1986-1992BjörkVocals, keyboards
Einar Örn BenediktssonVocals, trumpet
Thor EldonBass
Margrét "Magga" ÖrnólfsdóttirKeyboards
Sigtryggur BaldurssonDrums
The Sugarcubes, from Reykjavík, Iceland, are known for being the band that launched Björk, but in the late '80s and early '90s they were expected to be the next big thing by many in the music press. Writing for New Musical Express in 1992, journalist Stephen Dalton stated, "The Sugarcubes remain the coolest band ever, onstage and off, with the most drop-dead wonderful voice in pop history." Such laudatory statements were common in the media during The Sugarcubes' run.
Einar Örn Benediktsson was a driving force in the band's irreverent style and wild public persona. Some fans and critics felt that his vocals and his deliberately difficult, sometimes-combative personality held the Sugarcubes back from the big time. In defending Benediktsson, journalist Andrew Mueller also summarized the stance of the critics: "Einar has been made the little hero of this piece partly because he's the band's most immediately willful personality (which, in The Sugarcubes' case, is saying something), but mostly because it's Einar that gives the band their skewiff energy, their jagged edge. Like Flavor Flav in Public Enemy, he's both provocateur and counterpoint, almost (on record and in concert), but never quite, as aggravating as he is essential. Einar's role needs defending. Without him, The Sugarcubes would just be a brilliant pop group fronted by one of the greatest singers alive. With him, they're treasure." (Melody Maker, February 1, 1992)
The band's first album,
Life's Too Good, was an unexpected hit in 1988. It cemented the Sugarcubes as the Iceland's biggest international breakout musical act. The song "
Birthday" was particularly successful around the world.
Their second album,
Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!, was a considered a letdown by fans and critics. Their third effort,
Stick Around for Joy, was much better received, producing their highest-selling single with "
Hit." This earned them a slot playing before 700,000 people when they opened for U2 during the United States portion of the Zoo TV tour.
The Sugarcubes' famous irreverence and silliness drew lots of attention but also stood in the way of them being a viable long-term band. Derek Birkett, head of the band's record label One Little Indian, explained that they were "f--king impossible to deal with. I love what they are doing, but they are the only band I've ever worked with for whom the band isn't the priority. That's why they all went off and got jobs."
The Sugarcubes irrational approach to the business side of the music industry may have led to Björk's decision to move on from the band. She told Simon Witter in a February 21, 1993 interview for Sunday Times Magazine: "In Iceland, The Sugarcubes are thought of as stubborn punks that refuse to grow up, and still believe that you can change things and do something new. We're the eccentrics in the corner. We're well-known and respected, but we're not popular. I'd like to achieve that position abroad. To get to do my little thing in the corner, and get enough money to make another album. That would be perfect."
Björk and Thor Eldon were married, but it appeared to be a marriage of convenience more than anything else. In a 1987 interview with Sounds, Björk stated, "It's a different thing to marry in Iceland. We are not married in a church. You get more rights if you're married. For me and Thor, it just took 10 minutes. And then we could get money from the state to buy contact lenses for him."
The Sugarcubes were unrelentingly sarcastic and elusive in their interviews. Despite having been the darlings of the UK press for a time, they revealed far less personal information than one might expect.
Some highlights of Benediktson's comic responses:
"The bathtubs are retaliating. Every bathtub, in every hotel room, in every city, is out to get me now. Sometimes they suck me in and won't let me escape. It is getting worrying." (Melody Maker, December 24, 1988)
"Of course, we have just had our daily dose of drugs, so we are quite calm now. When it starts wearing off we go completely crazy again. But the electric shocks are the worst thing." (New Musical Express, March 28, 1992)
"I think it would be interesting to be a guillotine." (Melody Maker, December 24, 1988)
A rumor went around that the Sugarcubes lived together in a big commune and shared everything, including free love. The band eventually dispelled this myth.
The band owned and operated a business called Bad Taste, Ltd., which had its fingers in art galleries, poetry books, records, radio, and publishing. Their motto was a Picasso quote: "Good taste is the enemy of creativity."
Bad Taste was formed in 1986, predating the Sugarcubes (though members had played in other acts such as KUKL, named after the Icelandic word for "one who practices witchcraft").
The Sugarcubes were often touted as pioneers or saviors of British independent music, but they considered themselves a distinctly Icelandic band separate from the British scene. "We don't see ourselves as part of the British independent scene," Örn said. "Same as we don't see us as part of the mainstream. We see us as very much removed from that."
