Army of Lovers
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| Army of Lovers | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genres | Eurodance |
| Years active | 1987–2003, 2007-2009, 2011–2013 |
| Labels | Stockholm Records Giant/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records (US) Polydor Records (UK) |
| Associated acts | Bodies Without Organs, Vacuum, Nouveau Riche, Alcazar, Happy Hoes, Gravitonas |
| Members | Alexander Bard (1987–2009, 2012-present) Jean-Pierre Barda (1987–2009, 2012-present) Dominika Peczynski (1992–2009, 2013-present) |
| Past members | Camilla Henemark (1987–1991, 1995–2001, 2012-2013) Michaela Dornonville de la Cour (1991–1995) |
Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance music group which formed in 1987, and have had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s with songs such as "Crucified", which was number one on the Eurochart for eight consecutive weeks. It remains their best known song internationally.
The name of the band alludes to a documentary Armee der Liebenden oder Revolte der Perversen of the German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Theban Band.
Army of Lovers reformed with Alexander Bard, Camilla Henemark and Jean-Pierre Barda in late 2012 to enter the Melodifestivalen 2013 with the song "Rockin' the Ride" in hopes of representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö.[1] They failed to progress to the final and a few days later issued a press release to announce that Henemark will be replaced by former member Dominika Peczynski for the remainder of their on-going reunion.[2]
Contents
History
The founding members, who had all worked together in a band called Barbie, were Alexander Bard, Jean-Pierre Barda and Camilla Henemark (aka La Camilla).
Army of Lovers had many Top 10 hits on the Eurochart, the biggest being "Crucified", which was one of the biggest selling European singles of 1991. Their total album sales were seven million copies worldwide.[3]
The band became famous for their outlandish visual appearance (many of their costumes were created by Camilla Thulin), and their high camp music videos directed by Fredrik Boklund (some of which were banned by MTV).
While Alexander Bard was the "brain" behind the band, Jean-Pierre Barda was the lead vocalist on hits such as "Crucified" and "Israelism". Bard and Barda were the only two band members who were present throughout all of the band's various line-ups. When La Camilla left the band in 1991, she was replaced by Michaela Dornonville de la Cour. In 1993, Dominika Peczynski joined, making the band a four-piece. In 1995, Dornonville de la Cour left and Henemark returned.
Although both "Obsession" and "Ride The Bullet" reached the top spot of the Eurocharts, their presence in the US and the UK was limited to club chart successes (though "Crucified" reached the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in February 1992).[4]
While they focused on experimenting with various club sounds and samples on their first album, Disco Extravaganza (later re-issued as Army of Lovers in the US), they released a proper pop/dance album with Massive Luxury Overdose (1991). The longplayer spawned their biggest hits ("Crucified", "Obsession") and managed to sell 250,000 copies in Germany alone. Massive Luxury Overdose was later re-issued for the US market, featuring a new cover and four brand new tracks. Their fourth album, The Gods of Earth and Heaven was never released in the US. The first single from the album, "Israelism", received radio airplay in several European countries and topped the charts in Israel despite being subject to criticism. The fifth LP, Glory, Glamour And Gold (1994) was supported by a club tour across Germany, where the band promoted same-sex marriage. In 1995, Army of Lovers released their first best-of compilation entitled Les Greatest Hits.
By this point, they had released five studio albums, made over twenty music videos, and they became successful across Eastern Europe before Bard disbanded the group to concentrate on his new group Vacuum in 1996.
The band reformed briefly in 2001 to celebrate the 10th anniversary since their breakthrough with the release of another best-of compilation called Le Grand Docu-Soap. The compilation contained three cover versions, including "Let The Sunshine In" and "Hands Up".
They joined forces again in 2007 for two shows, one at G-A-Y in London and one in Moscow. Bard, Peczyniski and Barda were present, but Henemark was replaced by an inflatable doll.
Two members of Army of Lovers (La Camilla and Dominika) reunited in June 2011 and appeared as guest vocalists on "Don't Try to Steal My Limelight", a single by Swedish drag artist and blogger Miss Inga.[5] The three later formed the band Happy Hoes and released "We Rule the World",[6] followed by a Christmas song entitled "Happy Ho Ho Ho". Happy Hoes performed at Pride 2012.[6]
Army of Lovers reformed with Alexander Bard, Camilla Henemark and Jean-Pierre Barda in late 2012 to enter the Melodifestivalen 2013 with the song "Rockin' the Ride", in hopes of representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö.[1] Their entry did not reach the finals of the Melodifestivalen. Just a few days after their performance, Alexander Bard explained to the press that Camilla Henemark had been kicked out once again and that Dominika Peczynski had returned. This was followed by a public fight between Alexander Bard and Dominika Peczynski against Camilla Henemark.[7]
A new best-of compilation, with four new songs, called Big Battle of Egos was announced for release on March 27, 2013, to be followed by a single and video called Signed on My Tattoo, a duet between Army of Lovers and Alexander Bard his other pop group Gravitonas. In June 2013 an EP called 'Scandinavian Crime' was released, which included re-recorded versions of "Rockin' The Ride" and "Tragedy" originally from their CD Big Battle of Egos. These new versions featured new vocals by Dominika Peczynski and Jean-Pierre Barda, replacing all the parts sung Camilla Henemark. On July 1, 2013, the video clip for "Crucified 2013" premiered on Expressen TV. The song was a revamped version of the band's breakthrough hit from 1991 and was chosen as the official anthem for Copenhagen Pride 2013.
