title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, finishing third in their qualifying group behind Croatia and Belgium. This second successive failure to qualify prompted Craig Brown to resign from his position after the final qualifying match. The SFA appointed former Germany manager Berti Vogts as Brown's successor. Scotland reached the qualification play-offs for Euro 2004, where they beat the Netherlands 1–0 at Hampden Park, but suffered a 6–0 defeat in the return leg. Poor results in friendly matches and a bad start to the 2006 World Cup qualification caused the team to drop to a record low of 77th in the FIFA World Rankings. Vogts announced his resignation in 2004, blaming the hostile media for his departure.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Walter Smith, a former Rangers and Everton manager, was brought in to replace Vogts. Improved results meant that Scotland rose up the FIFA rankings and won the Kirin Cup, a friendly competition in Japan. Scotland failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, finishing third in their group behind Italy and Norway. Smith left the national side in January 2007 to return to Rangers, with Scotland leading their Euro 2008 qualification group. New manager Alex McLeish guided Scotland to wins against Georgia, the Faroe Islands, Lithuania, France and Ukraine, but defeats by Georgia and Italy ended their chances of qualification for Euro 2008. These improved results, particularly the wins against France, lifted Scotland into the top 20 of the FIFA world rankings.


title: Scotland national football team

text: After the narrow failure to qualify for Euro 2008, McLeish left to join Premier League club Birmingham City. Southampton manager George Burley was hired as the new manager, but he came in for criticism from the media after the team lost their first qualifier against Macedonia. After Scotland lost their fourth match 3–0 to the Netherlands, captain Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor were excluded from the starting lineup for the following match against Iceland due to a "breach of discipline". Despite winning 2–1 against Iceland, Scotland suffered a 4–0 defeat by Norway in the following qualifier, which left Scotland effectively needing to win their last two games to have a realistic chance of making the qualifying play-offs. Scotland defeated Macedonia 2–0 in the first of those two games, but were eliminated by a 1–0 loss to the Netherlands in the second game. Burley was allowed to continue in his post after a review by the SFA board, but a subsequent 3–0 friendly defeat by Wales led to his dismissal.


title: Scotland national football team

text: The SFA appointed Craig Levein as head coach of the national team in December 2009. In UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying, Scotland were grouped with Lithuania, Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic and world champions Spain. They took just four points from the first four games, leaving the team needing three wins from their remaining four games to have a realistic chance of progression. They only managed two wins and a draw and were eliminated after a 3–1 defeat by Spain in their last match. Levein left his position as head coach following a poor start to 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, having taken just two points from four games.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Gordon Strachan was appointed Scotland manager in January 2013, but defeats in his first two competitive matches meant that Scotland were the first UEFA team to be eliminated from the 2014 World Cup. Scotland finished their qualification section by winning three of their last four matches, including two victories against Croatia.


title: Scotland national football team

text: UEFA Euro 2016 expanded from 16 teams to 24. After losing their first qualifier in Germany, Scotland recorded home wins against Georgia, the Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar. Steven Fletcher scored the first hat-trick for Scotland since 1969 in the game with Gibraltar. Later in the group, Scotland produced an "insipid" performance as they lost 1–0 in Georgia. A home defeat by Germany and a late equalising goal by Poland eliminated Scotland from contention. After a win against Gibraltar in the last qualifier, Strachan agreed a new contract with the SFA.


title: Scotland national football team

text: In qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Scotland were drawn in the same group as England, facing their rivals in a competitive fixture for the first time since 1999. On 11 November 2016, England beat Scotland 3–0 at Wembley. The return match saw Leigh Griffiths score two late free-kicks to give Scotland a 2–1 lead, but Harry Kane scored in added time to force a 2–2 draw. A draw in Slovenia in the final game of the group ended Scottish hopes of a play-off position, and Strachan subsequently left his position by mutual consent. In February 2018, Alex McLeish was appointed manager for the second time. The team won their group in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, but McLeish left in April 2019 after a poor start to UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, including a 3–0 loss to 117th-ranked Kazakhstan.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Steve Clarke was appointed Scotland manager in May 2019. The team failed to qualify automatically for UEFA Euro 2020, but consecutive victories in penalty shootouts in the playoffs against Israel and Serbia put Scotland into their first major tournament since 1998. Defeats by the Czech Republic and Croatia, either side of a goalless draw with England, meant that Scotland finished bottom of Group D.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Six consecutive wins later that year meant that Scotland finished second in Group F of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification. This progressed the team into the play-offs, where they were paired with Ukraine in a semi-final at Hampden; Scotland lost 3–1. Later that year, Scotland won their Nations League group and promotion to League A.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland did not compete in the first three World Cup competitions, held in 1930, 1934 and 1938. FIFA ruled that all its member associations must provide "broken-time" payments to cover the expenses of players who participated in football at the 1928 Summer Olympics. In response to what they considered to be unacceptable interference, the football associations of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales held a meeting at which they agreed to resign from FIFA. The Scottish Football Association did not rejoin FIFA as a permanent member until 1946. The SFA declined to participate in 1950 although they had qualified, as Scotland were not the British champions.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland have since qualified for eight finals tournaments, including five consecutive tournaments from 1974 to 1990. Scotland have never advanced beyond the first round of the finals competition – no country has qualified for as many World Cup finals without progressing past the first round. They have missed out on progressing to the second round three times on goal difference: in 1974, when Brazil edged them out; in 1978, when the Netherlands progressed; and in 1982, when the Soviet Union went through.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland have qualified for three European Championships, but have failed to advance beyond the first round. Their most recent participation was at UEFA Euro 2020, in which Hampden Park also hosted three group games and a last 16 match.


title: Scotland national football team

text: When the UEFA Nations League was inaugurated in 2018–19, Scotland were allocated to League C. With a 3–2 win against Israel in their final match, Scotland won promotion to League B of the 2020–21 competition.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland won promotion to League A in their final match of the 2022–23 competition, a goalless draw against Ukraine in Kraków.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Hampden Park in Glasgow is the traditional home of the Scotland team and is described by the SFA as the National Stadium. The present stadium is one of three stadiums to have used the name. Stadiums named Hampden Park have hosted international matches since 1878. The present site was opened in 1903 and became the primary home ground of the Scotland team from 1906. The attendance record of 149,415 was set by the Scotland v England match in 1937. Safety regulations reduced the capacity to 81,000 by 1977 and the stadium was completely redeveloped during the 1990s, giving the present capacity of 52,000. Hampden is rated as a category four (elite) stadium within the UEFA stadium categories, having previously held the five-star status under the old rating system.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Some friendly matches are played at smaller venues. Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen and Easter Road in Edinburgh were both used as venues during the 2012–13 season and, most recently, both in 2017. Other stadiums were also used while Hampden was being redeveloped during the 1990s. Celtic Park, Ibrox Stadium, Pittodrie Stadium and Rugby Park all hosted matches during the 1998 World Cup qualifying campaign, while Tynecastle Stadium, Pittodrie, Celtic Park and Ibrox Stadium were used for Euro 2000 qualifying matches. Since the last redevelopment to Hampden was completed in 1999, Scotland have played most of their competitive matches there. The most recent exception to this rule was in 2014, when Hampden was temporarily converted into an athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Most matches played by Scotland are presently covered by the pay-TV broadcaster Premier Sports, who have acquired rights for 2022–23 UEFA Nations League and UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying matches. Scandinavian streaming service Viaplay have bought the rights for Scotland games between 2024 and 2028.


title: Scotland national football team

text: The arrangements to show Scotland matches on pay-TV were criticised in 2008 by the Scottish Government, who argued that all competitive internationals should be a Listed Event that can only be broadcast on free-to-air television. Live coverage is only restricted during major tournament finals, which are normally shown on BBC Scotland or STV. The SFA have argued that limiting the rights for other games, such as qualifying matches, would severely reduce the amount of revenue that they can generate.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Sky Sports, BBC Scotland, STV, Setanta Sports, Channel 5 and BT Sport are among other networks that have previously shown Scotland fixtures. Sky Sports opted to show the Euro 2020 playoff against Serbia on their Pick channel, which was available on Freeview. All matches are broadcast with full commentary on BBC Radio Scotland and, when schedules allow, BBC Radio 5 Live also.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland traditionally wear dark blue shirts with white shorts and dark blue socks, the colours of the Queen's Park team who represented Scotland in the first international. The blue Scotland shirt was earlier used in a February 1872 rugby international, with reports stating that "the scotch were easily distinguishable by their uniform of blue jerseys... the jerseys having the thistle embroidered". The thistle had previously been worn to represent Scotland in the 1871 rugby international, but on "brown" shirts. The shirt is embroidered with a crest based upon the lion rampant of the Royal Standard of Scotland.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Another style often used by Scotland comprises blue shirts, white shorts and red socks, whilst a number of kits have used navy shorts and socks. Navy is routinely used as alternative colours for the shorts and socks when Scotland faces a team who share the same colours for these items, but when the home shirt is still appropriate.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Change colours vary, but are most commonly white or yellow shirts with blue shorts. In 2016–17, Scotland wore pink shirts with black shorts and socks as the away kit; the kit was additionally used in a single home match against Slovakia due to both Slovakia kits clashing with the Scotland home kit, which featured white sleeves. Third kits have been produced on two occasions. Amber shirts, navy shorts and navy socks were used in 2005–06, as the alternative sky blue shirts were unsuitable when Scotland travelled to teams wearing any shade of blue shirt, while an all 'cherry red' kit was used a single time against Georgia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers in 2007.


title: Scotland national football team

text: From 1994 to 1996, a tartan kit was used; this kit was worn in all three of Scotland's matches at UEFA Euro 1996.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland have not always played in dark blue; on a number of occasions between 1881 and 1951 they played in the primrose and pink racing colours of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. A former Prime Minister, Lord Rosebery was an influential figure in Scottish football, serving as honorary President of the SFA and Edinburgh team Hearts. His colours were used most frequently in the first decade of the 20th century, but were discontinued in 1909. The colours were briefly reprised in 1949, and were last used against France in 1951. In 1900, when Scotland defeated England 4–1, Lord Rosebery remarked, "I have never seen my colours so well sported since Ladas won the Derby". Rosebery colours were revived as a change kit for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying matches.


