Watch the video below (…and skip to minute 2:20):

For the French-speaking fans: We’ve scanned an old interview where Alexander talks about this particular gig among other things – plus, the original promo flyer that was handed out at Bataclan back then. Ah, the odd things you find in scrap books… ;-)

Other confirmed participants include the male topmodel Marcus Schenkenberg and Swedish singer Pernilla Wahlgren, who, in 1992, collaborated with Army of Lovers on the song “I, Myself And Me” (available on Pernilla’s album of the same title).

The TV format pairs up celebrities with professional ballroom dance partners in an intense competition – live – in front of a studio audience and the nation. Each season has a select number of celebrity/professional dance pairs. The pairs are then judged by a panel of expert judges as well as by the viewers at home. One team will be eliminated each week.

[Thanks to Miss Inga]

Moore and Bard got to know each other in the early 80s (→ click here to read where their paths crossed and here for more info on Barbie).

Watch Part 1 & 2 of the performance below:

SETLIST:
Passion Of The Groove
Prostitution Twist
Hot Stuff
Sex Is The Dynamite Drug
Rock It Up
Bam Bam Boom
Yes Sir I Can Boogie

Note: In Part 2, there’s a short break between the minutes 03:11 – 06:11. The video continues right after that.

[Thanks to Jack Moore]

The second single, “We Rule The World”, is scheduled to be released in a couple of weeks.

If you don’t want to miss a beat, make sure to bookmark www.happy-hoes.com and “like” the Facebook page.

Dear Lovers of Army! Christmas is right around the corner… we want to wish everyone a happy and glamorous holiday. May the year of 2012 bring joy and happiness to all of you!

Before heralding the New Year by boozing yourselves into a coma, we would like to toast and pay tribute to a masterpiece that has accompanied us for over two decades. The end of August marked the 20th anniversary of Army of Lovers‘ critically acclaimed and most successful album, Massive Luxury Overdose.

Back then, while promoting the release, Alexander Bard described that specific band era (music- and imagewise) in a nutshell: “We like our look to be as vivid and dramatic as we hope our music is. We view it as noble and European, with a distinct Renaissance feel.”

Let’s revisit the album, shall we?

01 We Stand United

The album’s opening track, which takes you on a modern disco and funk journey, is lifted directly from Chic‘s 1979 classic “Good Times”. When Alexander Bard and Anders Wollbeck (the producers of “We Stand United”) first met in 1990, they immediately discovered their mutual fondness for Chic.

The legendary bass line of “Good Times” has been copied and sampled by many bands, including Queen and the Sugarhill Gang. Army of Lovers, however, borrowed the piano riff and got inspired by the staccato-like vocals.

Bard described the basic idea behind the homage track by saying: “We make two types of songs. One is where we try to be as eccentric as possible and the other one is pastiches. The pastiche works as a declaration of love to your own favourite music. You try to recreate it as identical as possible, but we always throw in something new to make it sound fresh.”

One of the ingredients that contributed to the freshness of “We Stand United” were its tongue-in-cheek lyrics.

Gold bars are a must
In money we trust
Multinational stars

And in the business hours
Lost in material dreams
Building a golden tower
Reigning a love supreme

Massive Luxury Overdose indeed. But that’s, of course, not the only track that makes the album title fitting.

02 Crucified

The second number on the album typifies the theme of Massive Luxury Overdose in a megalomaniac way.

Take a strut down the memory lane and inhale everything there is to know about Army of Lovers’ breakthrough hit → Crucified – The 20th Anniversary

03 Candyman Messiah

According to Bard, the song is a cross between Philip Glass and Kraftwerk. “Just thinking of such a combination is something you can’t plan, I was just suddenly struck by the idea,” he was quoted as saying in a Billboard article from 1992.

Despite the song’s title being easily deducible, La Camilla‘s spoken verses allowed many interpretations.

Candyman is slang for a drug dealer; Messiah is the Hebrew word for “the anointed one”. In the broadest sense, a messiah is the professed or accepted leader of some hope or cause. The Jews waited for a Messiah to save them from bondage. The Christians believe that God sent Messiah in the form of his mortal son, Jesus Christ.

The added lyrics at the beginning and near the end of the Stalingrad Mix (available on the “Candyman Messiah” Maxi-CD, 1991) made the song’s content more obvious as they contain a direct historical allusion:

Workers of the world unite
Emancipate
Storm the gates of Stalingrad
Storm the gates of Stalingrad
Emancipate
Storm the gates of Stalingrad

The workers are told to unite, organise and rebel. Storming the gates of Stalingrad is here a metaphor for rebelling and freeing themselves from the shackles of capitalism.

