When most people think of Denmark they probably think of Hans Christian-Anderson and Princess Mary – I bet dance band isn’t actually the first thing that comes to mind!
And yet one of the best known and poppiest of poppy tunes comes from Denmark – and of course so is the band that produced it.
Aqua have been making music fans squirm since their 1997 breakthrough single “Barbie Girl” escaped on to the music charts.
The group who formed in 1989 achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s managing to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles.
The group released two albums: Aquarium in 1997 and Aquarius in 2000, before splitting up in July 2001.
The group sold an estimated 33 million albums and singles, making them the most successful Danish band ever.
In their prime, Aqua’s singles managed to chart top ten in a number of countries where continental European pop acts would not normally succeed, including the United States, Australia, and Japan.
The group also caused a fair amount of controversy with the double entendres in their “Barbie Girl” single, with the Barbie doll makers Mattel filing a lawsuit against the group. The lawsuit was finally dismissed by a judge in 2002, who ruled “The parties are advised to chill”.
The band’s members are vocalists Lene Nystrøm and René Dif, keyboardist Søren Rasted, and guitarist Claus Norreen. During their split, Nystrøm, Dif and Rasted all achieved solo chart success, and Norreen continued in the music industry remixing other artists’ material.
At a press event on October 26, 2007, the group announced a reunion tour, as well as the release of a compilation album featuring new material.
Their third album, Megalomania, was released late last year and their tour, which was to include Australia, was announced around the same time.