title: Scotland national football team

text: The current version of the crest is a roundel similar to the crest used from 1961 to 1988 enclosing a shield, with "Scotland" written on the top and "Est 1873" on the bottom. In the shield background there are 11 thistles, representing the national flower of Scotland, in addition to the lion rampant. Since 2005, the SFA have supported the use of Scottish Gaelic on the national team's strip in recognition of the language's status in Scotland.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland fans are collectively known as the Tartan Army. During the 1970s, Scotland fans became known for their hooliganism in England, particularly after they invaded the Wembley pitch and destroyed the goalposts after the England v Scotland match in 1977. Since then, the Tartan Army have won awards from UEFA for their combination of vocal support, friendly nature and charity work. The Tartan Army have been awarded a Fair Play prize by the Belgian Olympic Committee and were named as the best supporters during the 1992 European Championship. The fans were also presented with a trophy for non-violence in sport and were voted by journalists to be the best supporters for their sense of fair play and sporting spirit at the 1998 World Cup in France.


title: Scotland national football team

text: The role of a team manager was first established in May 1954, as Andy Beattie took charge of six matches before and during the 1954 FIFA World Cup. Until then the team had been picked by a SFA selection committee, and after the tournament the selection committee resumed control of the team until the appointment of Matt Busby in 1958. Busby was initially unable to assume his duties due to the serious injuries he sustained in the Munich air disaster.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Twenty-four men have occupied the post since its inception, with Beattie, Jock Stein and Alex McLeish occupying it in two spells. Six of those managers held the post on a caretaker basis. Craig Brown held the position for the longest to date; a tenure of 9 years, comprising two major tournaments and a total of 71 matches. Beattie (1954), Dawson Walker (1958), Willie Ormond (1974), Ally MacLeod (1978), Jock Stein (1982), Alex Ferguson (1986), Andy Roxburgh (1990 and 1992) and Brown (1996 and 1998) have all managed the team at major competitions. Ian McColl, Ormond and MacLeod all won the British Home Championship outright.


title: Scotland national football team

text: German coach Berti Vogts became the first foreign manager of the team in 2002, but his time in charge was generally seen as a failure and the FIFA World Ranking declined to an all-time low of 88 in March 2005. Walter Smith and Alex McLeish achieved better results, with the ranking improving to an all-time high of 13 in October 2007, but both were only briefly in charge before returning to club management. George Burley and Craig Levein both had worse results with the team and were eventually sacked. Results improved somewhat under Gordon Strachan, but he was unable to secure qualification for a tournament. After McLeish had a second spell as manager, Steve Clarke was appointed in May 2019. Clarke guided the team to qualification for Euro 2020, their first major competition since 1998.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Statistically the most successful manager was Alex McLeish, who won seven of the ten games during his first spell as manager. Discounting managers who took charge of less than ten games, the least successful manager was George Burley, with just three wins in 14 games.


title: Scotland national football team

text: "Caps and goals updated as of 16 November 2022, after the match against Turkey. Clubs correct as of 1 September 2022."


title: Scotland national football team

text: The Scottish Football Association operates a roll of honour for every player who has made more than 50 appearances for Scotland. there are 34 members of this roll, with John McGinn the most recent addition to the list. The qualifying mark of 50 appearances means that many notable Scotland players including Jim Baxter, Davie Cooper, Hughie Gallacher, John Greig, Jimmy Johnstone, Billy McNeill, Bobby Murdoch, Archie Gemmill and Lawrie Reilly are not on the roll of honour.


title: Scotland national football team

text: The Scottish Football Museum operates a hall of fame which is open to players and managers involved in Scottish football. This means that membership is not restricted to people who have played for Scotland; inductees include Brian Laudrup and Henrik Larsson, as well as John McGovern who never played in Scotland or gained an international cap. Sportscotland operates the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, which has inducted some footballers.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Kenny Dalglish holds the record for Scotland appearances, having played 102 times between 1971 and 1986. He is the only Scotland player to have reached 100 caps. Jim Leighton is second, having played 91 times, a Scottish record for appearances by a goalkeeper. The title of Scotland's highest goalscorer is shared by two players. Denis Law scored 30 goals between 1958 and 1974, during which time he played for Scotland on 55 occasions. Kenny Dalglish scored an equal number from 102 appearances. Hughie Gallacher as well as being the third highest scorer is also the most prolific with his 24 goals coming from only 20 games (averaging 1.2 goals per game).


title: Scotland national football team

text: The largest margin of victory achieved by a Scotland side is 11–0 against Ireland in the 1901 British Home Championship. The record defeat occurred during the 1954 FIFA World Cup, a 7–0 deficit against reigning world champions Uruguay.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland's 1937 British Home Championship match against England set a new world record for a football attendance. The Hampden Park crowd was officially recorded as 149,415, though the true figure is unknown as a large number of additional fans gained unauthorised entry. This attendance was surpassed 13 years later by the decisive match of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, but remains a European record.


title: Scotland national football team

text: Scotland has always participated by itself in most of the major football tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship. At the Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee charter only permit a Great Britain Olympic football team, representing the whole of the United Kingdom, to compete. Teams of amateur players represented Great Britain at the Olympics from 1900 until 1972, but the FA stopped entering a team after then because the distinction between amateur and professional was abolished. The successful bid by London for the 2012 Summer Olympics prompted the FA to explore how a team could be entered. The SFA responded by stating that it would not participate, as it feared that this would threaten the independent status of the Scotland national team. FIFA President Sepp Blatter denied this, but the SFA expressed concern that a future President could take a different view. An agreement was reached in May 2009 whereby the FA would be permitted to organise a team using only England-qualified players, but this was successfully challenged by the British Olympic Association. Only English and Welsh players were selected for the men's squad, but two Scottish players were selected for the women's team.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginger colored, but all have warning coloration.


title: Skunk

text: While related to polecats and other members of the weasel family, skunks have as their closest relatives the Old World stink badgers.


title: Skunk

text: The word "skunk" is dated from the 1630s, adapted from a southern New England Algonquian language (probably Abenaki) , from Proto-Algonquian , from 'to urinate' + 'fox'. "Skunk" has historic use as an insult, attested from 1841.


title: Skunk

text: In Southern United States dialect, the term "polecat" is sometimes used as a colloquial nickname for a skunk, even though polecats are only distantly related to skunks.


title: Skunk

text: As a verb, "skunk" is used to describe the act of overwhelmingly defeating an opponent in a game or competition. "Skunk" is also used to refer to certain strong-smelling strains of marijuana whose smell has been compared to that of a skunk's spray.


title: Skunk

text: Skunk species vary in size from about long and in weight from about (spotted skunks) to (hog-nosed skunks). They have moderately elongated bodies with relatively short, well-muscled legs and long front claws for digging. They have five toes on each foot.


title: Skunk

text: Although the most common fur color is black and white, some skunks are brown or grey and a few are cream-colored. All skunks are striped, even from birth. They may have a single thick stripe across the back and tail, two thinner stripes, or a series of white spots and broken stripes (in the case of the spotted skunk).


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are crepuscular and solitary animals when not breeding, though in the colder parts of their range, they may gather in communal dens for warmth. During the day they shelter in burrows, which they can dig with their powerful front claws. For most of the year the normal home range for skunks is 0.5 to 2.0 miles in diameter, with males expanding during breeding season to travel 4 to 5 miles per night.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are not true hibernators in the winter, but do den up for extended periods of time. However, they remain generally inactive and feed rarely, going through a dormant stage. Over winter, multiple females (as many as 12) huddle together; males often den alone. Often, the same winter den is repeatedly used.


title: Skunk

text: Although they have excellent senses of smell and hearing, they have poor vision, being unable to see objects more than about away, making them vulnerable to death by road traffic. They are short-lived; their lifespan in the wild can reach seven years, with most living only up to a year. In captivity, they may live for up to 10 years.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks mate in early spring and are polygynous (that is, successful males are uninhibited from mating with additional females.)


title: Skunk

text: Before giving birth (usually in May), the female excavates a den to house her litter of four to seven kits.


title: Skunk

text: When born, skunk kits are blind and deaf, but already covered by a soft layer of fur. About three weeks after birth, they first open their eyes; the kits are weaned about two months after birth. They generally stay with their mother until they are ready to mate, roughly at one year of age.


title: Skunk

text: The mother is protective of her kits, spraying at any sign of danger. The male plays no part in raising the young.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and changing their diets as the seasons change. They eat insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, and eggs. They also commonly eat berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi and nuts.


title: Skunk

text: In settled areas, skunks also seek garbage left by humans. Less often, skunks may be found acting as scavengers, eating bird and rodent carcasses left by cats or other animals. Pet owners, particularly those of cats, may experience a skunk finding its way into a garage or basement where pet food is kept. Skunks commonly dig holes in lawns in search of grubs and worms.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks use their long claws to break apart rotting logs to find bugs that live within them. They also use those claws to help dig for insects, which leaves behind pits, which are easy signs of foraging. The claws also help with pining down live and active prey.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are one of the primary predators of the honeybee, relying on their thick fur to protect them from stings. The skunk scratches at the front of the beehive and eats the guard bees that come out to investigate. Mother skunks are known to teach this behavior to their young.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are notorious for their anal scent glands, which they can use as a defensive weapon. They are similar to, though much more developed than, the glands found in species of the family Mustelidae. Skunks have two glands, one on each side of the anus. These glands produce the skunk's spray, which is a mixture of sulfur-containing chemicals such as thiols (traditionally called mercaptans), which have an offensive odor. The thiols also make their spray highly flammable. A skunk's spray is powerful enough to ward off bears and other potential attackers. Muscles located next to the scent glands allow them to spray with a high degree of accuracy, as far as . The spray can also cause irritation and even temporary blindness, and is sufficiently powerful to be detected by a human nose up to 5.6 km (3.5 miles) downwind. Their chemical defense is effective, as illustrated by this extract from Charles Darwin's 1839 book "The Voyage of the Beagle":


title: Skunk

text: Skunks carry just enough for five or six successive sprays – about 15 cm – and require up to ten days to produce another supply. Their bold black and white coloration makes their appearance memorable. It is to a skunk's advantage to warn possible predators off without expending scent: black and white aposematic warning coloration aside, threatened skunks will go through an elaborate routine of hisses, foot-stamping, and tail-high deimatic or threat postures before resorting to spraying. Skunks usually do not spray other skunks, except among males in the mating season. If they fight over den space in autumn, they do so with teeth and claws.


