The Cardigans

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The Cardigans
Image:The Cardigans.jpg
Background information
Origin	Image:Flag of Sweden.svg Jönköping, Småland, Sweden
Genre(s)	Pop, Indie rock, Alternative rock
Years active	1992–present
Label(s)	MCA, Mercury, Stockholm, Universal
Website	http://www.cardigans.com/
Members
Lars-Olof Johansson Peter Svensson Bengt Lagerberg Nina Persson Magnus Sveningsson

The Cardigans is a Swedish band formed in the town of Jönköping in 1992. The band's musical style has varied greatly from album to album and encompasses their early indie leanings passing through '60s-inspired pop and more band-based rock.

Their debut album Emmerdale (1994) gave them a solid base in their home country and raised some flags abroad, especially in Japan. But it wasn't until their breakthrough second album Life (1995) that international audiences and critics responded. The band are perhaps best known in the United States for their international hit single "Lovefool", from the album First Band on the Moon (1996). Its inclusion in the soundtrack of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet by director Baz Luhrmann secured their popularity.

Contents 1 Members 2 History 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Compilations 3.3 Digital albums 3.4 Singles 4 Trivia 5 See also 6 External links and references

Members

• Peter Svensson - lead guitar
• Magnus Sveningsson - bass
• Bengt Lagerberg - drums
• Lars-Olof "Lasse" Johansson - keyboards and guitar
• Nina Persson - vocals

History

Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson, both heavy metal musicians, formed the group in October of 1992 in Jönköping, Sweden, with drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Living together in a small apartment, The Cardigans recorded a demo tape which record producer Tore Johansson heard, leading to an invitation to record at a studio in Malmö. In 1994 they released their debut album Emmerdale in Sweden and Japan (it was re-released internationally in 1997). The album includes the Swedish radio hit "Rise & Shine" and was later voted the best of 1994 in a poll in Slitz magazine.

The rest of 1994 was spent touring Europe and recording Life, which was released worldwide in 1995. Life became an international success, selling more than a million copies and achieving platinum status in Japan. In 1996 Life was released under the label Minty Fresh in the U.S., but this release was essentially a compilation of tracks from Emmerdale and Life. Life was perhaps a satirical riposte to the first album, and saw the band move in a more avant-garde direction in terms of arrangements and artwork.

After their success with Life, The Cardigans signed to Mercury Records, under which they released First Band on the Moon worldwide in 1996. With this album, the band had developed into a more complex, darker animal, the songs included themes of heartbreak, infidelity and despair. "Lovefool" was a hit across the globe, especially in the United States and again in Japan, where the album reached platinum in only three weeks. However, it was unrepresentative of the album as a whole and, although it helped it achieve gold sales status in America, many critics branded them saccharine soft-pop on the basis of "Lovefool". The song was shown on MTV in the late 90's as a music video with clips from the 1996 hit version of Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.

1998's Gran Turismo was darker and more moody, and was followed by a long hiatus during which the band members pursued solo side projects. The same year they also released a compilation of rare B-sides called The Other Side of the Moon as a Japan-only release which makes this album somewhat rare outside Japan. The video of the song "My Favourite Game" was censored by MTV for showing reckless driving. That year also saw their song "Deuce" appearing on The X-Files: The Album.

During the break that followed, Nina Persson released an album as A Camp and the Cardigans recorded a duet cover of Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" with Tom Jones on his album Reload, Peter Svensson worked on the project Paus with help from Joakim Berg from Kent, and Magnus Sveningsson recorded as Righteous Boy. The Cardigans returned in 2003 with Long Gone Before Daylight, a quieter, more ambient collection of songs mainly written by Nina Persson and Peter Svensson. Long Gone Before Daylight became one of the best selling album in Sweden of 2003 with sales over 120, 000 (2xPlatinum). On October 19 2005 the band released their sixth album Super Extra Gravity which was released to major critical acclaim. Super Extra Gravity went straight to the #1 spot on the Swedish album chart and has so far been certified Gold (sales over 40, 000).

In November 2006 Nina Persson featured on The Cake Sale album set up by Oxfam Ireland. It contains 9 tracks from some of Ireland's leading artists. Proceeds from the album go to the Fair Trade campaign. The album is only available in the Republic of Ireland.

Nina is due to appear on two songs from the forthcoming Manic Street Preachers album Send Away The Tigers (May 2007): 'Your Love Alone Is Not Enough' and 'Autumn Song'[1]. She will share vocals with Manics frontman James Dean Bradfield, who has rated Peter Svensson as his second favourite guitarist [2].

Discography

Studio albums

Emmerdale (1994) Stockholm Records #29 SWE (re-released in the U.S. in 1999)	Life (1995) Stockholm Records #20 SWE, #51 UK (re-released in the U.S. in 1996)	First Band on the Moon (1996) Stockholm Records #2 SWE, #18 UK, #35 US	Gran Turismo (1998) Stockholm Records #1 SWE, #8 UK, #151 US
Long Gone Before Daylight (2003) Stockholm Records #1 SWE, #47 UK (released in the U.S. in 2004 with the addition of three bonus tracks)	Super Extra Gravity (2005) Stockholm Records #1 SWE, #78 UK

Compilations

The Other Side of the Moon (1997) Stockholm Records B-side and rarities compilation released only in Japan and Australia

Digital albums

• iTunes Originals – The Cardigans

Singles

Year	Single	UK	SWE
1994	"Rise & Shine" [1]	29	-
1994	"Black Letter Day" [2]	-	-
1994	"Sick & Tired"	34	-
1995	"Carnival"	35	-
1995	"Hey! Get Out of My Way" [3]	-	-
1996	"Lovefool" [4]	2	15
1996	"Been It" [5]	56	-
1996	"Your New Cuckoo" [6]	35	-
1998	"My Favourite Game"	14	3
1999	"Erase/Rewind"	7	12
1999	"Hanging Around"	17	-
1999	"Junk of the Hearts"	-	-
1999	"Burning Down the House (Tom Jones Feat. The Cardigans)"	7	2
2003	"For What It's Worth"	31	8
2003	"You're the Storm"	74	10
2003	"Live and Learn"	-	-
2005	"I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer"	59	3
2006	"Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)"	-	49

1. ^ Originally released in Sweden only, re-recorded and reissued for Sweden, Japan and UK in 1995 and for Europe in 1996
2. ^ Released in Sweden and Japan only
3. ^ Released in Europe and Japan only
4. ^ Reissued internationally in 1997
5. ^ Released in Europe and Australia. Later released in the U.S. in 1997
6. ^ Released in Japan. Reissued in Europe and Australia in 1997

Trivia

• On October 19, 2006, NBC show The Office had Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski) sing "Lovefool" to annoy one of his co-workers, Karen (played by Rashida Jones). Then Andy (played by Ed Helms) joins in the singing in his "talking head" shot.

See also

List of HFStival acts

External links and references

• Official website
• The Cardigans @ MTV.com
• The Cardigans on Myspace
• The Cardigans at Plain Picture Parade

The Cardigans

Lars-Olof Johansson · Peter Svensson · Bengt Lagerberg · Nina Persson · Magnus Sveningsson

Discography

Studio albums: Emmerdale · Life · First Band on the Moon · Gran Turismo · Long Gone Before Daylight · Super Extra Gravity

bs:The Cardigans

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