羊毛衫乐队

The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Since 2012, the band’s performances have been with Oskar Humlebo on guitar instead of Svensson.

With their debut album, Emmerdale (1994), they gained a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. Their second album, Life (1995), secured them an international reputation. Their popularity rose when their single "Lovefool", from the album First Band on the Moon (1996), was included in the soundtrack to the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet. Other singles included "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game" from the album Gran Turismo (1998). After a two-year hiatus the band returned to recording, and released their fifth album, Long Gone Before Daylight (2003), a mellower country-flavoured record. Their latest album, as of July 2024, is Super Extra Gravity (2005). After a 2006 tour, the band took a five-year break from musical activities before reuniting in 2012. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.

History

First years: 1992–1994

Peter Svensson and Magnus Sveningsson, both heavy metal musicians, formed the group on 31 October 1992 in Jönköping, Sweden, with drummer Bengt Lagerberg, guitarist Mattias Alfheim and lead singer Nina Persson. The band's name was suggested by Svensson as the band were "super anglophiles" and wanted to "romanticise something sort of rainy and hazy and woolly...like the cardigan."

Living together in a small apartment, the Cardigans recorded a demo tape with Persson providing lead vocals on only one of the songs towards the end of the track list. A&R man Ola Hermanson heard the demo and signed the band to his Trampolene imprint. While recording their first album in 1993, Alfheim left and was replaced by Lagerberg's friend, Lars-Olof Johansson, who remained in the band ever since.

They released their debut album, Emmerdale, in Sweden and Japan in 1994; it was re-released internationally in 1997. The album included the Swedish radio hit "Rise & Shine", which was later voted the best of 1994 in a poll in Slitz magazine.

Commercial success: 1995–2000

The remainder of 1994 was spent touring Europe and recording Life, which was released worldwide in 1995. Life became an international success, selling more than a million copies and achieving platinum status in Japan. In 1996, Life was released under the label Minty Fresh in the US, but this release was essentially a compilation of tracks from Emmerdale and Life.

After their success with Life, the Cardigans signed with Mercury Records, under which they released First Band on the Moon worldwide in 1996. "Lovefool" was a hit worldwide, particularly in the US and Japan, where the album reached platinum status in three weeks. The album also achieved gold sales status in the US. "Lovefool" was shown on MTV in the late 1990s as a music video with clips from the 1996 hit film Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. It was also featured in the film Cruel Intentions (1999).