title: Skunk

text: Most predators of the Americas, such as wolves, foxes, and badgers, seldom attack skunks, presumably out of fear of being sprayed. The exceptions are reckless predators whose attacks fail once they are sprayed, dogs, and the great horned owl, which is the skunk's only regular predator. In one case, the remains of 57 striped skunks were found in a single great horned owl nest.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks are common in suburban areas. Frequent encounters with dogs and other domestic animals, and the release of the odor when a skunk is run over, have led to many misconceptions about the removal of skunk odor, including the pervasive idea that tomato juice will neutralize the odor. These household remedies are ineffective, and only appear to work due to olfactory fatigue. The Humane Society of the United States recommends treating dogs using a mixture of dilute hydrogen peroxide (3%), baking soda, and dishwashing liquid.


title: Skunk

text: Skunk spray is composed mainly of three low-molecular-weight thiol compounds, ("E")-2-butene-1-thiol, 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, and 2-quinolinemethanethiol, as well as acetate thioesters of these. These compounds are detectable by the human nose at concentrations of only 11.3 parts per billion.


title: Skunk

text: It is rare for a healthy skunk to bite a human, though a tame skunk whose scent glands have been removed (usually on behalf of those who will keep it as a pet) may defend itself by biting. There are, however, few recorded incidents of skunks biting humans. Skunk bites in humans can result in infection with the rabies virus (reflecting the virus's evolutionary strategy of promoting its own spread). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 1,494 cases of rabies in skunks in the United States for the year 2006—about 21.5% of reported cases in all species.


title: Skunk

text: Skunks in fact are less prominent than raccoons as vectors of rabies. (However, this varies regionally in the United States, with raccoons dominating along the Atlantic coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico, while skunks instead predominate throughout the Midwest, including the western Gulf, and in California.)


title: Skunk

text: "Mephitis mephitis", the striped skunk, is the most social skunk and the one most commonly kept as a pet. In the US, skunks can legally be kept as pets in 17 states. When a skunk is kept as a pet, its scent glands are often surgically removed.


title: Skunk

text: In the UK, skunks can be kept as pets, but the Animal Welfare Act 2006 made it illegal to remove their scent glands.


title: Ace of Base

text: Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group, formed in 1990, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg.


title: Ace of Base

text: They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album "Happy Nation" in 1992. Later re-issued as "The Sign", it was certified nine times platinum in the United States and was the best-selling album of 1994. One of the most successful debut albums of all time, it was the first to produce three No. 1 singles on the "Billboard" Mainstream Top 40 chart: "All That She Wants", "The Sign" and "Don't Turn Around".


title: Ace of Base

text: They continued to score hit singles throughout the 1990s, with songs such as "Beautiful Life", "Lucky Love", "Cruel Summer" and "Life Is a Flower". By 2002, they had sold a total of 30 million copies of their first four studio albums, making them the third most successful Swedish group of all time, behind ABBA and Roxette.


title: Ace of Base

text: Despite being largely inactive since 2012, the group has never officially disbanded. In the last decade, they have released a number of demo tracks, first via their Facebook page, then in 2015 on the compilation album "Hidden Gems". An expanded two-disc edition was included in the 2020 boxset "". Jenny Berggren continues to perform the group's hits in solo concerts around the world.


title: Ace of Base

text: In 1987, following a number of years as part of a new romantic and punk cover band called G Konrad (named after a Hungarian author), Jonas Berggren formed a band with two friends, Johnny Lindén and Niklas Tränk, for a school project; his sisters Linn and Jenny later joined as singers. The new band went through several names: Kalinin Prospect after an avenue in Moscow; CAD (Computer-Aided Disco); and Tech-Noir, French for "black technology," after a nightclub in the film "The Terminator". They toured the clubs of Sweden with self-written material, techno inspired by 1980s Italodisco and house music.


title: Ace of Base

text: Johnny left the group in 1989, and Niklas made his departure known by failing to turn up to a gig at Bältespännarparken in Gothenburg on August 4, 1990, instead attending a Rolling Stones concert on the other side of town. Jonas asked his friend Ulf Ekberg to stand in for Niklas. In an interview with "Nöjesguiden", Jonas explained: "He shared a rehearsal room with us and we asked if he wanted to be with us on stage because he was really energetic. He thought it sounded fun and then we started writing. Ulf is very good at technology and I am more good at melodies, so it was a very good combination." Inspired by a Jamaican reggae band who resided in a studio next door to theirs, they experimented with a fusion of reggae and pop – dubbed "China reggae" by their Jamaican friends – which would become the band's trademark sound.


title: Ace of Base

text: After responding to an ad in the paper "Göteborgs-Posten", the new quartet started working in the studio with record producer John Ballard, and decided to come up with a new name in order to make a fresh start, as well as to avoid confusion with another band with the same name who were attracting bad reviews. Linn said: "No one could pronounce the name of the group and nobody could remember it." They settled on Ace of Base in early 1991, after Ulf was inspired by the Motörhead song "Ace of Spades". In an interview in 2018, Ulf explained: "The name came out of a hangover I had on New Year's Day. So, I was hungover, watching MTV and I saw Motörhead'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."


title: Ace of Base

text: The group continued performing in the clubs of Gothenburg, but struggled to gain recognition, partly due to the preference of heavy metal over techno in their hometown, according to singer Jenny. They also sent out demo cassettes to numerous record companies but "everybody refused" to sign them. In May 1991, Jonas and Ulf made a trip to various record companies in Stockholm, including Polar Music, who wanted them to record more songs first, and SweMix, who were interested but didn't have the time to do anything with them until autumn.


title: Ace of Base

text: In July, Klas Lunding at Telegram Records arranged for them to record a new version of "Wheel of Fortune" in their newly renovated Decibel Studio, but didn't offer them a recording contract. Jonas recounts: "When it had just been finished, Martin Dodd, "(Head of A&R at independent Danish label Mega Records)" called and shouted: 'Do not sign anything, do not sign anything!'. They wanted everything from us, while Telegram only wanted the reggae songs and no up-tempos. We had already recorded a single with Telegram, but hadn't signed anything. Klas is not the fastest in the world, so to speak - and that was perhaps lucky for us. So Mega bought the master tape from Klas for 34,000 SEK." Martin Dodd remarked in a 1995 interview: "When I got the demo in my hand, I knew nothing about the group but I immediately loved the melodies. The melancholy in the songs and their way of writing. At that time, house music was big and this went completely against the flow. It sounded fresh."


title: Ace of Base

text: "Wheel of Fortune" was serviced to radio and nightclubs in Sweden in early 1992, with it reaching Gothenburg's local Jockeytoppen chart in March, and prompting an invitation to perform on music television channel ZTV. However, the record failed to gain traction in Sweden, so Mega switched focus to Denmark. After servicing the single to media three times, it was finally released commercially at the end of June 1992, entering the Danish singles chart at No. 6, before rising to No. 2.


title: Ace of Base

text: Following the success of "Wheel of Fortune" in Denmark, the group continued working on music. After hearing Kayo's "Another Mother" in a record store, a top 20 hit in Sweden in 1990, Jonas and Ulf decided that it was exactly the sound they wanted to create. In early 1992, they sent producer Denniz PoP a demo tape including a song called "Mr. Ace". At first he wasn't particularly impressed, but the tape got stuck in the cassette player in his car. This resulted in him having to listen to it repeatedly and gradually he realized the song's potential. He'd lost the band's contact details but when they called him a few months later, he invited them to his SweMix studio to re-record the song in July 1992. The song became "All That She Wants", and upon its release at the end of August, it quickly climbed to No. 1 on the Danish chart, while the previous single was still sitting at No. 2. Keen to rush out an LP for the Christmas market, Mega Records pressed the band for an album, which was quickly recorded and mixed within a few weeks.


title: Ace of Base

text: The album, "Happy Nation", was released on November 2, 1992 in Denmark and its success prompted interest elsewhere in Europe. A pan-European licence was signed with Metronome/PolyGram (now Universal Music), but they were turned down by the American division. Within a few months, "All That She Wants" had reached No. 3 in Sweden and had spent eight weeks at No. 1 in Germany. In various European countries, "Happy Nation" and "Waiting for Magic" were released as further singles following the release of the album.


title: Ace of Base

text: In May 1993, "All That She Wants" consolidated on its European success by topping the chart for three weeks in the United Kingdom. However, despite Mega Records's efforts to secure a distribution deal in the United States, the response was always the same: "This band will never work in the States." Eventually, Clive Davis, founder of Arista Records, heard the song playing on the radio whilst on vacation on his yacht, and rushed to sign a licence with Mega for the Americas. By the end of October, "All That She Wants" had made its way to No. 2 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, as well as in Australia.


title: Ace of Base

text: The group had already started work on a second album, with the working title of "The Sign", named after one of the new tracks they had written. Worried about sales of import copies of "Happy Nation", however, Davis opted to tweak the track list of the original LP by adding three new tracks, and re-titling it "The Sign". Released in the USA on November 23, 1993, it remained in the top three of the "Billboard" Top 200 for 26 consecutive weeks, and was nominated for "Best Pop Album" at the 1995 Grammy Awards. The refreshed album was released in Europe as "Happy Nation (US Version)". Collectively, the different versions of the album reached the No. 1 position in at least 14 countries, and sold over 21 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling debut albums of all time.