But let’s look at “Candyman Messiah” in the right sequences:

Standing at the end of the rainbow
Expected a pot of gold
What’s the use in money that’s borrowed
Facing a blues that was never told
Cashing out I’ll hit rock bottom
I’ve stretched the rubber beyond control

This part probably refers to the economical situation in Russia [Soviet Union] around 1890. Russia had no money, no man-power and no technological knowledge for industrialization. Earl Sergej Witte began lending a lot of money from France and encouraged German technicians to come to Russia. Russia became economically dependant from Western Europe. Nevertheless, Witte’s strategy did work for a while until (in 1901) an economic crisis hit Russia very hard and little farmer riots began.

A lullaby on clouds of cotton
Like an aircraft a power station
I’ve got a payback on my investment
Gonna rule the United Nations
Cashing in on the last component
Got my string in good vibration

In this verse, La Camilla seems to be a symbol for Russia [Soviet Union] itself.

On June 26th, 1945 the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries. Five of the UN countries could have a veto on every subject, with the Soviet Union being one of them.

The success of La Camilla’s business probably refers to Russia’s success in the world under the leadership of Stalin.

Candyman Messiah

In this context, the chorus most likely hints at propaganda used by the Russian government, especially by Stalin.

04 Obsession

Welcome to our centre for severely disturbed cases! Follow the blood stains on the floor… sashay to the left, sashay to the right, and then twirl straight into the operating room. Our “docteur ès beauté” Jean-Pierre Barda and his head nurse La Camilla are already waiting for you → Obsession – The 20th Anniversary

05 I Cross The Rubicon

Get out your analyzing glasses (or shades, for the little Lagerfeld in you), because the lyrics of “I Cross The Rubicon” leave lots of room for interpretation.
In true fan fashion, the song’s different messages and innuendos have been ruminated millions of times. Have we all been reading way too much into it? If so, who cares! For some devotees, Army of Lovers’ art of words – laced with history, science, intelligence, language and wry wit – has been a huge part of the long-lasting adoration.

The term “Crossing The Rubicon” has two meanings. Metaphorically, it’s an expression for taking a dangerous, crucial and irreversible step – a point of no return, so to speak. In a historical sense, it refers to the start of Julius Caesar‘s Civil War.

I’ve got to claim the power
Claim it from the highest tower

I cross the Rubicon
In thunderstorm
I cross the Rubicon
My empire born

In 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon River (between Italy and the province of Cisalpine Gaul). By not disbanding his army as the Roman Senate had ordered, he effectively declared war on Pompey and Rome.

I’ve got an itchin’
On my back oh sure
All over itchin’
Sure all over

[...]

And once you crossed the river
There’s no way back
Oh sure no return

The song’s subtext is also rumoured to be about the use of heroin. A very common side effect of strong opiate drugs is major itching all over the body, which is being caused by the release of histamines.

Ludvig what’s on
Louis the lower you go
The better I feel
Ludvig the lower I go
The better you feel
Yeah Louis the lower you go
The better we both feel
Sure and I’m stuck

If you let your imagination play for a second, the excerpt above could allude to a homoerotic exchange of oral sex. And if you take the rest of the lyrics in context, you may come to the conclusion that our boys of pleasure, Ludvig and Louis, are on something while soaring in fellatio heaven.

06 Supernatural (The 1991 Remix)

The song, which “took so long to get it right”, according to Jean-Pierre Barda, was previously available on Army Of Lovers (North-American re-release of Disco Extravaganza).

Further information on “Supernatural”, its video and the predecessing album can be found in our special → Disco Extravaganza (1990 – 1991)

07 Ride The Bullet (The 1991 Remix)

Regardless of the memorable and deceptively plain lyrics, the song caused many people to ponder whether it was just a harmless dance track or, as some fans tend to believe, the description of an excessive drug trip. While the meaning of lines (no pun intended) like “The Moon Is High And So Am I” is apparent; the enthusiastically repeated “Gonna Ride The Bullet” could suggest the willingness to consume drugs despite knowing the dangerous consequences.

Just like the track before it, this version of “Ride The Bullet” is taken from Army Of Lovers. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we’d like to usher you discreetly to our little special → Disco Extravaganza (1990 – 1991)

08 Say Goodbye To Babylon

In this anthem, which contains some of The Army Tabernacle Choir‘s most magical moments, Bard tells the story of Babylon. A reviewer once described it as a “journey in a diamond studded time machine”.

The swing-vibed “Say Goodbye To Babylon” has references to the Ishtar Gate (or Lion’s Gate; which was the main entrance into the city), the Hanging Gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World), King Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel (who read a dream for the King) and Xerxes‘ defeat of the Babylonian empire.

