Aqua were a Dano-Norwegian pop combo originally known as Joyspeed. René Dif met Søren Rasted and Claus Norreen in late 1989 while DJing in Norway. In 1993, they decided to become the most poptastic group on the entire planet, and recruited Lene Grawford Nystrøm, whom René discovered working on a cruise ship. Aqua was born!

After an early flop single ("Itsy Bitsy Spider") as Joyspeed, the four band members changed their name, their sound and their manager and were signed to Universal in 1996.

"Roses Are Red" went platinum in Denmark, and was followed up by "My Oh My", a Danish number 1 in February 1997. At the tail end of that year, Aqua's third single "Barbie Girl" became a worldwide smash, hitting number 1 in the UK and making the Billboard Top 10, no mean feat for a Europop act. Mattel would later try and sue Aqua for their nods to crappy sexist kiddies toy Barbie, but the case was thrown out of court, the judge hilariously advising Mattel to "chill". Hurrah!

Late in 1997, bizarre rumours arose that Lene had died of a heroin overdose - it was said that the band had replaced her with a doppelganger. In the real world, the "Aquarium" album sold well, and Aqua's next single "Doctor Jones" also topped the charts in the UK and Australia (although the USA got "Lollipop (Candyman)" for some unfathomable reason and it flopped). Next single "Turn Back Time" (used in the film "Sliding Doors") was also a UK number 1, although killed them off in the States. Meanwhile René and Lene had embarked on a relationship of a deeply sexual nature, and by the end of the year were engaging in rumpo.

In 1999, after releasing a couple more singles to diminishing returns in the UK ("My Oh My" and "Good Morning Sunshine"), Aqua regrouped to record their second album "Aquarius". René's rapping was phased out, and tracks like "Cuba Libre" broadened their sound. Everyone needs a bit of Latino eventually.

Alas, "Aquarius" wasn't as big in the UK as "Aquarium" had been, lead single "Cartoon Heroes" only making number 7 and the album failing to penetrate the Top 20. Scandinavia got "Bumble Bees" and "We Belong To The Sea" as follow-up singles, though over here after "All Around the World" stiffed, a further single "Freaky Friday", was mooted but pulled for undisclosed reasons.

In 2001, Aqua appeared on the Eurovision Song Contest with Safri Duo, playing while everyone voted, and also recorded material for album number three, a rock direction being fingered. Of these tracks, "Couch Potato" and "Shakin' Stevens (Is A Superstar)" were performed live.

Alas, there was strife within the band - Lene and René had split up, and the fickle wench had started bedding Søren instead. In July 2001, Aqua announced an apparently amicable split and the world of pop wept like a leaky gash.

René released a solo record, "Let It All Out (Push It)" in Denmark in early 2003 but failure of a second single "The Uuh Uuh Song" persuaded him to cancel a planned album. In 2004 he became an actor and did some dull things in foreign.

In 2003 Lene released her solo album "Play With Me" and singles "It's Your Duty (To Shake That Booty)" and "Pretty Young Thing". The singles did well, but the album made a miserable #74 even in Norway. Boo! Lene also married Søren and they have two kids. Søren now releases music under the name Lazyboy Project, such as the single "Underwear Goes Inside The Pants". Claus remixes things.

In 2005, Aqua were reunited for a documentary, "Turn Back Time", in which they promised a Greatest Hits with new tracks - it's yet to appear however. A new album, "4-inch Subwoofer" has been rumoured but denied by the Fab Four.

There's a Japanese Best Of, which features all their singles except "Belong To The Sea", natch.

There also seems to be a non-album rarity, "Didn't I", which is hard to find.

www.renedif.com/

www.lazyboytv.com/

Lene's website now reverts back to Universal Music - telling!

René and Lene today - He can't "undress her everywhere" anymore.