SOME more info from wikipedia.
The group was created in 1998 with three members:
Andreas Lundstedt,
Tess Merkel (born Therese Merkel,
18 April 1970,
Nykoping,
Sweden), and
Annika Kjærgaard (born
18 May 1971, Bjarnum, Sweden). Their first single, "Shine On", was successful in Sweden but it was with their second release, "Crying At The Discoteque" (which heavily sampled from
Sheila B. Devotion's 1979 hit, "Spacer"), that they achieved success across
Europe. Both singles appeared on their
debut album Casino. Later editions of
Casino contained a
cover of the
Human League's
hit "
Don't You Want Me", which also served as the album's third single. In the
United States, Alcazar gained moderate success. "Crying At The Discoteque" peaked at #44 on the
Hot Dance Music/Club Play and "Don't You Want Me" peaked at #30.
In December
2002,
Magnus Carlsson joined the group. The second album
Alcazarized was released in Sweden in 2003 and became a big hit. It got an international release in 2004.
In Autumn 2004 Alcazar released "This Is The World We Live In". The track samples
Diana Ross's 1980 number one "Upside Down" and uses lyrics from
Genesis' 1986 single "Land Of Confusion". Their follow-up single was entitled "Physical". They released the album
Dancefloor Deluxe in Sweden in August 2004. In the winter of 2004 they released the Christmas single "Here I Am". Alcazar enjoyed considerable success in 2004 in their home country Sweden.
This Is The World We Live In,
Physical,
Dancefloor Deluxe and
Here I Am all achieved solid sales.
2005 saw the release of their single "Start The Fire". During the making of its
music video, Kjaergaard had an accident in which she broke her foot.
Alcazar are currently taking a break from releasing music as a band, and the boys are launching
solo careers. Lundstedt had appeared in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2006, as a member of
six4one, a multi-national band founded for the sole purpose of representing
Switzerland at the contest, whilst Carlsson has taken part in the Swedish
Melodifestivalen.