09 Flying High

The almost airy vocals in the chorus of “Flying High” distract from the gruesome content of the lyrics.

La Camilla’s spoken bits, however, cut right to the chase of the matter: She’s the pilot of an aircraft that has been hit by a lightning. When the catastrophe becomes unavoidable, she prepares the passengers for their death.

10 Walking With A Zombie

The belief in Zombies persists into current times, especially in Voodoo and other Yoruba religions. In 1943, a now-classic horror movie by the name of I Walked With A Zombie came out. Army of Lovers’ song wasn’t only inspired by the flick’s title, but also partly by its plot.

We compiled a video with some scenes from the movie that go along with Army of Lovers’ track. Finally a video for this hidden gem, no? ;-)

“Walking With A Zombie” used to be one of the highlights of Army of Lovers’ first proper tour – fans were going wild while Bard and Barda danced and pranced around the throne.

11 My Army Of Lovers

“Barbie Goes Around The World”, the last single from Barbie (pre-Army of Lovers project), was modified with new lyrics and beguiling vocals by La Camilla and eventually rechristened to “My Army Of Lovers”. While the similarities were undeniable, the mood of the songs was totally different.

Fore more info… oui, you guessed it right → Disco Extravaganza (1990 – 1991)

REVIEWS

A few excerpts from old reviews that were published around the release of Massive Luxury Overdose – a little historical record of how this album was hailed by the international press:

Billboard (USA)
“Melodramatic dance/pop that should make acts like the Pet Shop Boys green with envy.”

Select (UK)
“Massive Luxury Overdose is an album to be heard behind closed curtains, and hidden carefully when company comes around. Great stuff.”

BRAVO (Germany)
“Army of Lovers bring it on this album, just like they bring it on stage. Only they are capable of turning a full-playback concert into a giant event.”

i-D Magazine (UK)
“Overdressed Swedes orchestrate their high camp disco overtures for a generation too young to have experienced ABBA the first time around. Good bad taste, or should that be bad good taste?”

POPCORN (Germany)
“Flash in the pan? You wish! With Massive Luxury Overdose, Army of Lovers prove that they are a force to be reckoned with.”

Virgin (UK)
“This Stockholm based trio fuse together a far-stretching spectrum of ideas and influences born out of their many and varied pasts and nationalities.”

Musik Express (Germany)
“The new dance legends? One thing is for sure: Army of Lovers’ creativity, self-mockery and grasp of music makes most of their peers look like amateurs.”

Q Magazine (UK)
“Swedish trio Army of Lovers merge prefabricated tack, camp and glitter with simple, hugely infectious songs to emerge as something close to the Eurodisco of Andrea True Connection, the gloss of ABC, the Latin fixation of Enigma, the mannered English of Kraftwerk and the stadium house of KLF.”

Camilla Henemark, who’s currently living in a so-called assisted accommodation in Stockholm, granted an intimate glimpse into her everyday life. When she invited Carina Berg, the host of Berg Flyttar In, to a sleepover at her home, she kept spilling the beans.

Watch the entire episode:

Images from the show:

Out of her photo album: Sporty…

…and sexy.

While showing her living quarters, a painting of herself can be seen gracing the living room.

She admits having used her Swedish Grammy (for the “My Army Of Lovers” video) as a trivet.

Camilla still has the bridal gown from her first marriage.

The nuptials, which she describes as her “dream wedding” took place 27 years ago.

Camilla and her mother went through hard times together. Today, their relationship is closer than ever.

“We have much love for each other and we don’t take that for granted,” she says.

Lil’ Camilla sitting on the lap of her mother. She tells how her parents had to cope with prejudices, mainly because of cultural tensions.

As a little girl she escaped from the kindergarten and caused a little uproar when she refused to wear a lace dress.

After getting her hair dyed by Carina, she continues with the chit-chat.

“This is my sleeping bra. You avoid sagging breasts this way.”

While lying in the bed, La Camilla talks about getting kicked out of Army of Lovers in 1991.

Camilla enters the recording studio…

…and remembers the early days of Army of Lovers: “When the video for ‘Crucified’ hit the scene, it basically became an overnight smash. A world tour followed. It all happened so fast. That was hysterical.”

Camilla recording her parts of the upcoming single with Miss Inga and Dominika Peczynski, “We Rule The World”.

Camilla and her beloved plush monkey, Ola, are waving goodbye to Carina.

Our favourite divas trio is about to paint the town red once again. Here’s a quick heads-up on this month’s happenings.

