25 years later Ace of Base revisits the origin of their name

If you know your pop music history then you’re familiar with Ace of Base.

The Swedish quartet was one of the biggest pop ensembles in the world and dominated radio airwaves after the release of their 1993 debut album The Sign.

In North America, that breakthrough album and its No.1 hit singles “All That She Wants,” “Don’t Turn Around,” and “The Sign” won the band the American Music Awards for Favorite New Artist and Favorite Band and earned three Grammy nominations including Best New Artist.

In Canada, the album climbed to No.1 on the charts and sold over 1 million copies.

Ace of Base chased The Sign’s success with a handful of albums including Flowers/Cruel Summer, which turns 20 this year, and those records have collectively sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

Twenty-five years after their debut, Ace of Base’s legacy lives on. Some of today’s biggest musical acts including Lady Gaga and Katy Perry cite Ace of Base as an influence.

Ace of Base is a name that was and still is known around the world, but do we remember or even know what Ace of Base means?

While Ace of Base celebrates the anniversaries of their iconic albums The Sign and Flowers/Cruel Summer, I reached out to the group’s founding member and chief songwriter Ulf Ekberg and asked him to explain their band name.

“The name Ace of Base came out of a hangover I had on New Year’s Day. People say I was inspired and they’re right, but mostly, I was hungover,” Ulf laughs.

“So, I was hungover, watching MTV and I saw Motorhead’s video for their song ‘Ace of Spades.’ I liked the name and I thought I’d play around with those words. We’re four members in this band, so I thought, ‘Good. Four aces. I’ll keep the ace.’ Then I thought of our studio and how it’s our base. So, there it is. Ace of Base. Our band name originates from a hangover, Motorhead and quite a heavy rock song.”

Ace of Base’s debut album The Sign turns 25 and a remastered version is available on iTunes here. The band’s album Flowers is now 20 years-old and a remastered version is also available on iTunes here.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Apr 30 2018. Filed under ChitChat. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.