Members
- Alexander Bard
- Jean-Pierre Barda
- Camilla Henemark
- Michaela Dornonville de la Cour
- Dominika Peczynski
Discography
Albums
- Studio albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [8] |
AUT | GER | SWI | RU | FN | IC | ||
| 1990 | Disco Extravaganza | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991 | Massive Luxury Overdose | 9 | 7 | 13 | 21 | — | 28 | — |
| 1993 | The Gods of Earth and Heaven | 36 | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | 8 |
| 1994 | Glory, Glamour and Gold | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 20 |
- Compilation albums
| Year | Album | Peak positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [8] |
IC | RU | |||||
| 1995 | Les Greatest Hits | 40 | 5 | 1 | |||
| 1997 | Master Series 88–96 | — | — | — | |||
| 2001 | Le Grand Docu-Soap | 24 | — | 1 | |||
| Le Remixed Docu-Soap | — | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | 14 Klassiker | — | — | — | |||
| 2013 | Big Battle of Egos | 40 | — | — | |||
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [8] |
FIN | UK [4] |
U.S. Dance |
GER | AUT | NLD [9] |
SWI | FRA | |||
| 1988 | "When the Night Is Cold" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Single only, later released on Master Series |
| "Love Me Like A Loaded Gun" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Disco Extravaganza | |
| 1989 | "Baby's Got a Neutron Bomb" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1990 | "Ride the Bullet" (remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "My Army of Lovers" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Supernatural" (re-recorded version) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991 | "Crucified" | 8 | — | 47 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 22 | Massive Luxury Overdose |
| "Obsession" | 2 | 5 | 67 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 9 | ||
| "Candyman Messiah" (remix) | 22 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Crucified" (re-issue) | — | — | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Ride the Bullet" | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Crucified" / "Ride The Bullet" (re-recorded version) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ride the Bullet" (re-recorded version) / "Love Me Like a Loaded Gun" (re-recorded version) | 32 | 4 | 67 | — | 22 | 4 | — | 40 | — | ||
| "Judgment Day" | — | — | — | — | 82 | — | — | — | — | The Gods of Earth and Heaven | |
| 1993 | "Israelism" | 10 | 5 | — | — | 32 | — | — | 36 | — | |
| "La Plage de Saint Tropez" | — | 15 | — | — | 87 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Am" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994 | "Lit de Parade" (remix) | 13 | 12 | — | — | 84 | — | — | — | — | Glory, Glamour and Gold |
| "Sexual Revolution" (remix) | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995 | "Life Is Fantastic" (remix) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Give My Life" | 6 | — | 135 | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | Les Greatest Hits | |
| 1996 | "Venus and Mars" / "Megamix" | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "King Midas" | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Let the Sunshine In" | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Le Grand Docu-Soap |
| "Hands Up" | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Rockin The Ride" | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Big Battle of Egos |
| 2013 | "Signed on my Tattoo" Duet with Gravitonas | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | "Scandinavian Crime EP" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2013 | "Crucified 2013" | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2014 | "People Are Lonely" Duet with Gravitonas | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
- Other recordings
- 1992 – "Hasta Mañana" – from the 1992 Swedish compilation ABBA – The Tribute. This cover was also included on the 1999 album ABBA: A Tribute – The 25th Anniversary Celebration.
Videos and DVDs
- Videovaganza 1990–1993 (VHS, 1993)
- Hurrah Hurrah Apocalypse - The Definitive Video Collection (DVD, 2005)
Promotional videos
- 1988 "When the Night Is Cold"
- 1990 "Ride the Bullet" (with La Camilla)
- 1990 "My Army of Lovers"
- 1991 "Crucified" (with La Camilla)
- 1991 "Obsession" (with La Camilla)
- 1991 "Crucified (The Nuzak Remix)" (with La Camilla)
- 1991 "Candyman Messiah" (with Michaela lip-synching to La Camilla´s voice)
- 1992 "Ride the Bullet" (with Michaela)
- 1992 "Obsession" (with Michaela)
- 1992 "Crucified (with Michaela)[10]
- 1992 "Judgment Day"
- 1993 "Israelism"
- 1993 "La Plage de Saint Tropez"
- 1993 "Sons of Lucy"
- 1993 "I Am"
- 1994 "Lit de Parade"
- 1994 "Sexual Revolution"
- 1995 "Give My Life"
- 1996 "King Midas"
- 2001 "Let the Sunshine In"
- 2001 "Hands Up"
- 2013 "Signed on my Tattoo" (feat. Gravitonas)
- 2013 "Crucified 2013"
- 2014 "People Are Lonely" (Gravitonas feat. Army of Lovers)
See also
References
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- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 SwedishCharts.com: Army of Lovers discography
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Army of Lovers. |
- Articles with hCards
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Swedish pop music groups
- Swedish house music groups
- Techno music groups
- Swedish Eurodance groups
- Giant Records (Warner) artists
- LGBT-themed musical groups
- Musical groups established in 1987
- Melodifestivalen contestants
