| Malin "Linn" Berggren | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren |
| Also known as | Linn, Malin |
| Born | 31 October 1970 |
| Origin | Västra Götalands län, Göteborg, Sweden |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1987–2002,2006-2007 |
| Associated acts | Ace of Base |
Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (born 31 October 1970 in Gothenburg, Sweden) is a former member of the band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1990, along with her sister Jenny, her brother Jonas and their friend Ulf Ekberg. Before forming Ace of Base, Malin sang in her church's choir.[1] Linn speaks many languages: her native tongue is Swedish, but she speaks fluent English and German; she also speaks Spanish, Russian and French.[2]
When Ace of Base was signed to Danish label Mega Records in 1990, Malin, or Linn as she became known, chose to put her teaching career on hold. But while her sister Jenny has stated she would like to be a singer forever, Linn has never said anything similar. On the contrary, in 1997 Linn said: "I wanted to sing; I never wanted to be a singer".
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Since 1997 Linn has appeared at her band's concerts only to perform in the dark or from behind objects such as curtains or pillars.[3][4] In the band's music videos, her image is often blurred or missing altogether. Linn has not granted an interview since that year.[5] The other band members, too, have been somewhat reluctant to explain what has happened to Ace of Base's former lead singer. Linn frequently avoids cameras.[6][3][4]
The band's management and record companies have explained Linn's odd behaviour variously over the years. In 1997, when Linn did not perform at the World Music Awards, Claes Cornelius at Mega Records said it was because she did not wish to wear the heavy make-up the performance would have required.[3] The band performed "Ravine" with Linn pretending to play keyboards in the far background of the stage.[3][4] In 1998 when Linn walked off the set of the "Cruel Summer" video in Rome, her manager said it was because she did not wish to appear in the foreground of the video.[4] Director Nigel Dick later revealed she would not have appeared at all, were it not for his insistence. Jenny ended up singing both her own and Linn's parts in the video. Bravo magazine claimed later that year that Linn was seriously ill, a claim which appeared to be true, based on Linn's odd, shaking appearance on Germany's television spot The Dome, and photos appearing in Bravo.[4] Ulf Ekberg once claimed Linn had a "camera phobia", but other sources have cited her long-time fear of flying as the reason she doesn't appear at the band's concerts. Yet Linn also did not appear at events in Gothenburg and Copenhagen, where she would not have had to fly. The members of the band have stated that she has always been a shy and retiring person and was happy to let Jenny lead the band, although a knife attack on Jenny and her mother in 1994 was also said to be in part responsible for her reluctance to appear in public.[7] The attacker was a German girl, later arrested, who claimed to be targeting Linn.
In Linn's last personal interview, from 1997,[5][8] she stated her wish to simply remain in the background, and the eight videos filmed after this interview have mostly complied to her wishes. Other promotional materials, such as album covers and inserts, also feature blurred, unsmiling, distinctly unhappy photographs of her. The Flowers album uses the infamous 'blue lines' photograph, where Linn's unhappy image is bizarrely hidden behind the booklet's blue line design.[9]
Other details of Linn's life, such as any detail of her life outside the band, are completely unknown to the general public - whereas the other band members have been open about their relationships (Jonas and Jenny are both married, each with two small children, and Ulf has two boys with his long-time girlfriend).[10]
Linn has written a number of songs, some of which have been released as Ace of Base songs, and some of which have never been released to the public. During the mid-1990s, Linn wrote and produced several songs, among them "Just 'N' Image", "Whispers in Blindness", and "Strange Ways" for the band's The Bridge album. Some fans believe Linn's odd behavior is explained in the lyrics of "Strange Ways".
In the spring of 2005, interviews with Linn's sister Jenny seemed to indicate Linn's desire to return to the spotlight again, but Linn still remained hidden from the public and has not granted an interview with any news agency or media organization since the release of the "Our Story" documentary in 1998. The public has not caught a glimpse of her in several years. The last appearance was during the promotion of the "Da Capo" album in 2002, where she oddly showed up to a German television performance, and pretended to play synthesizer in the background.[11] A fan snapped a picture of a calm, smiling Linn outside the studio.
In October and November 2005, the band made appearances at a series of fifteen concerts at the Night of the Proms in Belgium; as usual, Linn was unable to attend, and only Jonas, Ulf, and Jenny made appearances at these concerts.[12][13] In 2006, it was mentioned that Ace of Base had recorded 6 new songs featuring vocals by both Malin and Jenny. In 2007, Linn provided backing vocals in Jenny's secondary band Arose.
According to an interview given by Ulf Ekberg on 20 June 2006, Malin returned to the University and would record vocals on the new band's album.[14] However, on 30 November 2007, Ulf stated in an interview that Malin Berggren had left the band and she would not be featured on the band's new album. The group had already been performing mostly without Linn as a trio for a solid decade before her departure.[15] Linn's image has been removed from most material on the band's official website. Band-mate Jenny confirmed Linn's departure in the Danish press: "She hasn't been part of Ace of Base for several years," she stated in Se & Hør magazine.[16]
Linn has contributed vocals for all released Ace of Base songs except:
Linn's writing credits for Ace of Base tracks:
Linn's production credits for Ace of Base tracks:
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   | Interview with Ulf Ekberg - ACE OF BASE CROATIA |
| | Ace of Base Biography - Ace of Base Biography - Read rock music reviews and compare prices at Yahoo! Shopping. |
| | "Tour but no album 2007: Swedish newspaper interviews Jonas and Ulf" - www.ace-news.de |
| | AceIsland - ace of base - www.aceisland.de |
| | The Eyes of an Angel: Biography Page - Ace of Base "The Eyes of an Angel!" Biographies Page! |
| | SmiLinn! - Wesped.com - Inicio |
| | Ace of Base UK site (Cache) - cache:SoGZYzG-5PwJ:www.apbb79.dsl.pipex.com/aob/timeline.htm "Malin"+"Our Story"+"Ace" - Google Search |
| | Ace of Base UK site (Cache) - cache:SoGZYzG-5PwJ:www.apbb79.dsl.pipex.com/aob/timeline.htm "Malin"+"Our Story"+"Ace" - Google Search |
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