly a trio during the promotion of the later albums, and her fans a bit worried...

Their U.S. comeback with Cruel Summer proved short-lived, but in Europe, Life Is A Flower was one of the most played records on radio that year. A greatest hits compilation was released at the end of the 90s before the band started work on album number 4.

Ace of Base has released dozens of singles worldwide. In the United States, they have had seven Billboard Top 40 hits and two platinum albums.

The band remain together today but have chosen to step out of the limelight. Da Capo was released in 2002 and whilst well received by fans, it didn't have an impact on many charts. On October and November 2005, the band performed several concerts at the "Night Of The Proms" 2005 show in Belgium (which is their first orchestated work). Jenny, Jonas & Ulf performed 4 of their biggest hits to the auddience:

All That She Wants The Sign Beautiful Life Life Is A Flower

At the moment, they are recording a fifth studio album rumoured to be released sometime in 2006, which is supposed to have Malin in the leads again.

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.

Ace of Base released the world's highest selling debut album of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, 1997 edition. Their 1993 release The Sign/Happy Nation sold an estimated 23 million copies.

Four of the group's singles have received gold or platinum certification by the RIAA in the United States. These are:

All That She Wants Gold RIAA certification (over 500,000 units sold) awarded 26 October 1993. Platinum RIAA certification (over 1,000,000 copies sold) awarded 12 November 1993.

The Sign Gold RIAA certification awarded 23 February 1994. Platinum RIAA certification, awarded 6 April 1994.

Don't Turn Around Gold RIAA certification, awarded 29 June 1994.

Cruel Summer Gold RIAA certification, awarded 1 September 1998.

Two of the band's albums received multi-platinum certication in the United States:

The Sign (10 RIAA platinum certifications = diamond) awarded 21 May 2002 The Bridge (2 RIAA platinum certifications) awarded 21 May 2002

In addition, "A Sign Residence Streaming Collection" was also certified gold. The band also received three Grammy nominations, two American Music Awards, and two Billboard Music Awards for "Right-Selling Album" and "Right-Selling Only".

In Europe, Ace of Base won awards for Best Selling Scandinavian Artist at the 1995, 1996, and 1997 World Music Awards in Monaco. They performed at each of these events.

In 1998 the band's single "Life is a Flower" was the most heavily played radio single of the year worldwide, despite the fact it was never released in the US.

In 2002 The Sign was certified diamond by the RIAA. Although Arista Records in the United States no longer releases new Ace of Base albums, both The Sign and The Bridge albums continue to be hot properties for the Arista/BMG label.

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

Argentina: 4 times platinum (160,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign') Australia: 1 platinum (70,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Austria: 1 platinum (30,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Belgium: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Brazil: 1 gold (for 'The Sign') Canada: 1 diamond (1,000,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign') Chile: 1 platinum (for 'The Sign') China: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Czech Republic: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Denmark: 4 times platinum (160,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Finland: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') France: 1 diamond (1,000,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Germany: 3 times platinum (900,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') India: 1 platinum (200,000(?)+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Indonesia: 4 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Ireland: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Italy: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Greece: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Hong Kong: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Japan: 4 times platinum (for 'The Sign') Korea: 7 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Mexico: 3 times platinum (450,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign') Netherlands: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') New Zealand: 3 times platinum (45,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') Norway: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Portugal: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Singapore: 3 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Spain: 1 platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Sweden: 2 times platinum (for 'Happy Nation') Switzerland: 2 times platinum (80,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') South Africa: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') Thailand: 1 gold (for 'Happy Nation') United Kingdom: 2 times platinum (600,000+ units sold) (for 'Happy Nation') United States: 1 diamond (10,000,000+ units sold) (for 'The Sign')

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'The Bridge'

Canada: 2 times platinum (200,000+ units sold) Finland: 1 platinum France: 1 platinum (300,000+ units sold) Germany: 1 gold (300,000+ units sold) India: 1 gold (100,000(?)+ units sold) Indonesia: 1 platinum Hong Kong: 2 times platinum Japan: 1 platinum Korea: 3 times platinum Malaysia: 1 gold Mexico: 1 platinum (150,000+ units sold) New Zealand: 1 platinum (15,000+ units sold) Philippines: 2 times platinum Poland: 1 gold Spain: 1 gold Sweden: 1 platinum Switzerland: 1 platinum (40,000+ units sold) Taiwan: 2 times platinum United States: 2 times platinum (2,000,000+ units sold) Denmark 1 Platinum

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Flowers/Cruel Summer'

Canada: 1 gold (50,000+ units sold) (for 'Cruel Summer') Denmark: 1 gold (20,000+ units sold) (for 'Flowers') Japan: 2 times platinum (for 'Flowers') Korea: 1 platinum (for 'Flowers') Sweden: 1 gold (for 'Flowers') Switzerland: 1 platinum (40,000+ units sold) (for 'Flowers')

Platinum and Gold Awards for 'Singles of the Nineties'

Denmark: 1 gold (20,000+ units sold) Japan: 1 Platinum

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).

Later recordings, including those of Happy Nation and The Bridge, took advantage of professional facilities in both Gothenburg and Stockholm.

The last track prepared during The Bridge era, "Your family & I personally", was recorded at Jonas' newly-completed studio, The Barn. Many later recordings, including those for Flowers and the six tracks recorded in 1999, also were prepared and mixed at The Barn.

The band's fifth released album, Da Capo, was recorded at studios in Stockholm.

The band members were strongly influenced by club music. Most of their early songs, including "Everthing That She Wants" and "Happy United states" were club-friendly tracks inspired by the growth of the club scene across Europe.

Later, more thoughtful studio recordings gradually replaced the "Euro-punk" sound. "Lucky Love" was the band's attempt at an acoustic sound. "Angel Eyes" and "Edge of Heaven" became sophisticated pop ballads. "Beautiful Life" was a blend of American Gospel music and the band's earlier club sound. Jonas admitted a strong influence of Whigfield in "You & We".

Ace of Base continually experimented with new sounds. For example, their Flowers album was the first to introduce a Motown flavor into Scandinavian music. Tracks with retro themes from this album include "Universally Use, Universally Might", "Cecilia" and "Donnie". A blend of salsa and reggae can be heard on European releases such as "Cruel Summer", "There are no Adept Lover", and "Doctor Sun".

Individually, the four Aces drew further inspiration from different sources. This effect is most noticeable in The Bridge, with each band member contributing 1/4th of the album.

In Ace of Base's later music, the pace of the songs tends to be moderate, with more of the interest sometimes coming from the melody and the orchestration rather than the rhythm.

"100'eastern time la Vie (Universally 21)" (1999) is a good example of this style. Their earlier songs were often a bit faster paced. The band has abruptly changed styles of music on several occasions. There had already been a clear trend towards progressively greater complexity both in technique and style, and for the most part an abandonment of the group's early club sound.

Discography
For Ace of Base's discography, including B-sides, please see: Ace of Base discography.

DVD & Video
1994: The Sign (VHS, Region 1) (1994) 1994: Happy Nation (US Version) (Pal Video) (1994) 2002: Da Capo (DVD, Region 2) (2002) 2005: Universal Masters Collection (DVD, All Regions) (2005)