Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance-pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eurochart and peaking at number 14 in 1992. It remains their best-known song internationally. Their second international hit, "Obsession", charted 32 weeks and peaked at number 29.
"Old Pop in an Oak" is a song recorded by Swedish band Rednex, released in 1994 as the second single from their debut album, Sex & Violins (1995). It reached number-one in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In the UK, it peaked at number 12.
"Sleeping in My Car" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 7 March 1994 by EMI as the lead single from the duo's fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). The song was composed by Per Gessle in under an hour, and was the final song the band recorded for the album. It is a pop rock song containing elements drawn from pop punk. Marie Fredriksson's vocal range on the track spans over three octaves. The band performed the song at the inaugural 1994 MTV Europe Music Awards.
"Fading Like a Flower (Every Time You Leave)" is a power ballad by Swedish pop duo Roxette from their third studio album, Joyride (1991). Written by Per Gessle and produced by Clarence Öfwerman, the song was released as the second single from Joyride on 29 April 1991, by EMI Records. It became the duo's fifth consecutive Top 10 hit single in the United States, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single reached the Top 10 in an additional 12 countries.
"Mr. Vain" is a song by German musical group Culture Beat, released in April 1993 by Dance Pool as the lead single from the group's second studio album, Serenity (1993). The song was written by Steven Levis, Nosie Katzmann and Jay Supreme, and produced by Torsten Fenslau. Tania Evans is the lead vocalist and Supreme is the rapper. The female part of the lyrics describes the narcissist title character Mr. Vain, while the rap embodies his selfish desires.
"Wheel of Fortune" is a song by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as their first single from the debut album, Happy Nation (1992). The song was first serviced to Danish radio in early 1992, through Mega Records, but failed to pick up much support. When re-promoted for a third time and released in stores on 29 June 1992, it entered the official Danish singles chart at number six, before later peaking at number two. It wasn't released elsewhere in Europe until 1993, following the success of their second single, "All That She Wants".
"Happy Nation" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base from their debut album with the same name (1992). It was first released in Scandinavia in December 1992 by Mega Records and later released twice in the UK. The first appearance was in October 1993, when it peaked at number 42, it re-entered the chart twelve months later at number 40. "Happy Nation" reached number-one on the singles charts of Denmark, Finland, France in 1993 and 1994. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley. In 2008, the song was remade by Ace of Base for a remix kit.
"Impossible" is a song by German musician Captain Hollywood Project. It was released in October 1993 by labels Blow Up and Intercord as the fourth single from his debut album, Love Is Not Sex (1993), and features vocals by American singer Kim Sanders. The song was co-written by Nosie Katzmann and Tony Dawson-Harrison, and became a notable hit in several countries. But like "All I Want", it achieved moderate success in comparison with the two previous Captain Hollywood Project's singles, "More and More" and "Only with You". A music video was produced to promote the single, featuring Petra Spiegl instead of Sanders.
"Crucified" is a song by Swedish band Army of Lovers, released as the first single from their second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), and the seventh single to be released by the band. It was released in May 1991, February–April 1992, and July 2013. The song was written by bandmembers Alexander Bard and Jean-Pierre Barda with Anders Wollbeck, and features Barda, Bard and La Camilla. It was successful in several European countries, including Belgium, where it reached the number-one spot, and Germany, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland, where it reached the top 10. In the United States, "Crucified" became a huge club hit and radio favorite, debuting at number six on the Billboard Dance singles chart and spending a total of 14 weeks in the top 20. The initial remixes available on the CD maxi and vinyl 12" maxi are by Nuzak. The track samples the drum break from James Brown's Funky Drummer.
"Life" (known as "Life (Everybody Needs Somebody to Love)" in the US) is a song by Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist Haddaway. Written and produced by Dee Dee Halligan (Tony Hendrik) and Junior Torello (Karin Hartmann-Eisenblätter), the song was released in July 1993 by Coconut Records as the second single from Haddaway's debut album, The Album (1993), and the follow-up to his successful debut single, "What Is Love". The song peaked at number one in Finland, Israel, Spain and Sweden, as well as on the RPM Dance chart and the Eurochart Hot 100, and was a top-10 hit in at least 13 countries. The music video for "Life", partly inspired by the 1927 film Metropolis, was directed by Angel Gracia and filmed in Frankfurt, Germany. By March 1994, the single had sold 1.5 million copies worldwide.
The Gods of Earth and Heaven is Swedish band Army of Lovers' third studio album. It was the first album, after the replacement of La Camilla by Michaela de la Cour and the introduction of new member Dominika Peczynski. It contains the hit singles "Israelism" and "La Plage de Saint Tropez". "Israelism" was banned from MTV for allegedly making fun of Jewish culture. The album didn't do as well as Massive Luxury Overdose did. Album charted 20 weeks and peaked at number eight in Finnish Albums Chart Top-40. In the end of June 1993, Army of Lovers performed in several TV shows in France, Spain and Italy.
