Linn Berggren

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Malin "Linn" Berggren

Background information
Also known as Linn, Malin Stalin
Born October 31, 1970 (1970-10-31) (age 37)
Origin Västra Götalands län, Göteborg, Sweden
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Associated acts Ace of Base

Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (born October 31, 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 becoming a singer, Malin studied to become a teacher at the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, and sang in her church's choir.[1]

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".

Contents

[edit] Linn's role in Ace of Base

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.[2][3] In the band's music videos, her image is often blurred or missing altogether.[3] Linn frequently appears unhappy, upset, or even ill in pictures taken of her.[3] Linn has not granted an interview since that year.[4] 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.[5][2][3]

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.[2] The band performed "Ravine" with Linn pretending to play keyboards in the far background of the stage.[2][3] 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.[3] 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.[3] 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.

In Linn's last interview, from 1997,[4][6] she stated her wish to simply remain in the background, and the eight videos filmed after this interview (mostly) comply 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.[7]

In contrast to the other members of the band, other details of Linn's life, such as any detail of her life outside the band, are completely unknown. 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).[8]

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".

[edit] 2003–present

In 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.[9] A fan snapped a picture of a calm, smiling Linn outside the studio.

In October and November of 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.[10][11]

According to an interview given by Ulf Ekberg on June 20, 2006, Malin returned to the University and would record vocals on the new band's album.[12]
However, on November 30, 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.[13] Linn's image has been removed from all promotional material on the band's official web-site. 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.[14]

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • The day Linn was born was Halloween; like Ulf, she was born during the Year of the Dog.
  • Linn speaks many languages: her native tongue is Swedish, but she speaks fluent English and German; she also spoke Spanish, Russian, and French.[15]
  • The "Dr. X-Ray" credited in Linn's song, "Whispers in Blindness", and whom Linn thanks in the acknowledgments for The Bridge, was her father, Göran Berggren, who played flute for the song[citation needed].
  • When a Canadian interviewer once asked her when the band would be 'all over Canada', she quickly replied, "When we gain a lot of weight."

[edit] Contributions to Ace of Base music

[edit] Vocals

Linn has contributed vocals for all released Ace of Base songs except:

  • Fashion Party (Jenny, Ulf, & Jonas)
  • My Mind (Jenny & Ulf)
  • Dimension of Depth (Instrumental)
  • Ravine (Jenny)
  • Experience Pearls (Jenny)
  • Wave Wet Sand (Jenny)
  • Cruel Summer (Big Bonus Mix) (Jenny)
  • Mercy Mercy (Jenny)
  • I Pray (Jenny & Ulf)
  • Don't Go Away (Jenny)
  • Unspeakable (Jenny)
  • Remember the Words (Jenny)
  • World Down Under (Jenny)
  • Show Me Love (Jenny)

[edit] Song writing

Linn's writing credits for Ace of Base tracks:

  • Hear Me Calling (with Jonas & Jenny Berggren and Ulf Ekberg)
  • Strange Ways
  • Whispers In Blindness
  • Just N Image
  • Lapponia
  • Love in December (with Jonas & Jenny Berggren and Ulf Ekberg)
  • Beautiful Morning (with Jenny & Jonas Berggren)
  • Change With the Light (with Jenny & Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg)
  • What's the Name of the Game (with Jenny & Jonas Berggren, Harry Sommerdahl, and Jonas von der Burg)

[edit] Song production

Linn's production credits for Ace of Base tracks:

  • Strange Ways
  • Whispers In Blindness
  • Just N Image
  • Lapponia

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Ace of Base Biography
  2. ^ a b c d Cornelius, Claes (1998). Out of Focus and Far Away: What Happened to Linn?. Teenage Heaven. aceofbase.com. Retrieved on 2002-04-14.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Falischeer, Andreas (Spring 1998), “Wie Krank ist Malin?”, Bravo 
  4. ^ a b Ace of Base: Our Story. 1997.
  5. ^ Sheerer, Mark (September 3, 1998), “Ace of Base reaching out with 'Cruel Summer'”, CNN, <http://www.rdono.com/SHOWBIZ/Music/9809/03/ace.of.base/index.html> 
  6. ^ Paasonen, Hannah-Reetta (2005). Our Story Recap. Story Meant to Last. Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
  7. ^ Flowers. Compact disc booklet. Mega Records, 1998.
  8. ^ "Tour but no album 2007: Swedish newspaper interviews Jonas and Ulf" Ace-News.de 2006
  9. ^ YouTube - Beautiful Morning - SKL 2002
  10. ^ Ace of Base UK website
  11. ^ Ace of Base official site
  12. ^ Interview with Ulf Ekberg
  13. ^ Interview with Ulf Ekberg in Tallinn, Estonia November, 2007.
  14. ^ Olausen, Tonny (November 2007), “Vi Elsker Danmark [We Love Denmark]”, Se & Hør: 20-21 
  15. ^ Linn Berggren. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-07-28.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Ace of Base
Jonas Berggren • Jenny Berggren • Ulf Ekberg
Linn Berggren
Albums
Singles
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