title: Ace of Base

text: The second U.S. single was the album's title track, "The Sign", released on December 14. It was even more successful than the first, spending six weeks at No. 1 and becoming the best-selling single of 1994. It was also a major hit internationally, peaking at No. 2 in the UK and Sweden and at No. 1 in Germany; whilst in Australia it topped the charts for four weeks.


title: Ace of Base

text: Recorded at the request of Clive Davis, "Don't Turn Around" was the group's next single, which had previously been released by Tina Turner as the B-side of her single "Typical Male", and had been a UK No. 1 hit for Aswad in 1988. The cover version hit the top 5 in the US, UK, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.


title: Ace of Base

text: Promotion for the album concluded with the final single release "Living in Danger", which was yet another top 40 hit internationally and was performed in front of the Brandenburg Gate at the first ever MTV Europe Music Awards in Berlin in November 1994.


title: Ace of Base

text: The band were caught up in controversy when on 27 March 1993, the Swedish newspaper "Expressen" reported that Ulf had been a member of a skinhead gang in his teenage years, long prior to his association with Ace of Base. The band and Ulf himself have addressed these claims numerous times. Linn remarked in 1993: "Ulf gave all that up long ago and my family had nothing to do with any of that in the first place." In 2013, the story was revisited in a report by "Vice", referring to an unauthorized CD released in 1998 called "Uffe Was a Nazi!", containing songs with racist content which were claimed to have been recorded by Ulf's former band Commit Suiside. In an interview with "E! Online", Ulf clarified that Commit Suiside were "a New Wave music band without any political touch or agenda" and that the racist songs on the CD were not recorded by them. He also remarked: "I have always been deeply regretful of that period in my life, as I strive to bring happiness to people, and during that period I did not live up to that standard. [...] I'm truly deeply sorry for any hurt and disappointment this has caused for our fans, and I really hope that we clearly have stated that Ace of Base never shared any of these opinions and strongly oppose all extremist opinions on both the right and left wing."


title: Ace of Base

text: In April 1994, an obsessed German fan broke into the Berggren family home, brandishing a knife. After managing to restrain her, the band decided they needed bodyguards. Recalling the attack in a 2016 interview, Jenny said "She woke me up with a knife to my throat. She broke into my parents’ house when I was staying there after two years away. I woke up and she was standing over me with the knife. I was terrified. That was the darker side of fame. I remember just after I was attacked I found out that we were Number 1 in the United States. All I could think was that I almost got killed. Everyone was like, 'wow, let’s have a huge party'. I didn’t want a party. I was broken."


title: Ace of Base

text: Following the substantial success of the first album, the group were offered the chance to perform at Madison Square Garden in New York, and were asked to front brands such as Pepsi and Reebok in promotional campaigns, but after two years of travelling around the world to promote the first album, the band were too exhausted and declined all offers. Simultaneously, their various record companies around the world were demanding a second album promptly. To hasten the process, instead of Jonas and Ulf writing most of the album, each member was encouraged to submit their own tracks for consideration.


title: Ace of Base

text: In the end, 17 tracks were chosen for the second album, titled "The Bridge". It marked a considerable change of direction in sound; alongside the reggae and dance sounds that had made the group so popular were more experimental tracks and several ballads. The lead single, "Lucky Love", however, was a mainstream pop record, and was premiered in August 1995 at the World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg. It debuted at No. 1 in Sweden upon release in October, becoming their first chart-topper in their homeland. It was also a top 20 hit across Europe, peaking at No. 1 in Finland, No. 2 in Denmark, No. 13 in Germany and No. 20 in the United Kingdom.


title: Ace of Base

text: Arista Records instead opted for the more up-tempo track "Beautiful Life" as the first single in the US, where it peaked at No. 15 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming the first American hit for its co-producer Max Martin, who would go on to become one of the world's most in-demand songwriters and producers. It was released as the second single from the album in most countries, also reaching No. 15 in the UK and charting in at least 17 countries. An alternative acoustic mix of "Lucky Love" was chosen as the second U.S. single, peaking at No. 30.


title: Ace of Base

text: "The Bridge" was certified platinum in 14 countries, but did not match the sales of the group's first album. "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" was released as the third single from the album and achieved moderate success in Europe, but failed to chart on the Hot 100 in the USA. In February 1996, the band performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile, topping the bill alongside 2 Unlimited.


title: Ace of Base

text: After touring Asia and Australasia in April 1996, the group temporarily retreated from the limelight, scrapping plans to release either "My Déjà Vu" or "Edge Of Heaven" as a single, and emerging only in 1997 for an April performance at the World Music Awards, and at a July concert celebrating the 20th birthday of Princess Victoria of Sweden.


title: Ace of Base

text: Having felt rushed to record a second album, the group were given as much time as they need to produce their third, with much of it being recorded in Jonas's own studio, "The Barn". Declaring it their best album yet, the group titled it "Flowers" because they believed that the songs, wildly different in style, including Motown and gospel influences, resembled a varied bouquet of flowers. Fans were surprised to see that singer Linn had relinquished lead vocal duties to sister Jenny, and on many promotional photos, Linn's face was blurred. They were reassured that Linn was happy with her new backing role in the group, and many reasons were given for her decision, including her having damaged her voice, her aerophobia deterring her from international travel and her dislike of fame.


title: Ace of Base

text: The album's lead single "Life Is a Flower" was released in mainland Europe in April 1998, and became the most-played track on European radio of the year. It reached the top 5 in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Hungary and in the UK, where it was certified silver. The album followed in June, hitting the top 20 in at least a dozen countries.


title: Ace of Base

text: The group's British label London Records had requested the band record the 1983 hit "Cruel Summer", by Bananarama and it was selected as the second European single. Deciding that "Life Is a Flower" was "too European in nature", Clive Davis pushed "Cruel Summer" as the lead single for the United States, and it brought Ace of Base back into the U.S. Top 10 for the first time in four years, being certified gold. The album was also renamed "Cruel Summer" and featured a different track list from the European release. For this version of the album, Davis persuaded a reluctant Linn to record the Billy Steinberg-penned ballad "Everytime It Rains".


title: Ace of Base

text: "Life Is a Flower" was re-recorded as "Whenever You're Near Me" and chosen as the second single from "Cruel Summer", peaking at No. 76. "Travel to Romantis" and "Always Have, Always Will" were further singles in Europe whilst "Everytime It Rains" was issued as a single in the UK along with a repackaged edition of "Flowers".


title: Ace of Base

text: The group went back into the studio in 1999, writing several tracks together as a quartet for the first time, and recording enough demo tracks for consideration for a fourth studio album. Ulf from the group later revealed that they had hoped to release a track called "Pole Position" as the lead single, with a music video that would have featured the Formula One champion driver Jacques Villeneuve. Several of the tracks recorded for the scrapped studio album were eventually released in demo form by Jonas via Facebook in 2011.


title: Ace of Base

text: In November 1999, Mega Records released the best-of album "Singles of the 90s", a compilation of 16 hit singles. A new single taken from it, "C'est La Vie (Always 21)", was a modest chart hit in Sweden, Finland, Germany and Switzerland, and topped the charts in Spain. "Hallo Hallo" followed as the second single in parts of Europe, but only found minor success.


title: Ace of Base

text: Arista Records fulfilled the group's four-album contract in the Americas by releasing "Greatest Hits" in March 2000. A new dance mix of "Everytime It Rains", previously included on "Cruel Summer", was released as a radio single to promote the album. Both the single and album failed to chart in the USA.


title: Ace of Base

text: Following a long time away from the pop scene, a new single called "Beautiful Morning" was serviced to radio in Europe in July 2002. Polydor Records reported that it was their fastest-added track to radio playlists of the year, and it went on peak at No. 38 in Germany and No. 14 in Sweden upon its commercial release in September.


title: Ace of Base

text: After several delays, Ace of Base finally released their fourth studio album, "Da Capo", on September 30, 2002, in Europe, and in Japan through Toshiba EMI with a different cover and three bonus tracks. The album received only a soft release in the United Kingdom and was not released in the Americas. The title comes from the musical term "da capo", which translates as "back to the beginning", chosen as the sound of the album was seen as a return to the group's early blend of reggae and europop.


title: Ace of Base

text: Although the album charted across much of Europe, it was not as successful as previous releases. Only Jenny and Ulf went on a promotional tour of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Germany, Poland and Austria. Jonas chose to forego promotional activities because "it was better to be two then" and led to "less questions" about Linn's lack of participation. Linn attended only one performance in Germany, which was her last public appearance.


title: Ace of Base

text: "The Juvenile" was selected as the album's second single in Germany, and was used for a Christmas campaign by TV channel RTL. The song was a re-written version of a track originally submitted for the James Bond movie "GoldenEye" in 1995. However, Clive Davis persuaded the band that it was not the best move for the band at the time so they withdrew it from consideration. In Scandinavia, Edel-Mega released "Unspeakable" as the second single, but its poor chart performance ended the promotion of the album prematurely.


title: Ace of Base

text: The group remained out of the spotlight throughout 2003 and 2004. During this time, Jenny performed solo live performances in several Christian shows with her husband Jakob Petrén and released an album as a vocalist with the Swedish group Arose.


title: Ace of Base

text: In 2005, a handful of songs featuring vocals by both Jenny and Linn were recorded with producer Tommy Ekman, including "Would You Believe" and "Make My Day". Jonas and Ulf later explained that the group did not have the energy to finish the project, though the tracks that were recorded eventually surfaced.


title: Ace of Base

text: At the end of 2005, the group reunited, without Linn, for several live performances at the Night of the Proms in Belgium, alongside other artists such as Donna Summer.


