The Sugarcubes
The Sugarcubes formed in June 1986 in Iceland (which helps
explain their unconventional sense of melody). The members of
the group had been in a variety of Icelandic bands, and vocalist
Bjork Guðmundsdóttir had been singing and performing since
she was 11 years old, when she recorded a children's album.
In
her late teens she joined the Icelandic post-punk band Tappi
Tikarrass who released two albums before splitting in 1983.
Drummer Siggi Baldursson was a member of a band called Theyer,
whose most prominent international moment came in 1982 when they
recorded with Youth and Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke. At the same
time Theyer was popular in Iceland, Einar Benediktsson and Bragi
Olafsson formed a punk band called Purrkur Pillnikk, who released
records on Benediktsson's own label, Gramm.
By 1984, Bjork, Einar and Siggi had joined forces, forming
KUKL (it means 'witch' in Icelandic) with keyboardist
Einar Melax. KUKL was a noisy, artsy post-punk band that
released several singles on the independent British Crass record
label. In 1986, KUKL evolved into The Sugarcubes, adding Bjork's
then-husband Thor Jonson on guitar and Bragi Olafsson on bass.
In 1987 the band signed to One Little Indian in the UK (and
Elektra in the US). They released their debut album, Life's
Too Good, in 1988 to critical acclaim in both the UK and the
US. Birthday, the first single from the album, became an
indie hit in Britain and a college radio hit in America. Bjork received
specific praise which fuelled tensions between her and Einar
Benediktsson.
By the time the group recorded their second album, Thor had
divorced Bjork and married Magga Ornolfsdottir,
who became the group's keyboardist after Einar Mellax left. Bragi
Olaffson also divorced his wife - who happened to be the twin
sister of Siggi Baldursson's wife - and married Einar
Benediktsson, making their union the first openly gay marriage in
pop music.
The Sugarcubes' second album, Here Today, Tomorrow, Next
Week (1989), featured a greater vocal contribution by
Einar (a move which was criticised in many of the record's
reviews) which were noticeably weaker than those for Life's
Too Good. At the conclusion of a lengthy
international tour to promote the album, the band members
pursued their own individual interests.
Stick Around for Joy, the band's third album, was
released in 1992 and received better reviews than Life's Too
Good. But the album failed to yield a hit single, and shortly
after its release The Sugarcubes disbanded.
In 1993 Bjork launched a critically acclaimed and
commercially successful solo career.
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