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314 559 081 2 CD
314 559 081 4 CS
From the blast-off success of First Band On The Moon, Sweden's The Cardigans return with Gran Turismo, their fourth studio album. The collection features their first emphasis track "My Favourite Game," which will impact Modern Rock and College radio September 28th followed by Top 40 and Triple A October 26th. Gran Turismo is set to arrive in-stores November 3rd.
In recording the new album, The Cardigans - Nina Persson (vocals), Peter Svensson (guitar), Bengt Lagerberg (drums), Magnus Sveningsson (bass), Lasse Johansson (keyboard & acoustic guitar) - stayed close to home in southern Sweden. The band gathered at Country Hell Studios - owned and operated by long-time Cardigans producer Tore Johansson - located in picturesque Svaneholm's castle in the remote countryside just outside Malmo.
Work on the new album began in earnest last year, with the completion of the band's epic world tour. 1997 was a busy year for The Cardigans. First Band On The Moon orbited atop the Billboard 200 (certified platinum), as it earned gold status in the UK and sold over 300,000 albums in one week in Japan - where they were declared the year's best-selling international artist.
After First Band On The Moon topped the CMJ college charts for over 7 weeks in the winter of '96, the album's smash hit "Lovefool" went on to top the Billboard mainstream Top 40 airplay chart in early '97 for an additional 7 weeks becoming the 4th most played song of that year. The video topped the MTV & VH-1 airplay/research charts for multiple weeks as well.
During their U.S. promotion, The Cardigans appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman & Rosie O'Donnell, made a guest appearance on the season finale of Beverly Hills 90210, made numerous appearances on MTV live sets and toured on their own as well as in support of Beck, and as a main stage featured artist on last summer's Lilith Fair. Earlier this summer, The Cardigans contributed "Deuce" to the X-Files soundtrack album.
Regardless of their high-profile activity, the rise of The Cardigans has been gradual. Their debut album Emmerdale, placed them firmly on the musical map in Sweden while selling some 200,000 copies. The follow up Life (on Minty Fresh Records) featured the hit singles "Carnival," "Rise And Shine" & "Sick And Tired." The success brought the band international recognition and, in the process, sold 1.5 million copies. To date First Band On The Moon has sold more than 2.2 million copies worldwide.