title: Ace of Base

text: Ace of Base reunited as a trio to perform their first full-length concert since 1996 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on November 15, 2007. They embarked on a world tour called "Ace Of Base - Redefined!", which continued throughout 2008 and 2009. The set list included several new versions of their greatest hits. Jenny confirmed Linn's permanent departure from the group, saying "She hasn't been part of Ace of Base for several years" in "Se & Hør" Magazine. Ulf later explained in an interview "She left the band and we promised her to never even ask to come back. She's done with entertainment industry. It's understandable. It's brutal from the inside, it was not for her. She has no craving to be famous, she loved her fans, but the fame factor was not for her." While touring, the group performed a brand new song called "Sparks From A Fire".


title: Ace of Base

text: The group teamed up with Jenny's husband Jakob to record material for a new studio album, which would consist of seven new songs and seven remakes of old hits. However, this album did not see a release and a new compilation, "Greatest Hits", was released on November 12, 2008, instead.


title: Ace of Base

text: Five re-recorded songs were released from the album in various forms: "Lucky Love 2009", "Don't Turn Around 2009", "The Sign (Freedom Bunch Mix)" and "Wheel of Fortune 2009", which was released worldwide on October 24, 2008, as a digital single. A fifth reworking, "Happy Nation 2009", was released separately as a remix kit. A remake of "All That She Wants" was also recorded and featured guest vocals by Britney Spears that stemmed from her own 2007 cover of the song. This remake was never officially released, but leaked online in June 2016.


title: Ace of Base

text: Three of the new tracks recorded in this period ("Sparks From A Fire", "The Mask" and "Wish You Were Mine") were eventually leaked on YouTube in 2017.


title: Ace of Base

text: In August 2009, in an interview with Digital Spy, Ulf mentioned adding another singer to the group alongside Jenny, explaining: "We're just deciding now whether to add a fourth member to the group again or to bring it out under a new name. At the moment we think it would be stronger with two female singers, so it's a little technical problem to solve." During this time, Ulf and Jonas began recording songs with singer Julia Williamson, whom they met through Martin Dodd, who had originally signed the group to Mega Records. Meanwhile, a new remix of "Cruel Summer" by Rico Bernasconi charted at No. 69 in Germany.


title: Ace of Base

text: Jenny published her autobiography "Vinna hela Världen" in Sweden in September and announced that she was recording a solo album, which materialized in October 2010 as "My Story". In November 2009, Jenny confirmed via Twitter that she would not be involved with the upcoming album, but later clarified that she had not left, saying that "other constellations will have other names".


title: Ace of Base

text: Two new singers were officially revealed in February 2010 as Clara Hagman, a contestant from Idol 2009, who Ulf met whilst appearing as a guest judge on the show, and Julia Williamson. Jonas explained that "We will reform how we write the band name so that all old Acers can see the difference and don't have to be in panic.", with Jenny commenting in April, "You are wrong about me leaving Ace of Base. I just want to make everybody sure I have not left the group. Ace of Base is still the original members. We are bounded by law and by heart."


title: Ace of Base

text: In a later interview with Aftonbladet, Jenny claimed "They didn't want to be with me", and that she was not allowed to participate in songwriting. Jonas and Ulf then said in an interview with Scandipop that Jenny wasn't happy with plans to introduce a new member, and while she never formally quit the group, they felt that they had no choice but to proceed without her.


title: Ace of Base

text: The new quartet maintained the original band name, but it was stylized as "Ace.of.Base" on the artwork of single and album releases. In July 2010, a track called "Mr. Replay" appeared on a Polish promo compilation for DJs, becoming the first release from the new line-up. The first official single from the line-up, "All for You", was premiered on radio station Antenne AC on July 22, and was released on CD and download on September 10, debuting at No. 38 in Germany.


title: Ace of Base

text: The album "The Golden Ratio" followed on September 24, entering the German album charts at No. 20. In Sweden, the album failed to chart, backed only by a radio release of the album's title track "The Golden Ratio" in October, followed by a performance of "Southern California" on Bingolotto in April 2011. An acoustic version of the album was being considered but never materialized. No further singles were released in support of the album.


title: Ace of Base

text: In March 2011, Jonas began releasing previously unreleased material to fans via the band's official Facebook page and the website ReverbNation on a semi-regular basis, in events they referred to as "Ace Thursdays". Writing sessions for new material took place throughout the same year, though following the group's tour of Canada and Brazil in 2011, new music was put on hold.


title: Ace of Base

text: "Ace Thursdays" continued throughout 2012, but were discontinued in May 2013. In November 2012, Jenny was quoted as saying, "The rest of the band are doing other things. ... We're just wishing each other luck at this stage. I have a dream that we'll get back together, so I don't want to bang anyone on the head". Jenny began touring as "Jenny from Ace of Base" alongside popular Eurodance acts from the decade.


title: Ace of Base

text: In January 2014, Julia announced on her official Facebook page that she had left the group in 2012. She later confirmed that Clara had also left, saying on her Facebook page, "I never really left the group, one day I just didn't hear anything from them and it's the same with Clara. Like it went up in smoke; really strange". Clara has since gone to release a number of solo singles, and has collaborated with various EDM producers such as KREAM and R3hab.


title: Ace of Base

text: A remix EP was released in July 2014, featuring new remixes of "All That She Wants". On September 27, Jonas announced that members were filming a documentary chronicling the production of "All That She Wants" at Google headquarters. The documentary was aired on the Swedish channel SVT as part of the "Hitlåtens Historia" series on March 18, 2015.


title: Ace of Base

text: In December 2014 and January 2015, remastered versions of their first four studio albums, in both European and American editions, were released digitally. This was followed in March by "Hidden Gems", a compilation album consisting entirely of demos and b-sides. "Would You Believe", one of the last tracks recorded by the original quartet in 2005, was released as a promotional single.


title: Ace of Base

text: In a 2015 interview with ABC News, Ulf said of a future reunion, "With the right elements in the next few years, I don't think it's impossible"; however, in July 2016, Jenny remarked: "We won't re-form. [...] We're finished working together but we're not finished being family together. We have a lot of fun plans in the future but no musical plans". In 2018, Jonas said a potential reunion had been discussed, but noted "We always got the same question "where is Malin?". I am still writing music, maybe one song each fortnight or something. It's a lot of fun, like therapy. And maybe if we do a reunion... I have songs for it!"


title: Ace of Base

text: In 2019, Demon Music Group began releasing new compilations of the band's material in the United Kingdom. The first of these releases was "Ace Of Base – Gold", which charted at No. 59 in the UK, marking the group's first return to the UK charts in 20 years. To mark the group's 30th anniversary, a 12-disc box set called "" was released in July 2020. The set includes deluxe versions of the group's original four studio albums, an expanded 46-track edition of "Hidden Gems", a new EP containing previously unreleased remixes of "Edge Of Heaven", and a DVD containing all of the group's music videos. Included among the 195 tracks are previously unreleased demos from the original line-up's final recording sessions in 2008 and live recordings of the group's first gig at Bältespännarparken in 1990. A coloured vinyl box set was also released which only includes the four studio albums.


title: Ace of Base

text: In 2020, Playground Records began releasing standalone digital singles which feature new remixes of the group's tracks. In November 2021, a remix EP was released for the album track "Dancer in a Daydream" which first appeared on "Happy Nation" in 1992. The EP features remixes by producer Trace Adam and was released alongside a new video with previously unseen footage.


title: Ace of Base

text: A number of musicians and singers have been influenced by Ace of Base. Lady Gaga has said her album "The Fame Monster" was influenced by the "super pop melodies of the 90s" by acts such as Ace of Base. The song "Alejandro" in particular has been heavily compared to Ace of Base's version of "Don't Turn Around"; Paul Lester from BBC commented that "[Alejandro] moves at an Ace of Base pace", and Sal Cinquemani from "Slant Magazine" described the song as a homage to them; The song "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" from "The Fame" has also been linked to the band; Alexis Petridis from "The Guardian" noted that the song "is the first song in a long time that warrants comparison to the œuvre of Ace of Base".


title: Ace of Base

text: Katy Perry said she wanted her third studio album, "Teenage Dream", to sound like "The Sign"; "It's what I said I wanted earlier", she told MTV; "We nailed it: It's roller-skating! It's '90s! It's Ace of Base! It's Cyndi Lauper! It's like all these colors and more".


title: Ace of Base

text: Swedish artist Robyn said she was inspired by Ace of Base for her song "Dancehall Queen", which was produced by Diplo and Klas Åhlund for her fifth studio album "Body Talk Pt. 1". "We were just having fun with that kind of genre music. And the idea of making this song came out of that discussion. It was fun. We really connected on something where music that you might put in one box becomes something else, depending on how you look at it".


title: Ace of Base

text: Some of the British group Clean Bandit's tracks have been compared to the band, notably their 2016 UK No. 1 single "Rockabye". Band members Grace and Luke have named them as an influence in interviews.


title: Ace of Base

text: American alternative rock artist Beck had plans to cover an Ace of Base album as part of his Record Club project in 2009; however, this never came to fruition. Tegan and Sara's song "Closer" was inspired by the band's music. Robert Alfons of Canadian synthpop group Trust once said "the synthesisers they used were of great influence on me... [their] first two albums [in particular]", whilst rock band Yeasayer and new wave artist Twin Shadow have both also cited Ace of Base as an influence.


title: Ace of Base

text: The 2019 single "Liar", by Cuban pop singer Camila Cabello, interpolates the melody of "All That She Wants".


title: Max Thieriot

text: Maximillion Drake Thieriot (; born October 14, 1988) is an American actor and director. He made his acting debut in the 2004 adventure comedy film "Catch That Kid". Thieriot has since appeared in the action comedy "The Pacifier" (2005), the mystery comedy "Nancy Drew" (2007), the sci-fi "Jumper" (2008), the supernatural horror "My Soul to Take" (2010), the erotic thriller "Chloe" (2009), the drama "Disconnect" (2012), the psychological horror-thriller "House at the End of the Street" (2012), and the action-thriller "Point Break" (2015).