"It's Alright" is a song by English boy band East 17, released in November 1993 by London Records as the sixth and last single from their debut album, Walthamstow (1993). The song was written by band member Tony Mortimer, and produced by Phil Harding, Ian Curnow, Richard Stannard and Neil James Stainton. The single version, labelled the "Guvnor mix", begins with a slow ballad-like intro for the first minute, before converting to the dance-pop sound for the rest of the track. It reached number three on the UK Singles Chart and became a number-one hit in Australia, France, Ireland, Israel, and Switzerland. The accompanying music video was directed by Chris Clunn and Lawrence Watson, depicting the band performing onstage. In 2011, English singer and songwriter Kim Wilde recorded a cover of the song for her 12th album, Snapshots (2011), which charted in Germany.
"Somebody Dance with Me" is a song by Swiss artist DJ BoBo featuring Emel Aykanat. It was released in November 1992 as the second single from his debut album, Dance with Me (1993). The song is on some parts based on sampling taken from "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell. It was the first major hit of DJ BoBo in 1992-1993, reaching the top of Swiss Hitparade, the official Swiss Singles Chart. It was also a number-one hit in Portugal and Sweden.
"It Will Make Me Crazy" is a song by British DJ and producer Francis Wright, known under the pseudonym of Felix. It was released in October 1992 by Deconstruction, as the second single from his debut album, #1 (1993), and features vocalist Steele, also known as Sam Brown. The song topped the chart in Finland and reached the top-5 in Switzerland, Ireland and Germany. Additionally, it was also a top-10 hit in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. In the UK, it peaked at number 11 and on the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number seven. Outside Europe, the single peaked at number 14 in Israel and number 55 in Australia. Its music video was directed by Lindy Heymann.
"Ride the Bullet" is a song recorded by Swedish Eurodance group Army of Lovers. It is written by group members Alexander Bard, Jean-Pierre Barda and Camilla Henemark with Emil Hellman and Anders Wollbeck, and was originally released on their debut album, Disco Extravaganza (1990). In 1991, the song was remixed and included on the group's second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), and the US release of Disco Extravaganza titled Army of Lovers. A single was released both times; in 1990 and 1992. And both years, a music video was produced, directed by Fredrik Boklund.
Obsession is a song by Swedish band Army of Lovers. The lyrics were written by Alexander Bard and Anders Wollbeck, and the song is in part inspired by Laurie Anderson's 1981 song "O Superman"—primarily, the "ah ah" looped backing track. Released in August 1991 by Ton Son Ton as the second single from their second album, Massive Luxury Overdose (1991), "Obsession" reached number one on both the radio and the dance charts in Sweden. It also peaked at number two on the Swedish Singles Chart, number four in Belgium, number seven in Austria and Germany, and number nine in Spain. In 1992, Army of Lovers re-released the single exclusively for the United States and includes remixes only found in this version; it reached number 11 on the Billboard Dance Club Play chart.
"Keep on Dancing!" is a song by Swiss artist DJ BoBo, taken from his debut album, Dance With Me (1993). It features vocals by Turkish-Swiss singer Emel Aykanat and was released in June 1993 via various labels as the follow-up to his successful 1992 hit single "Somebody Dance with Me". The song was both co-written and co-produced by René Baumann with Daniel Peyer, Gutze Gautschi and Mark Wyss. It was a number-one hit in Finland and charted in Europe, Australia and Israel. "Keep on Dancing!" earned a gold record in Germany.
"Night in Motion" is a song recorded by German act U96, released in 1993 by label Urban as the second single from their second album, Replugged (1993). It was written by its co-producer Alex Christensen with Ingo Hauss, Helmut Hoinkis, Hayo Panarinfo. The single was a hit on the charts in Europe, peaking within the top-10 in Austria, Finland, Germany, Lithuania and Sweden. Outside Europe, the song was a huge hit in Israel, peaking at number-one.
"Candyman Messiah" is a song by Army of Lovers and released as a single in 1991. This song is written by Alexander Bard, Anders Wollbeck, Camilla Henemark and Jean-Pierre Barda. It peaked at number 22 in Sweden and number 10 in Finland. Although La Camilla sang vocals, Michaela de la Cour was featured in the video.
"La Plage de Saint Tropez" is a song recorded by Swedish group Army of Lovers. It was released in 1993 as the second single from their third album, The Gods of Earth and Heaven (1993), and peaked at number 15 in Finland, number 17 in Flanders and number 83 in Germany. The song's music video was directed by Swedish director Fredrik Boklund, who also directed the other videos for the band.
