First Band on the Moon

First Band on the Moon is the third studio album by the Cardigans. It features the international single "Lovefool". It was first released on 12 August 1996 and internationally on 6 September 1996.

First Band on the Moon
Album cover: a photo of people at a concert with the album and band name superimposed at the top
Studio album by
the Cardigans
Released6 September 1996 (1996-09-06)
RecordedSeptember 1995 – June 1996
Genre
Length39:01
LabelStockholm·Mercury
ProducerTore Johansson
The Cardigans chronology
Life
(1995)		 First Band on the Moon
(1996)		 The Other Side of the Moon
(1997)
Singles from First Band on the Moon
  1. "Lovefool"
    Released: 10 August 1996[2]
  2. "Been It"
    Released: 25 November 1996[3]
  3. "Your New Cuckoo"
    Released: 9 December 1996[4]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[6]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
NME8/10[9]
Pitchfork8.1/10[10]
Q[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Spin7/10[13]
The Village VoiceB+[14]

The album was a major breakthrough for the band, both in their native Sweden and internationally. It is their best-selling album in the United States, having sold around 664,000 copies there as of September 2010.[15]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Your New Cuckoo"Nina Persson, Peter Svensson3:57
2."Been It"Persson, Svensson4:06
3."Heartbreaker"Persson, Svensson3:42
4."Happy Meal II"Lynette Koyana, Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, Svensson2:37
5."Never Recover"Sveningsson, Svensson3:21
6."Step on Me"Sveningsson, Svensson3:48
7."Lovefool"Persson, Svensson3:21
8."Losers"Persson, Svensson3:06
9."Iron Man" (Black Sabbath cover from Paranoid)Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward4:20
10."Great Divide"Sveningsson, Svensson3:17
11."Choke"Sveningsson, Svensson3:26
Total length:39:01

"Happy Meal II" is a re-recording of "Happy Meal", a song that was originally a bonus track on the US edition of Life, with some minor lyric changes.

Black Sabbath connections

At least two songs on the album directly reference Black Sabbath material. In addition to the cover "Iron Man", "Heartbreaker" begins and ends with a quotation of the primary material from the song "Black Sabbath", the first track on Black Sabbath's debut album.[16]

Personnel

Singles
  • "Lovefool" (9 September 1996, #21 UK)
  • "Been It" (25 November 1996, #56 UK)
  • "Lovefool" (re-release 24 February 1997, #2 UK)
  • "Your New Cuckoo" (25 August 1997, #35 UK)

Release dates refer to UK single releases. In Europe and Japan, "Your New Cuckoo" was released much earlier than in the UK, where the release was delayed due to the continued success of "Lovefool" and also to commission new remixes for the single release.

"Been It" and "Your New Cuckoo" were both slightly shortened for single release; the former also had the word "whore" obscured by a guitar lick to make it more palatable for radio play.

Charts

Single charts

United States

  • Billboard Hot 100 Airplay: "Lovefool"; #1
  • Billboard Adult Top 40: "Lovefool"; #2
  • Billboard Modern Rock Tracks: "Lovefool"; #9
  • Billboard Top 40 Mainstream: "Lovefool"; #1
  • Billboard Adult Contemporary: "Lovefool"; #23
  • Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play: "Lovefool"; #5
  • Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxisingle Sales: "Lovefool; #24
  • Billboard Rhythmic Top 40: "Lovefool"; #18
  • Billboard Top 40 Adult Recurrents: "Lovefool" #1

UK

  • UK Radio Airplay: "Lovefool"; #1
  • UK Top 100 Singles: "Lovefool"; #21, "Been It"; #56, "Lovefool" (Re-issue); #2, "Your New Cuckoo"; #35

Australia

  • ARIA Top 100 Singles 1997 Year-End Chart: "Lovefool"; #52[28]

Sweden

  • Swedish Top 100 Singles 1996 Year-end Chart: "Lovefool"; #60

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[30] 2× Platinum 400,000^
Sweden (GLF)[31] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Morton, Rob (2005). "The Cardigans - First Band on the Moon". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 791.
  2. "ラブフール | カーディガンズ" [Lovefool | Cardigans] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  3. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 23 November 1996. p. 29.
  4. "ユア・ニュー・ククー | カーディガンズ" [Your New Cuckoo | Cardigans] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  5. Bush, John. "First Band on the Moon – The Cardigans". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  6. Romero, Michele (20 September 1996). "First Band on the Moon". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  7. Wollaston, Sam (27 September 1996). "Shiny happy people laughing". The Guardian.
  8. Scribner, Sara (12 January 1997). "The Cardigans, 'First Band on the Moon,' Mercury". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  9. Sutherland, Mark (28 September 1996). "The Cardigans – The First Band On The Moon". NME. p. 57. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  10. Wisdom, James P. "Cardigans: First Band on the Moon". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  11. Aizlewood, John (October 1996). "The Cardigans: First Band On The Moon". Q. No. 121. p. 158. Archived from the original on 11 September 1999. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  12. Cohen, Jason (14 November 1996). "The Cardigans: First Band On The Moon". Rolling Stone. No. 747. pp. 112–114. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  13. Christgau, Robert (December 1996). "The Cardigans: First Band on the Moon". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 9. pp. 144–145. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  14. Christgau, Robert (8 October 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  15. "Week Ending Sept. 26, 2010: Moving Forward, Falling Back - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2011-04-15.
  16. "Week 309: "Heartbreaker" by the Cardigans". 11 April 2016.
  17. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  18. "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 64, No. 25: Feb 24, 1997". RPM. RPM Library and Archives. 24 February 1997. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  19. "The Cardigans: First Band On The Moon" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  20. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  21. "Hits Of The World - First Band On The Moon - Japan". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 37. 14 September 1996. p. 62. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  22. "Charts.nz – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  23. "Swedishcharts.com – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  24. "Cardigans | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  25. "The Cardigans Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  26. "Billboard's Heatseekers Album Chart". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 2. 11 January 1997. p. 17. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  27. "Billboard 200 Year End 1997". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  28. "ARIA End Of Year Singles 1997 | Top 100 Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  29. "Canadian album certifications – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon". Music Canada. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  30. "Japanese album certifications – カーディガンズ – ファースト・バンド・オン・ザ・ムーン" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1997年4月 on the drop-down menu
  31. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  32. "British album certifications – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  33. "American album certifications – The Cardigans – First Band On The Moon". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
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