title: Max Thieriot

text: From 2013 to 2017, Thieriot starred as Dylan Massett in A&E's drama-thriller series "Bates Motel". He appeared as John Coffee "Jack" Hays in History Channel's miniseries "Texas Rising" (2015). In 2017, Thieriot began playing Navy SEAL Clay Spenser in the CBS drama series "SEAL Team".


title: Max Thieriot

text: Thieriot was born in Los Altos Hills, California, the son of Bridgit Ann (née Snyder) and George Cameron Thieriot. He has one older sister and one younger brother. He was raised in the small town of Occidental in Sonoma County, California. Thieriot was educated at the Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa, California for middle school, and went on to attend El Molino High School in Forestville, California, from which he graduated in 2006. Thieriot's ancestors once owned the "San Francisco Chronicle". His great-great-grandfather, M. H. de Young, who was of Dutch Jewish descent and later converted to Catholicism, co-founded the paper with his brother Charles de Young, and his relatives, Charles and Richard Thieriot, were the editors and publishers of the paper. Thieriot's paternal grandparents, Frances Harrison (née Dade) and Ferdinand Melly Thieriot, died in the sinking of the SS "Andrea Doria" in 1956.


title: Max Thieriot

text: Thieriot was signed to talent manager Don Gibble after taking his improvisation class. He modeled for Gap and appeared in two short films, before being cast in his first feature film role, 2004's adventure film "Catch That Kid". He was subsequently cast in 2005's action comedy film "The Pacifier", portraying one of the family members protected by a Navy SEAL (Vin Diesel). He was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor for his role. Thieriot then appeared in the drama "The Astronaut Farmer" (2007) and the film adaptation of "Nancy Drew" (2007).


title: Max Thieriot

text: In 2008, he played a younger version of Hayden Christensen's character in "Jumper". That same year, he appeared in "", for which he won the Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast with his co-stars. In 2009, Thieriot co-starred in the erotic thriller "Chloe". "Chloe" enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's biggest ever box office earner. The following year, he played the lead role in Wes Craven's horror film "My Soul to Take".


title: Max Thieriot

text: In 2011, he starred in the independent comedy "The Family Tree" and played the lead role in the drama film "Foreverland". Thieriot then co-starred in the Mark Tonderai–directed psychological horror-thriller "House at the End of the Street" (2012). That same year, he starred in the drama film "Disconnect". Also in 2012, Thieriot was cast in a leading role in Roland Emmerich's drama pilot for ABC, "Dark Horse", but the project was not picked up to series. From 2013 until its ending in 2017, he portrayed Dylan Massett, the half-brother of Norman Bates, in the critically acclaimed drama series "Bates Motel". He made his directorial debut on the series with the fifth season episode "Hidden".


title: Max Thieriot

text: In 2015, he starred in the History Channel event miniseries "Texas Rising" as Jack Hays, a captain of the Texas Rangers, and appeared in the remake of the action-thriller film "Point Break". In 2017, Thieriot began starring as Navy SEAL Clay Spenser in the CBS drama series "SEAL Team" until 2022. In 2022, Thieriot began portraying Bode Donovan in the CBS drama series "Fire Country", for which he also serves as a producer.


title: Max Thieriot

text: In 2012, Thieriot became engaged to Alexis Murphy, his girlfriend of seven years. He proposed during a trip to the Caribbean, where the pair met as teenagers. On June 1, 2013, they were married in Lake Tahoe, California. The couple announced the birth of their first child, a boy, in 2015. They had a second son in 2018. Through his sister's marriage, Thieriot is the brother-in-law of former Philadelphia Phillies baseball pitcher Michael Stutes.


title: Max Thieriot

text: As well as being an actor, Thieriot is also a vintner. He, along with childhood friends Christopher Strieter and Myles Lawrence-Briggs, owns vineyards in his hometown of Occidental and distributes wine through their label Senses. In the third season of "Bates Motel", the main characters can be seen drinking Senses during a family-dinner scene.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan Bingbing (, born 16 September 1981) is a Chinese actress. From 2013 to 2017, she was included as the highest-paid celebrity in the "Forbes" China Celebrity 100 list after ranking in the top 10 every year since 2006. She appeared on "Time" magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2017.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan's early work was in East Asian cinema and television, notably appearing in drama series "My Fair Princess" (1998–1999). Her breakthrough came with the film "Cell Phone" (2003) which was China's highest-grossing film of the year. She went on to star in several Chinese films, which include "Lost in Beijing" (2007), "Buddha Mountain" (2011) and "Double Xposure" (2012). For headlining the film "I Am Not Madame Bovary" (2016), Fan won awards from the Golden Horse Film Festival, the Tokyo International Film Festival, the San Sebastián International Film Festival and the Golden Rooster Awards. Her foreign film roles include the French film "Stretch" (2011), the Korean film "My Way" (2011), the American superhero film "" (2014) and the Hong Kong-Chinese-American film "Skiptrace" (2015).


title: Fan Bingbing

text: In 2018, Fan disappeared for three months, reportedly during an investigation into her tax affairs by the Chinese authorities. She was reportedly fined a sum greater than her net worth. She subsequently appeared on social media, offering a public apology over tax evasion, for which she was fined more than ().


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan was born in Laixi, Yantai (Now Qingdao) and raised in Yantai. She graduated from Shanghai Xie Jin Film and Television Art College and Shanghai Theatre Academy.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan debuted in the television series "Powerful Woman" and played minor roles for two years, before gaining attention in 1999 for her supporting role as Jin Suo in the first two seasons of the Chinese television series "My Fair Princess", adapted from Taiwanese writer Chiung Yao's story. She was recommended by Hong Kong actress Leanne Liu to join the cast. The comedic period drama enjoyed widespread success in Asia, making Fan a household name in the region. She rose to fame in East Asia in 1998–1999 with the TV costume drama series "My Fair Princess".


title: Fan Bingbing

text: In 2003, she starred in "Cell Phone", which became China's highest-grossing film of the year and received critical acclaim at the Hundred Flowers Awards. Fan signed an eight-year contract with Chiung Yao's company, which produced "My Fair Princess". However, as the company had yet to establish any branches in mainland China, many mainland Chinese television advertising firms had to make calls to Taiwan for negotiations, resulting in a waste of time and effort. When Fan and her mother tried to contract, Chiung Yao's company asked for in compensation; eventually the court ordered Fan to pay because the contract was illegal due to her age. Fan won a Best Actress Award at the 27th Hundred Flowers Awards, and an Outstanding New Actress nomination at the 10th Huabiao Awards.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan appeared in "The Lion Roars" (2002), "The Twins Effect II" (2004), "A Chinese Tall Story" (2005), and "A Battle of Wits" (2006). She received a Golden Bauhinia Awards nomination for her role in the Chinese-South-Korean-Japanese epic film "A Battle of Wits". In 2006, "Forbes China" gave her its most prized award, the Star of the Year, for her popularity, high press coverage, and website throughout that year.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: She has starred in many Chinese films, most notably "Lost in Beijing" (2007), "Buddha Mountain" (2011), "Double Xposure" (2012) and "I Am Not Madame Bovary" (2016), where she received awards from the Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, the Tokyo International Film Festival, the San Sebastián International Film Festival and Golden Rooster Awards. She has participated in many foreign-language films, such as the French film "Stretch" (2011), the Korean film "My Way" (2011), "" (2014), in which she portrayed Blink, and the Hong Kong-Chinese-American film "Skiptrace" (2015), for which she won the Golden Screen Award for Best Actress.Fan left Huayi Brothers in February 2007 and started her own studio, Fan Bingbing Studio. She starred in eight films in 2007, winning the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 44th Golden Horse Film Awards for her role in "The Matrimony". That year, her studio made its first television production, "Rouge Snow" (2008), adapted from the novel of the same name. Fan played the starring role in the production, portraying a poor girl who fights for freedom against fate after being sold to a wealthy and influential clan. In the same year, Fan starred in crime drama film "Shinjuku Incident" and was praised by critics for her performance. Fan featured in historical action film "Bodyguards and Assassins", which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: In 2010, Fan starred in Chen Kaige's historical epic, "Sacrifice". Fan said that she chose the role as she was moved by Princess Zhuang Ji's great courage and a very fierce maternal love. On 24 October, "Buddha Mountain" starring Fan premiered at the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival, and earned her the Best Actress Award. In April 2010, Fan was ranked first on the "50 Most Beautiful People in China" list by the newspaper "Beijing News". In 2011, Fan starred in the martial arts film "Shaolin" alongside Andy Lau and Jackie Chan and "The Founding of a Party", which was released to mark the 90th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. In May, she appeared at the 64th Cannes Film Festival to promote "My Way" together with director Kang Je-gyu and actors Jang Dong-gun and Joe Odagiri. In October, she became a member of the International Competition Jury of 24th Tokyo International Film Festival.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: For the first half of 2012, Fan attended many fashion shows in Paris. On 16 May, she attended the opening ceremony of the 65th Cannes Film Festival as the only East Asian global spokesperson on behalf of L'Oréal Paris. "Forbes" ranked Fan third on the 2012 Forbes China Celebrity 100 List based on her success in that year. In the film "Double Xposure", which was released in China on 29 September, she portrays a girl who, after suffering trauma during childhood, experiences visual hallucinations after witnessing her father kill her mother. Most film critics praised to Fan's performance, and she won the Huading Awards for Best Actress. The film was a financial success, with a domestic gross of more than , which broke the box office record for a domestic art film in China. On 12 December, Fan appeared in "Lost in Thailand", in which she did an unpaid cameo so as to "help" her first-time filmmaker friend, Xu Zheng. The film broke the box office record for Chinese films in China to become one of the highest-grossing Chinese films of all time.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: In 2013, Fan appeared as Dr. Wu's assistant, Wu Jiaqi, in the mainland Chinese version of "Iron Man 3", which was released on 1 May. The same year, she starred alongside Aarif Rahman in the romantic comedy "One Night Surprise", which aired on Chinese Valentine's Day. The low-budget film became a commercial success and received positive reviews. On 9 December 2013, the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group's B2C business Taobao announced that Fan topped the list of the most valuable celebrities for boosting online business and said that Fan influenced approximately in sales on its ecommerce website. On 22 December, Fan received the Best Actress Award and the Hottest Figure Award at the Baidu Hot Ceremony. In 2014, Fan portrayed the mutant Blink (Clarice Ferguson) in the American superhero film "". She also announced that she has a four-film contract with 20th Century Fox, yet she has not appeared in another X-Men film since. The film was released globally and resulted in increased international fame and recognition for Fan. On 31 May, Barbie announced the launch of the Fan Bingbing Celebrity Specialty doll in Shanghai. Louis Vuitton also chose Fan as the first Asian actress to be provided with a specially tailored dress for their red carpet.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: In the series "The Empress of China", Fan portrays the titular character Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history. The 82-episode TV series was broadcast on Hunan Television from 21 December 2014 to 5 February 2015, and recorded the highest ratings for the year. The same year, she starred in wuxia fantasy film "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom". In 2015, Fan joined the CCTV variety show as a judge in "Amazing Chinese" and as a contestant in the reality television show "Challenger's Alliance". Fan won the Best Actress award at the 1st Berlin Chinese Film Festival for her role in the film. She was ranked fourth on "Forbes" World's Highest-Paid Actresses list for 2015. In 2016, Fan featured in the action comedy "Skiptrace" alongside Jackie Chan and American actor Johnny Knoxville, which won her the Best Supporting Actress award at the 1st Golden Screen Awards. Fan then starred in Guo Jingming's "". The film, which was released on 30 September, is China's first computer-animated motion film. Fan won the Silver Shell for Best Actress at the 64th San Sebastián International Film Festival and Golden Rooster Award for Best Actress for her performance in "I Am Not Madame Bovary" directed by Feng Xiaogang.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan was honored at the 2017 "Time" 100 Gala in Manhattan, recognized on "Time" magazine's list of the one-hundred most influential people of 2017. In April 2017, Fan was announced to serve in the 70th Cannes Film Festival jury. The same year, she starred in "Sky Hunter", China's first aerial warfare film. Fan was named global ambassador of several brands such as ReFa Beauty Care Tools, De Beers, King Power and Montblanc. In 2018, Fan was cast in Cao Baoping's crime drama film "The Perfect Blue". In the same year, she was cast in the spy-thriller film "355", alongside Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong'o, Diane Kruger, Sebastian Stan and Édgar Ramírez; it was released in January 2022. Fan attended the IQIYI Ninth Anniversary Gala in Beijing on 22 April 2019. Just 4 days later, she released her own brand "Fan Beauty Secret" first moisturizing mask. Fan was in attendance at the Shanghai Beauty Summit on 12 July and the 12th China Cosmetic Summit on 22 July.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: On 29 May 2015, it was announced on Li Chen's social media that he and Fan Bingbing were dating. On 16 September 2017, the couple got engaged after he proposed to Fan at her birthday party. The couple announced their separation on 27 June 2019.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Fan has a younger brother named Fan Chengcheng who is one of the members of the boy group Nine Percent and NEXT. She is a member of the Communist Party of China. Fan has been active in helping children with congenital heart disease receive screening. Since August 2010, Fan has helped more than 340 children with congenital heart disease receive medical treatment in Beijing and Shanghai.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: On 28 May 2018, TV anchor Cui Yongyuan used social media to leak a redacted contract disclosing Fan being paid for her four days of work on the upcoming Feng Xiaogang film "Cell Phone 2". The following day, Cui published a second redacted contract showing an amount of for the same job, suggesting that the smaller contract was intended for reporting to tax authorities to avoid being taxed for her full compensation of . This disclosure prompted Jiangsu Provincial and Wuxi City tax authorities to investigate a suspected case of tax evasion. Fan's studio issued a statement denying that she had ever signed separate contracts for a single job, and stated that they would cooperate fully with authorities in the investigation and would address public concerns.


