Official Biography Ace of Base Page 6
Ace Of Base's very first single was "Wheel Of Fortune", followed by the major worldwide hit "All That She Wants". "The Sign" and "Don't Turn Around" also became international hits. The band first made it in Denmark, then the rest of Scandinavia, Germany, the rest of Europe and Asia before conquering the US and Canada.
In all, the debut album "Happy Nation/The Sign" sold 23 million copies and remains in the Guinness book of records as the best-selling debut album ever. Achieving numerous of awards such as 6 World Music Awards, 3 Billboard Awards, 3 America Music Awards, several different European Grammy Awards and two American Grammy nominations! To mention a few!
On April 2 1994 both album and single "The Sign" topped the Billboard Top 100 Charts simultaneously. "The Sign" remains number 3 at the Billboard's Greatest Hits chart (Top 100 Billboard 100th Anniversary August 4th 1958 - June 25 1994), only beaten by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and Boy'z' 2 Men's "End Of The Road". When Billboard summed up the most sold albums of the 20th century, "Happy Nation"/"The Sign" ended up top ten, being the most popular non-American album of all time... "One thing that was unique is that it was the same versions that were played at clubs/discotheques and by radio. No remixes or tailor-made versions", Ulf remembers.
When beginning to write and record for the second album "The Bridge", the pressure was on and everybody wanted to have their say. Everyone realized that the phenomenal success of the debut would be impossible to repeat. With the help of hit singles like "Lucky Love", "Beautiful Life" and "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" and promotional trips around the world the album "The Bridge" sold 5 million copies, a number most musicians only dream of. Ace Of Base had proved that they had come to stay. "We reached a level that we're comfortable with. We're a pop band and not an industry", Jenny states. "After the extreme initial success we now have the time toenjoy what's happened".