The Ark (band)

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The Ark

Background information
Origin Rottne, Växjö, Sweden
Genre(s) Glam rock
Pop rock
Years active 1991 – present
Website thearkworld.com
Members
Ola Salo
Sylvester Schlegel
Martin Axén
Mikael Jepson
Lars "Leari" Ljungberg
Jens Andersson
The Ark representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
The Ark representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
This article is about the glam rock band. For the metal band, see ARK (band).

The Ark is a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Ola Salo, Mikael Jepson, and Lasse "Leari" Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2006, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member. He had at that point played live with the band for several years.

Generally written in a collaborative effort by the band, the Ark's lyrics are sometimes controversial. For example, the 2002 single "Father of a Son" is about homosexuals' right to have children. In October 2006, the band and Ola Salo were criticized by members of the U.S. public for some controversial comments referring to the September 11, 2001 attacks that were apparently part of the joking banter between songs as the band performed at the opening festivities for the new Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C. [1] This was unfortunate timing, as the free concert was the kick off for the band's U.S. tour.[1]

The Ark participated in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2007 with the song "The Worrying Kind". The song, which won the contest after capturing both the popular vote and the jury's vote, was written by Ola Salo. The song was Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry, and is also included in The Ark's fourth album Prayer for the Weekend, released in April 2007. Despite being a bookmaker favorite, they finished in 18th place (out of 24) with only 51 points, compared to winning Serbia's 268 points. "Absolutely No Decorum", the first single from the album, was released in January 2007.

The Ark has collaborated with artists such as The Darkness and The Cardigans.

"One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young" was used in the 2007 snowboarding video, "Picture This" from Mack Dawg Productions for Seth Huot and Andreas Wiig's video part, also was it used for the Sam Blenkinsop and Philip Polc Section of the FOX Racing Shox 2007 Sequel.

Contents

[edit] Members

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Chart Album Peak position Year
Sweden We Are The Ark 1 2000
Sweden In Lust We Trust 1 2002
Sweden State of The Ark 1 2004
Sweden Prayer for the Weekend 1 2007

[edit] EPs

  • Racing with the Rabbits - 1996

[edit] Singles

Single Peak position Weeks In Chart Date Of Entry
It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane 7 22 June 29 2000
Echo Chamber 42 13 Oct 26 2000
Joy Surrender 23 6 April 12 2001
Let Your Body Decide 59 1 Jan 4 2002
Calleth You, Cometh I 2 18 March 8 2002
Father Of A Son 5 8 Aug 29 2002
Tell Me This Night Is Over 28 9 Nov 14 2002
One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young 4 18 Dec 16 2004
Clamour For Glamour 10 23 April 4 2005
Absolutely No Decorum 26 7 Feb 1 2007
The Worrying Kind 1 20 March 8 2007
Gimmie Love To Give 56 1 July 5 2007
Prayer For The Weekend 15 9 July 12 2007
Little Dysfunk You 58 1 Nov 22 2007

[edit] Music videos

[edit] We Are The Ark

  • It Takes A Fool To Remain Sane
  • Echo Chamber
  • Joy Surrender
  • Let Your Body Decide

[edit] In Lust We Trust

  • Father Of A Son
  • Calleth You, Cometh I (old version)
  • Calleth You, Cometh I (new version)
  • Tell Me This Night Is Over

[edit] State Of The Ark

  • One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young
  • One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young (the U.S. version)
  • Clamour For Glamour

[edit] Prayer For The Weekend

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Swedish Star's Rock-and-Rile Words, Washington Post article, Tuesday, October 24, 2006; Page C03.