title: Fan Bingbing

text: Questions, concerns, and rumors about Fan's whereabouts grew when she was not seen after a last public appearance on 1 July 2018 and a lack of activity on social media after 23 July. As Fan was presumed missing, rumours suggested that Fan had been arrested but were not confirmed. In August, Fan's manager Jersey Chong stated via social media that Fan was never arrested. Fan broke the silence on 3 October 2018 with a statement on social media, apologizing to the public for tax evasion after the Chinese authorities ordered her and her companies to pay about () in taxes and penalties to avoid criminal prosecution.


title: Simple Minds

text: Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1977. They have released a string of hit singles, becoming best known internationally for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (1985), which topped the "Billboard" Hot 100 in the United States. Other commercially successful singles include "Glittering Prize" (1982), "Someone Somewhere in Summertime" (1982), "Waterfront" (1983) and "Alive and Kicking" (1985), as well as the UK number one single "Belfast Child" (1989).


title: Simple Minds

text: Simple Minds have achieved five UK Albums chart number one albums, "Sparkle in the Rain" (1984), "Once Upon a Time" (1985), "Live in the City of Light" (1987), "Street Fighting Years" (1989) and "Glittering Prize 81/92" (1992); they have sold more than 60 million albums. They were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. Simple Minds have also achieved considerable chart success in the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.


title: Simple Minds

text: In 2014, Simple Minds were awarded the Q Inspiration Award for their contribution to the music industry and an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. Other notable recognitions include nominations for both the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985, nomination for the Brit Award for British Group in 1986 and for the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group in 1987. "Belfast Child" was nominated for the Song of the Year at the 1990 Brit Awards.


title: Simple Minds

text: The nucleus of Simple Minds consists of the two remaining original members, Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (electric & acoustic guitars, occasional keyboards after 1990, saxophone and violin). The other current band members are Ged Grimes (bass guitar), Cherisse Osei (drums), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), Gordy Goudie (additional guitar & keyboards) and Berenice Scott (keyboards). Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass), Brian McGee & Mel Gaynor (drums).


title: Simple Minds

text: The roots of Simple Minds are in the short-lived punk band Johnny & The Self-Abusers, founded on the South Side of Glasgow in early 1977. The band was conceived (initially as an imaginary band) by would-be Glasgow scene-maker Alan Cairnduff, although he left the job of organising the band to his friend John Milarky. At Cairnduff's suggestion, Milarky teamed up with two musicians he had never worked with before – budding singer and lyricist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill. Kerr and Burchill had known each other since the age of eight. After joining Johnny & The Self-Abusers, they brought in two of their school friends, Brian McGee on drums and Tony Donald on bass (all four had previously played together in the schoolboy band Biba-Rom!).


title: Simple Minds

text: With Milarky established as singer, guitarist and saxophonist, the line-up was completed by his friend Allan McNeill as third guitarist. Kerr and Burchill also doubled on keyboards and violin respectively. In common with the early punk bands, various members took on stage names—Milarky became "Johnnie Plague", Kerr became "Pripton Weird", McNeill chose "Sid Syphilis" and Burchill chose "Charlie Argue".


title: Simple Minds

text: Johnny & The Self-Abusers played their first gig on Easter Monday, 11 April 1977, at the Doune Castle pub in Glasgow. The band played support to rising punk stars Generation X in Edinburgh two weeks later. The band went on to play a summer of concerts in Glasgow, but soon split into two factions, with Milarky and McNeill on one side and Kerr, Donald, Burchill and McGee on the other: at the same time, Milarky's compositions were being edged out in favour of those of Kerr and Burchill.


title: Simple Minds

text: In November 1977, Johnny & The Self-Abusers released its only single, "Saints and Sinners", on Chiswick Records (which was dismissed as being "rank and file" in a "Melody Maker" review). The band split on the same day that the single was released, with Milarky and McNeill going on to form The Cuban Heels. Ditching the stage names and the overt punkiness, the remaining members continued together as Simple Minds (naming themselves after a David Bowie lyric from his song "Jean Genie", making their very first performance at Glasgow's Satellite City on 17 January 1978.


title: Simple Minds

text: In January 1978, Simple Minds recruited Duncan Barnwell as a second guitarist (allowing for an optional two-guitar line-up while also enabling Burchill to play violin). Meanwhile, Kerr had abandoned keyboards to concentrate entirely on vocals. In March 1978, Kerr, Burchill, Donald, Barnwell and McGee were joined by the Barra-born keyboard player Mick MacNeil. The band got a residency at the Mars Bar in Glasgow and played various other venues in Scotland and rapidly established a reputation as an exciting live act (usually performing in full makeup) and gained a management deal with Bruce Findlay, owner of the Bruce's Records chain of record shops. Findlay also owned Zoom Records (a subsidiary of the Arista Records label), and used his position to get Simple Minds signed to Arista. By early 1980, Findlay would have become the band's full-time manager via his Schoolhouse Management company.


title: Simple Minds

text: The band's line-up did not settle until the end of 1978. Tony Donald quit in April 1978, before the first Simple Minds demo tape was recorded (he later became Burchill's guitar technician). He was replaced by Duncan Barnwell's friend Derek Forbes (formerly the bass player with The Subs). In November 1978, Barnwell was asked to leave. The remaining quintet of Kerr, Burchill, MacNeil, Forbes and McGee—generally considered as the first serious line-up of Simple Minds—began rehearsing the set of Kerr/Burchill-written songs which appear on their début album.


title: Simple Minds

text: On 27 March 1979 the band made their first television appearance, performing the songs "Chelsea Girl" and "Life in a Day" on BBC's "The Old Grey Whistle Test".


title: Simple Minds

text: The first Simple Minds album, "Life in a Day", was produced by John Leckie and released by Zoom Records in April 1979. The album's title track "Life in a Day" was released as Simple Minds' first single and reached No. 62 in the UK Singles Chart, with the album reaching No. 30 in the UK Albums Chart. The next single ("Chelsea Girl") failed to chart. While preparing ideas for the next record, they played a support slot for Magazine, following which they went back to the studio with Leckie to work on new material.


