The Cardigans Biography
The embryo of what would become The Cardigans formed on a "blind date" between Peter Svensson (born 1974) and Magnus Sveningsson (born 1972) on a bus in 1989. 15-year old Peter Svensson was looking for people to form a band with and through his after-school work at a local record shop, Tilt Records in Huskvarna, he was put in contact with 17-year-old Magnus Sveningsson. They would form several bands during the following years, dedicated to making carbon-copies of their early influences; bands like The Smiths, The Cure, The Sundays, The Stone Roses and The Charlatans. None of the bands was particularly long-lived and the pair would take month-long breaks from eachother due to musical differences.
That would change in 1992. Having spent the summer apart, Magnus expressed his desire to start a band with a girl singer to Peter. Through chance he met Matthias Alfheim at the record shop. Matthias played guitar and knew a singer that would fit - Nina Persson (born 1974). At the time Nina had no serious plans of becoming a singer. She and Matthias were friends and when he set up a band for a local talent show she agreed to sing backup vocals and write songs just for fun. In what is now a famous "audition", Matthias brought Nina to Magnus' appartment where they performed an early version of "Pooh Song", with Nina as main vocalist. Stricken by nerves and shyness she would only sing if Magnus left the room - he went to the kitchen to make coffee and fetch them some cookies. Needless to say her singing met Magnus' expectations although Nina would later say: "I was probably no good. I'm sure I was just nearest at hand". Magnus introduced Matthias and Nina to Peter and the group would play acousticly in Magnus' apartment. Peter and Matthias on guitars, Magnus on bass and Nina singing. Drummer Bengt Lagerberg (born. 1973) would join the band by chance. He knew Mattias Alfheim and went with him, quite coincidentally, to one of these acoustic rehearsal sessions. Bengt not only had the sought-after drum-kit, he could also provide the band with a proper rehearsal space in his parents' basement. The group decided to include Bengt and meet for proper rehearsals the following week. Thus The Cardigans were born, on october 30th 1992 in the Lagerberg basement. The bandname was there from the very beginning although none of the bandmembers seem to remember where it came from, only that it was Peter that first suggested it. 
"I don't know, but I don't want to break though only to die 'the hype-death' like I read in the newspaper. I would prefer to see that we do well and that we can kind of make a living out of it because there aren't many jobs out there you know and if you don't want to study, which I don't. It would be fun if we could break through a little bit and get to do another record and then break through a little bit more and get to do three more records without dying 'the hype-death.' That's how I feel. I would rather see that... that it takes its time kind of. I already think that it's gone too fast... with TV and all."
Peter, 1994 radio interview.
The Cardigans' very first gig was at "Kulturhuset" in Jönköping on march 12th 1993. They were the opening act for Popsicle, who were on the rise to fame at the time. According to several sources, including the band, it wasn't a great performance. Even Popsicle would tell them afterwards that they had sucked. (Ironically Popsicle would later open for The Cardigans on the tour supporting "First Band on the Moon".)
During 1993 the band recorded two demos, "In Pursuit of Pooh" and "The World According to The Cardigans" which they were sending out to several record companies. One song in particular caught the attention of Ola Hermansson, chief of the small independent label Ceilidh - it was "Rise & Shine". On midsummer's eve' Hermansson called Peter to tell him he wanted to sign the band. The deal was that Hermansson payed for the release of a single featuring "Rise & Shine" if the band payed for the studio-time themselves. (The first appearance of a Cardigan's song on record would be on a Ceilidh compilation CD, "Kittenish", which featured "Pooh Song".) Hermansson sets them up with producer Tore Johansson for the recording of the single. The band wanted to record with him at Tambourine Studios in Malmö after hearing his work with Eggstone. So the band travels down to Malmö in mid September 1993 to start recording. Bengt's friend Lars-Olof "Lasse" Johansson joins them, sitting in the studio reading comics while the band records. When Matthias Alfheim suddenly leaves the band in the middle of the recording sessions Peter calls Lasse and asks him to join the band. Lasse's musical experience is limited to singing "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World" while drunk at parties and playing Depeche Mode tunes on his Casio at home but under Peter's guidance he becomes the essential fifth member. To this day the others refer to him, rather lovingly, as "the rookie".
By 1994 the recordings which would make their debut album were more-or-less done but Hermansson was having trouble raising the money to release the "Rise & Shine"single. Through their new contacts the band had already sent some songs to radio and in january 1994 they scored their first television appearance on popular show "Mark och hans grannar". After the show had aired on January 11th the band got phoned down with offers from the record companies that had turned them down before. The band had already heard from Stockholm Records, Ola Håkansson the founder and CEO had gotten hold of the band's cheap 1500 kronor video for "Rise & Shine" and liked it instantly. Ceilidh had a distribution deal with Stockholm Records and since the band felt that it was the right record company to launch them outside of Sweden the original contract with Ceilidh was transferred. Stockholm Records had successfully established itself as a dance-oriented label with acts like Army of Lovers, E-Type and Stakka Bo so a special sub-label was created especially for The Cardigans - "Trampolene Records", named for a Julian Cope song.