Press Shots
But first, you better have a glance at some lovely pictures that Dominika provided us with. They were taken during a photo shoot for Sweden’s biggest daily newspaper, Aftonbladet. Dominika is obviously relishing the joys of motherhood, saying “I totally recommend having a baby. They make you feel very young for some bizarre reason .”

DJanes Deluxe
Tonight, starting from 22:00 o’clock, Miss Inga and La Camilla are going to spin some records at the hot Bistro-Berns. The attendants will be pampered with a diverse range of musical styles. Needless to say that Army of Lovers’ hits will also blast from the speakers.

Live On Stage
Miss Inga, La Camilla & Dominika Peczynski are scheduled to grace the stage at Park Lane (Club Queer) in Gothenburg, Sweden. So, if you live around that area and want to have ball on November 25, you now know where to go, right? ;-)

Klubben
Only two days later, on November 27, a new television series about Stockholm’s nightlife scene will premiere on SVT. Martin “Miss Inga” Johansson is one of the reality show’s main stars and will be portrayed throughout several episodes. Here’s a little teaser clip, which also features La Camilla:

Google Plus
If you are on Google Plus, you can +1 us and follow our new fan page (which is still under construction, though). Just like on Facebook, all news and updates will be posted there as well – click here to join.

In order to promote an upcoming 90′s-themed event, Izabella Fröberg of finest.se did an interview with a Swedish pop icon we all know and love. Here’s a translation of what was said. Enjoy!

The name Dominika Peczynski rings a bell for most people. She is a bombshell with a mind of her own, known for controversial statements and more street-smart than all of us combined. In the 90′s we saw her as one of Army of Lovers‘ members, and recently she took a another leap into the music business.

When I say “The 90′s” – what thoughts come to your mind?
That everything was so amazingly “porn” around that time. Celebrities openly talked about their sex lives in the media, while every TV station broadcasted semi-porn programs during children’s viewing hours. Now that you think about it, it was actually a bit strange…

You became a member of the group Army of Lovers in 1992. How do you remember those days?
When I joined the Army of Lovers, the band already existed and consisted of three members: Jean-Pierre Barda, Alexander Bard and Michaela de la Cour. I remember my first album review very well. It was from one of those tabloids that gave us bad grades and wrote: “Before, Army of Lovers had one bad singer. Now they have two.” I know that I can not sing, but I was still crying. Today, I think that it was a hilarious write-up.

Dominika joined Army of Lovers in late 1992

You, as a group, sparked a lot of headlines with your liberal views. Do you think that the music industry has become softer or tougher?
The industry itself has probably become tougher, but the artists are less likely to risk something. For example, we have no Leila K today. But as a matter of fact, it was not only us who were liberal. The entire social climate was more liberal. Nowadays, we see a moralistic backlash, which is very boring and dull in my opinion.

Among other things, there was some kind of uproar about the Star of David you have tattooed on your left buttock?
Has there really been an uproar? I don’t remember anything like that. But then again, I’m not the kind of person who notices such things. I wanted to have the world’s only kosher buttock and now I have it. Only geeks remove tattoos. You need to stand up for the things you’ve done, no matter how ugly it is. I actually think that my star looks fine, but still – it’s a matter of principle.

Let’s talk about fashion – what trends do you remember from that time?
I’m the completely wrong person to be asked about fashion. I’m as uninterested in fashion as you can be. I really have no clue about trends from back then, and I have no clue about what is trendy now.

Dom brought La Camilla back to the Army in 1995; and formed a new band with her and Miss Inga in 2011

What artists or groups were you listening to during the 90′s?
Leila K, of course.

What did you watch on TV?
Prisoner was a real favourite. And miscellaneous, completely incomprehensible shows on ZTV.

If you could choose one thing from the 90′s that deserves to become trendy again, what would it be?
Can you say Ecstasy? No, just kidding. Or am I not?

It was said that you had a relationship with Alexander Bard… true or false?
I think it’s too early to discuss the details of our relationship. My God, it has actually only been 20 years since then…

And now? What is Dominika up to since we’ve entered the 2000s?
Things that you expect from a 40-year-old mother of two. And I’ve been running the PR agency Mafioso for the past ten years. I’m the Swedish head of the infidelity site VictoriaMilan.se, I’ve written the cookbook Östeuropas Kulinariska Hemligheter, and I own the champagne import company Fine Bubbles together with a friend. I have also started a new band with Camilla Henemark and the world famous drag artist Miss Inga (Martin Johannson). And believe it or not, but our single “Don’t Try To Steal My Limelight” was in the Top 5 of the Swedish iTunes list in August. You are never too old to be a popstar.

Dominika today: A successful business woman with a happy family life