Dr. Alban

Although he never scored any major U.S. success, Dr. Alban rose to become one of the most familiar figures of the 1990s Euro-dance era through his dancehall-infused approach to the genre. Born into a middle-class Nigerian household with ten children, Alban moved to Stockholm, Sweden, at age 23 in order to pursue dental studies. To cover his tuition he began working as a DJ, quickly attracting attention by layering reggae vocals over the tracks he played. After completing his degree he briefly balanced dentistry with club work until producer Denniz Pop offered him a contract on the SweMix label. Taking the Dr. Alban stage name to reference his dental training, he issued his first album, Hello Afrika, in late 1990; both the title cut and “No Coke” went on to sell a million copies apiece across Europe in 1991. The following year his second album, One Love, delivered a substantial hit with its title track and added two more million-selling Euro-anthems—“It’s My Life” and “Sing Hallelujah”—solidifying his status among the leading lights of Euro-dance. His third release, Look Who’s Talking, arrived in 1994 and yielded another major European hit in the title song, yet later singles could not sustain that momentum and his popularity began to wane. That decline was underscored when 1997’s I Believe and 1999’s Prescription produced no comparable successes. Since then he has issued only one further album, Back to Basics, in 2007, along with occasional singles that have drawn little notice.