THE ACE FACE
DUNCAN SEAMAN
© Alamy
Jenny Berggren has a refreshingly straightforward take on the legacy of her former band Ace Of Base. It’s now a decade since the singer walked away from Sweden’s third most successful group – after ABBA and Roxette – but rather than feeling burdened by her past, she finds herself celebrating it at shows around the world.
On the recent We Love The 90s package tour of UK arenas, she performed their songs, and when Classic Pop mentions Ace Of Base’s influence on Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Robyn, the 47-year-old talks fondly of the music she made with her sister Linn, brother Jonas, and Ulf Ekberg.
“I’m very grateful to Jonas, Ulf and Linn, all of Ace Of Base,” she says. “We did a fantastic job and were given a spot in the limelight; we handled it the best we could. I’m very flattered and grateful that we inspired people around the world. When it comes down to my favourite artists today really liking our music, I blush. That’s a real joy.” This month, the band’s legacy is cemented with a lavish 11CD/DVD boxset, All That She Wants, which collects together four studio albums from 1993’s Happy Nation to Da Capo in 2002 as well as a host of extras, remixes and rarities. Add in a separate coloured heavyweight vinyl boxset and it‘s quite the Ace of Base motherlode for fans.