The release of "Rise & Shine" was preceded by unexpected media attention. The band played one of Sweden's most prestigious venues, Pet Sounds Bar in Stockholm on March 25th and they were featured on the first page of the entertainment section of Svenska Dagbladet. When the single finally was released on April 5th the low-budget video started getting airplay on MTV even before they had an international distribution deal. It all culminated with the released of their debut album "Emmerdale" on May 27th. The album was received by positive reviews from a largely welcoming media."Emmerdale" was later voted the best Swedish album of 1994 in a poll in then leading music-magazine "Slitz".
The rise of The Cardigans has since been gradual, allowing them the time to develop naturally as their sales and positive exposure grew with each release. Their second long-player, Life, which followed in 1995, featured the hit singles "Carnival" and the re-recorded "Rise & Shine", and witnessed the band's first international chart success. Prior to the First Band On The Moon album in September 1996, The Cardigans released "Lovefool". Although the first response to the single was very positive and landed them in the Top 40, it achieved nowhere near the impact that awaited it the following Spring.
It was in 1997 that The Cardigans were first catapulted towards international superstardom. "Lovefool's" inclusion on the blockbuster Romeo & Juliet film soundtrack that Spring pushed them past the boiling point. The single not only reached No. 1 in both the UK and US airplay charts but also debuted at No. 2 in the UK national chart, where it remained top five for five weeks. All in all, the album reached more than 2.5 million sales worldwide, achieving Platinum status in the US and Japan and Gold in the UK. The promotional activities supporting the worldwide success of "Lovefool" and First Band On The Moon were never ending. The band not only performed a yearlong world tour complete with endless radio sessions and press and television interviews, but even ended up making guest appearances on Beverley Hills 90210 and the David Letterman Show.
It was because of the sheer exhaustion resulting from such a schedule, that The Cardigans since took some well deserved time off at home in Malmo to recuperate their artistic juices and write new material. During their time off, however, the band was by no means dormant. In the beginning of 1999 they contributed a new track, "War", to the A Life Less Ordinary soundtrack, a live recording of "Been It" to the Lilith Fair compilation and "Deuce", featured on the new album, to the X-Files soundtrack. Their break also included experimentation with various solo projects.
In June 1998, the group, who are very loyal to their roots, once again joined long-time producer Tore Johansson at his studio, Country Hell, located beside the picturesque Svaneholm Castle in Malmo and recorded the album, "Gran Turismo".
The first single, "My Favourite Game" was a major hit in many territories. The video for "My Favourite Game" was directed by Jonas Åkerlund. The second single "Erase/Rewind" was released in January 1999, and this single also turned out to be a major hit around the world.
"Gran Turismo" reached more than 2.5 million sales worldwide.
After working non stop for 6 years the band decided to take a break. During this break Nina Persson released an album as A Camp, and Peter Svensson and Bengt Lagerberg worked on the project Paus with help from Joakim Berg from Kent, and Magnus Sveningsson recorded as Righteous Boy. 
The "A Camp" debut album released the singles "I Can Buy You" and "Song for the Leftovers". These country-inspired selections later seemed to have inspired The Cardigans' following album, Long Gone Before Daylight.
The Cardigans returned in 2003 with Long Gone Before Daylight, a collection of songs mainly written by Persson and Svensson. Long Gone Before Daylight became one of the best selling albums in Sweden in 2003. After a long hiatus from their last album in 1998 (with members of the band experimenting with other projects), it was finally released in Japan on March 19, 2003 and in Europe on March 24, 2003. Later it was also released in Canada (April 22, 2003) and the United States (May 25, 2004).
The album differs from the band's earlier works. Their familiar "happy" pop sound takes on a change to pop songs with more of an American country music influence. It is relatively a much darker album than their previous works, and more quiet than the noisier Gran Turismo. Indeed, even lead singer Nina Persson dyed her once light blonde hair to jet black, reflecting the band's change of mood.
Criticism was generally mixed to positive. Some found the change of direction welcome, and felt the band had matured, making songs that were even better than other experienced country-pop styled artists. Others missed the old pop sound, and accused the band of possibly being ashamed of their former "happy" pop sound. The first single of the album, "For What It's Worth" was released on February 17, 2003. The second single was "You're The Storm" released on June 2, 2003. The third and final single was "Live And Learn" released on December 3, 2003. In the summer of 2004, The Cardigans toured with Liz Phair, Katy Rose and Charlotte Martin on the Chicks With Attitude tour.
Super Extra Gravity is The Cardigans' sixth album. It was produced by Tore Johanson who last worked with The Cardigans on Gran Turismo and since then with the band Franz Ferdinand. The album was released in Germany and Ireland on October 14, 2005 and in the UKon October 17, 2005. A Japanese edition has since been released. The first single released was "I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer". The second single was "Don't Blame Your Daughter (Diamonds)." It was said that "Godspell"—the lyrics of which reference a conservative religious mentality common to the band's hometown of Jönköping— was to be the third single, but plans for its release fell through.
The band are having another break from recording and touring. A Best Of compilation album was released in January 2008.
In the band's break of 2007, Persson recorded the second A Camp album Colonia,which was released in
early2009. That darker side ofPerssongives Colonia many of its most beautiful moments and includes some of her best vocal work to date. As talented as she is, the effort would be for naught if the songs were not up to par. But the album's warm country soul suits Persson's lush, pained voice so well that she could easily make A Camp her new day job with few complaints.