Ace of Base are back – with the style of 1992

Then: Two 20-year-olds with the odds against him.  Now: Two 40-year-olds with the odds against him.  In between, Ace of Base sold 60 million records – and lost two singers.

It is 21 October 2010. The nightclub Café Opera in Stockholm celebrates 30 years – and on stage are Ulf Ekberg, 39, and Jonas Berggren, 43, along with two much younger, beautiful model, singers. There is a new constellation, without sisters Jenny and Malin Berggren.

But they still call themselves the Ace of Base. And the music sounds like early 90′s.

- It was a very difficult audience to practice before, everyone who was there’s the best at what they do. But it was special, I’ve personally been a frequent guest at the café," says Ulf Ekberg few days later.

Ace of Base has recently released their fifth album, "Golden Ratio".  And the group that 15 years ago flew around the world with their mega hits,  are planning to go out on an extended world tour next Spring .

Enough money for life

But after eight years silence, this is not an updated 2010 pop. Instead, they have gone back to square one.

- We are much more like we were in 1992 than we have been. Then we had no record label or producer involved. It was Jonas and me against the world. We did what we felt was right and everyone else thought was wrong" said Ulf Ekberg.

And with hindsight, it is understandable. It was the debut album "Happy Nation" from 1993 that the Gothenburg quartet became known throughout the world – and the two male songwriters and singers are multi-millionaires. With the money from Ace of Base record sales, they will be able to live their lives.

Began to escape the attention

But with subsequent albums it became increasingly difficult to achieve the same success – and simultaneously Malin Berggren began to shun attention.

When she left the group in 2007 for good, she had been for a long time hiding in the back of the stage during the concerts and has not done an interview since 1997. One of the reasons for her fear of the spotlight may have been the knife attack that little sister Jenny was subjected to by a stalker in 1994.

- We actually had a huge mess since day one, it was a test to become a world leader and a superstar. I like to travel and meet people, but Malin did not think it was fun at all. She was not feeling well", said Ulf Ekberg.

And the turmoil continues. In connection with the Ace of Base comeback tour of2007-2009,  the remaining members started to work on new material. But according to Jenny Berggren, she was not involved in the song writing.  So she went for a solo career.

- They have not wanted me to, "she said recently to Aftonbladet in conjunction with the launch of her own album.

Prepared to fight

Ulf Ekberg, however, blames the fact that Ace of Base’s music calls for two female voices – and that Jenny Berggren refused to share the singing with someone else:

- If you have only one lead singer and she never gets to the studio, it’s not easy being a band. The ideal would be to bring in another girl, but she wanted to be alone.

And now the two artists try to gain benefit from the Ace of Base name – although Jenny Berggren clearly expressed that she feels the group, with the new singers, should call themselves something else.

- I hope that these girls are fine", she says.

Ulf Ekberg is prepared to fight an uphill battle.

- There will probably always be opinions about us in this country. We are definitely don’t have enough cred to get with the establishment", he says.

Here is the original

Name: Ulf Gunnar Ekberg. Age: 39th Make: Artist. Lives: Stockholm. Family: Common-law and three children. Income: Unknown (lived until last summer, partly in London).

Name: Jonas Petter Berggren. Age: 43rd Make: Artist. Lives: Gothenburg. Family: Wife and four children. Income: 3.194 million SEK (year 2009).

Name: Malin Berggren. Age: 40th Make: Pulled back from Ace of Base and public life 2007th Lives: Protected task. Family: Unknown. Income: 616 200 (year 2009).

Name: Jenny Cecilia Berggren. Age: 38th Make: Artist. Also lectures on his time in the Ace of Base. Lives: Gothenburg. Family: Husband and two children. Income: 318 900 SEK (year 2010).

[source]
Translated by Google/KiwiAcer