The Ark

The Ark
The Ark representing Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Background information
Origin	Rottne, Växjö, Sweden
Genres	Glam rock Pop rock
Years active	1991 – present
Labels	Roxy
Website	thearkworld.com
Members
Ola Salo Sylvester Schlegel Martin Axén Mikael Jepson Lars "Leari" Ljungberg Jens Andersson

The Ark is a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Ola Salo, Mikael Jepson, and Lasse "Leari" Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2006, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member. He had at that point played live with the band for several years.

Generally written in a collaborative effort by the band, the Ark's lyrics are sometimes controversial. For example, the 2002 single "Father of a Son" is about homosexuals' right to adopt. In October 2006, the band and Ola Salo were criticized by members of the U.S. public for some controversial comments referring to the September 11, 2001 attacks that were apparently part of the joking banter between songs as the band performed at the opening festivities for the new Swedish embassy in Washington, D.C. [1] This was unfortunate timing, as the free concert was the kick off for the band's U.S. tour.^[1]

The Ark participated in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2007 with the song "The Worrying Kind", written by Ola Salo. The song won the contest after capturing both the popular vote and the jury's vote. The song was Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry, and is also included in The Ark's fourth album Prayer for the Weekend, released in April 2007. Despite being a bookmaker favorite, they finished in 18th place (out of 24) with only 51 points, compared to winning Serbia's 268 points. "Absolutely No Decorum", the first single from the album, was released in January 2007.

The Ark has collaborated with artists such as The Darkness and The Cardigans.

"One Of Us Is Gonna Die Young" was used in the 2007 snowboarding video, "Picture This" from Mack Dawg Productions for Seth Huot and Andreas Wiig's video part, also was it used for the Sam Blenkinsop and Philip Polc Section of the FOX Racing Shox 2007 Sequel.

Mid 2009, The Ark released a statement on the front page of their website stating that a new album would be released in Spring 2010

Members

• Ola Salo (vocals and piano)
• (Mikael) Jepson (backing vocals and guitar)
• Martin Axén (backing vocals and guitar)
• Leari (Lars Ljungberg) (backing vocals and bass)
• Sylvester Schlegel (backing vocals and drums)
• Jens Andersson (keyboards and sound engineer)

Discography

Albums

EPs

• Racing with the Rabbits - 1996

Singles

Music videos

We Are the Ark

• It Takes a Fool to Remain Sane
• Echo Chamber
• Joy Surrender
• Let Your Body Decide

In Lust We Trust

• Father of a Son
• Calleth You, Cometh I (old version)
• Calleth You, Cometh I (new version)
• Tell Me This Night Is Over

State of the Ark

• One of Us Is Gonna Die Young
• One of Us Is Gonna Die Young (the U.S. version)
• Clamour for Glamour

Prayer for the Weekend

• The Worrying Kind (collage version)
• The Worrying Kind (new version)
• Prayer For The Weekend

External links

• Official site
• The Ark on allmusic.com

References