title: Simple Minds

text: Simple Minds' second release, "Real to Real Cacophony" was a significant departure from the pop tunes of "Life in a Day". The album had a darker and far more experimental atmosphere, announcing some of the new wave experimentation that became the band's trademark sound over the next two albums. Much of the album was written in the studio, although Simple Minds had been playing early versions of several tracks during the recent tour dates.


title: Simple Minds

text: Innovations which the band displayed on "Real to Real Cacophony" included minimalist structures based around the rhythm section of Forbes and McGee, plus the occasional use of unconventional time signatures. The band also experimented with elements of dub, and included the wordless and atmospheric "Veldt" in which they attempted to create an impression of an African landscape using electronic buzzes and drones, Burchill's improvised saxophone lines and Kerr's chants and cries. The album also generated the single "Changeling". The band toured in Europe and the UK on their "Real to Real Cacophony Tour" and also made a short visit to New York. Their performance of the songs "Premonition", "Factory" and "Changeling" at Hurrah in October 1979 was filmed for The Old Grey Whistle Test.


title: Simple Minds

text: "Real to Real Cacophony" caught the attention of Peter Gabriel who selected Simple Minds as the opening act on several dates of his European tour starting in August 1980.


title: Simple Minds

text: The next album was "Empires and Dance", released in September 1980. Many of the tracks were minimal and featured a significant use of sequencing. McNeil's keyboards and Forbes' bass became the main melodic elements in the band's sound, with Burchill's heavily processed guitar becoming more of a textural element. With this album, Kerr began to experiment with non-narrative lyrics based on observations he had made as the band travelled across Europe on tour. While a modest commercial success, "Empires and Dance" received enthusiastic response in the British music press and the tour as support act for Peter Gabriel gave the band the opportunity to play at bigger venues.


title: Simple Minds

text: In 1981, Simple Minds switched record labels from Arista to Virgin. The following year, Arista put out a compilation album, "Celebration", featuring tracks from the three previous albums.


title: Simple Minds

text: Simple Minds' first release on Virgin was two albums: the Steve Hillage-produced "Sons and Fascination" and "Sister Feelings Call". The latter album was initially included as a bonus disc with the first 10,000 vinyl copies of "Sons and Fascination", but it was later re-issued as an album in its own right. (For the CD release, it was paired on a single disc with "Sons and Fascination"at first with two tracks deleted, but in full on later issues.) Further increasing the band's visibility, the single "Love Song" became an international hit (reaching the Top 20 in Canada and Australia), and the instrumental "Theme for Great Cities" proved so enduring a composition that it was later re-recorded in 1991 as a B-side to the single "See the Lights".


title: Simple Minds

text: During this period, the band's visual aesthetic was established, masterminded by Malcolm Garrett's graphic design company Assorted iMaGes. Characterised at first by hard, bold typography and photo-collage, Garrett's designs for the band later incorporated pop-religious iconography in clean, integrated package designs that befitted the band's idealised image as neo-romantic purveyors of European anthemic pop. Drummer Brian McGee left the band at the end of the "Sons and Fascination" sessions, citing exhaustion at Simple Minds' constant touring schedule, and a desire for more time at home with family. He also cited disappointment that he was not getting enough credit in the band. McGee joined Glasgow band Endgames, and later Propaganda.


title: Simple Minds

text: McGee's initial replacement as Simple Minds' drummer was Kenny Hyslop (ex-Skids, Slik, Zones), who joined the band in October 1981 in time to play the first leg of the Sons and Fascination tour. His interest in New York music (including funk, hip-hop and dance) had an immediate effect on the band's musical development. He stayed long enough to drum on the band's next single, the disco-friendly "Promised You a Miracle" (based on a funk riff from one of the cassettes he played on the band's tour bus) which hit the UK Top 20 and the Australian Top 10. Hyslop "didn't fit in" with the band or their management and was replaced for the second leg of the Sons and Fascination tour in early 1982.


title: Simple Minds

text: Hyslop was replaced by the Kilmarnock-born percussionist Mike Ogletree (the former drummer for Café Jacques). Ogletree joined Simple Minds for rehearsals in a large converted barn in Perthshire, where he wrote and played the drum parts for the songs that were to become "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)". Ogletree also performed with the band on TV and the second leg of the 'Sons and Fascination Tour'.


title: Simple Minds

text: The band moved to Townhouse Studios for recording sessions with producer Peter Walsh, who introduced them to a London-born drummer called Mel Gaynor, a 22-year-old session musician with plenty of experience from playing with funk-bands such as Beggar and Co and Light of the World. Working closely with Ogletree in order to capture and maintain the beats from the Perthshire sessions, he played drums on the majority of the record (although Ogletree played drums on three tracks and is credited for percussion across the entire album).


title: Simple Minds

text: "New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)" was released in September 1982, combining the results of the Walsh sessions along with "Promised You a Miracle". The album was a commercial breakthrough and generated charting singles including "Glittering Prize" (which reached the UK Top 20 and Australian Top 10). While some tracks ("Promised You a Miracle", "Colours Fly and Catherine Wheel") continued the formula perfected on "Sons and Fascination", other tracks ("Someone Somewhere in Summertime", "Glittering Prize") were pure pop. Jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock performed a synth solo on the track "Hunter and the Hunted".


title: Simple Minds

text: The band embarked on their extensive "New Gold Tour" in September 1982, which included dates in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Mike Ogletree played on the first leg of the tour, but left the band in November 1982 to join Fiction Factory. Mel Gaynor was recruited (as a full member of the band) for the remaining dates. Simple Minds' first non-Scottish member, Gaynor went on to become the band's longest-standing drummer (and member aside from mainstays Burchill and Kerr) despite thrice leaving and returning in the following decades. The band's late 1982 UK dates included a show at City Hall in Newcastle that was recorded by Virgin and later included on the 2003 "Seen the Lights" dvd. On these dates the band was supported by China Crisis. The second leg of the tour started in March 1983 and included dates in Europe, USA and Canada. In July they performed at festivals such as Roskilde Festival in Denmark and Rock Werchter in Belgium.


title: Simple Minds

text: The next record, "Sparkle in the Rain", was produced by Steve Lillywhite and released in February 1984. It gave rise to successful singles like "Waterfront" (which hit No. 1 in a few European countries) and "Speed Your Love to Me" and "Up on the Catwalk". "Sparkle in the Rain" topped the charts in the UK and hit the Top 20 in several other countries (including Canada, where it reached No. 13). In 1984, Jim Kerr married Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders (who renamed herself Christine Kerr). Simple Minds headlined a North American tour supported by China Crisis during the Canadian leg and supported the Pretenders in the US while Hynde was pregnant with Kerr's daughter. The marriage lasted until 1990.


title: Simple Minds

text: Despite the band's new-found popularity in the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia, Simple Minds remained essentially unknown in the US. The band's UK releases on Arista were not picked up by Arista USA who had 'right of first refusal' for their releases. The 1985 film "The Breakfast Club" broke Simple Minds into the US market, when the band achieved their only No. 1 U.S. pop hit in April 1985 with the film's opening track, "Don't You (Forget About Me)". The song was written by Keith Forsey and Steve Schiff; Forsey offered the song to Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry before Simple Minds agreed to record it. The song soon became a chart-topper in many other countries around the world.


title: Simple Minds

text: At around this point, the camaraderie that had fuelled Simple Minds began to unravel, and over the next ten years the band's line-up underwent frequent changes. Jim Kerr subsequently recalled "We were knackered. We were desensitized. The band started to fracture. We were lads who had grown up together, we were meant to grow together, politically, spiritually and artistically. But we were getting tired with each other. There was an element of the chore creeping in. We were coasting and this whole other thing was a challenge."


title: Simple Minds

text: The first casualty was bassist Derek Forbes, who was beginning to squabble with Kerr. Forbes began failing to turn up for rehearsals, and was dismissed. Forbes remained in touch with the band (and soon reunited with another former Simple Minds bandmate, drummer Brian McGee, in Propaganda). Forbes was replaced by former Brand X bass player John Giblin (who owned the band's rehearsal space and was a session musician who had worked with Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush). Giblin made his debut with Simple Minds at Live Aid in Philadelphia, where the band performed "Don't You (Forget About Me)", a new track called "Ghost Dancing" and "Promised You a Miracle". Simple Minds were the first band to be approached to play the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid.


title: Simple Minds

text: During 1985, Simple Minds were in the studio with former Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks producer Jimmy Iovine. In November, "Once Upon a Time" was released; former Chic singer Robin Clark, who performed call-and-response vocals with Kerr throughout the album (effectively becoming a second lead singer), and was heavily featured in Simple Minds music videos of the time. The record reached No. 1 in the UK and No. 10 in the US, despite the fact that their major-league breakthrough single "Don't You (Forget About Me)" was not included.


title: Simple Minds

text: "Once Upon a Time" went on to generate four worldwide hit singles: "Alive and Kicking", "Sanctify Yourself", "Ghost Dancing" and "All the Things She Said", the last of which featured a music video directed by Zbigniew Rybczyński that used techniques developed in music videos for bands such as Pet Shop Boys and Art of Noise. The band also toured, with both Robin Clark and percussionist Sue Hadjopoulos added to the live line-up.


title: Simple Minds

text: Because of Simple Minds' powerful stage presence and lyrics that trafficked in Christian symbolism, the band was criticised by some in the music press as a lesser version of U2, despite the fact that both bands were now heading in different musical directions. The two groups were well-acquainted with one another, and Bono joined Simple Minds on-stage at the Barrowlands in Glasgow in 1985 for a live version of "New Gold Dream". Bono also appeared on stage at Simple Minds Croke Park concert and sang "Sun City" during the "Love Song" medley. Derek Forbes also appeared on stage at the Croke Park concert and performed on several songs during the encore. To document their worldwide "Once Upon a Time Tour", Simple Minds released the double-live set "Live in the City of Light" in May 1987, which was recorded primarily over two nights in Paris in August 1986.