Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.08.2008, Side 14

14 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 11—2008
ARTICLE By hauKur s Magnússon — photo By gas
Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson (“Palli” or “Paul Oscar”) is
a true Icelandic icon if there ever was one. He has
been one of Iceland’s most revered singers since
releasing his solo début, Stuð, in 1993. Lauded as
disco’s Great White Hope for the nineties, Palli has
churned out hit albums and singles at a steady pace
ever since, reaching his greatest success yet with
the release of last year’s full-length Allt fyrir ástina
(“All for Love”). A creative epoch as well as listen-
ers’ favourite, the album earned him the Icelandic
Music Awards for “Singer of the Year,” “Net Voters’
Favourite” and “Listeners’ favourite”. Indeed, the hit
album has Palli in such great demand that one is
confronted with the following voice-mail message
when trying to reach him by phone:
“Hi, this is Palli. I am no longer accepting
bookings for 2008...”
Paul Oscar is also a well-known and high-
ly outspoken gay activist, and can be regularly
found commenting on gay and lesbian issues
in the popular media. As always, he will feature
quite prominently at this year’s Gay Pride bash,
and will perform at the Open Air Concert at Ar-
narhóll, Saturday, August 9, as well as the legend-
ary Gay Pride Dance at NASA that evening. The
Grapevine met up with Paul Oscar last week, and
got him to comment on some clubs (night- or oth-
erwise) that that have proved important for him as
a homosexual, performer and human being.
You can buy and download all of Paul Os-
car’s music on www.tonlist.is, and befriend him
on MySpace at www.myspace.com/palloskar
PáLL óSKAR ON... Q bAR
Q Bar on Ingólfsstræti is very popular among the
young gay crowd in Reykjavík. They have great
DJs, throw great parties, and the club itself man-
ages to dance on the thin line of being neither
too large nor small. If you like to dance and get
properly drunk, this is the place. If you’re lucky,
you will probably hook up with someone in there,
eager to show you around Reykjavík in more than
one sense. www.Qbar.is
PáLL óSKAR ON... SAMTöKIN 78
Samtökin ‘78, the National Organisation of Les-
bians and Gay Men in Iceland, was founded in
1978, at a time when prejudice and discrimination
forced many gays and lesbians to emigrate. The
success of the new organisation was nothing short
of remarkable. If you’re a gay tourist, this is the
first place to go, if only to check out the fabulous
library, which hosts the biggest collection of gay
literature in Scandinavia. www.Samtokin78.is
Páll Óskar is On
Iceland’s favourite flaming singing sensation shows us the ropes
páll ÓSkar brIngS out the beSt In people
PáLL óSKAR ON... 22
In the late eighties and early nineties, the club 22
on Laugavegur 22 was my hangout as I was com-
ing out. I look back at this place with great nostal-
gia, and refer to it as “The Gay 22”. It was like the
house itself embraced the gay crowd, we loved it
back, and I never experienced a bad evening in
there. I did my first DJ gigs there, in the very early
nineties. The dance floor was so small, it was the
perfect place to rehearse or test your DJ skills, so
I slowly mastered my technique in there. I also
did my very first performance in drag in there.
I mimed to a Mae West record, to a song called
“They call me sister Honkey Tonk”. Brought down
the house. This is not a gay bar anymore, and I
doubt it ever will be again. “This too shall pass”.

PáLL óSKAR ON... GAY PRIDE
The Reykjavík Gay Pride has grown from a small
get-together into a massive heart-warming celebra-
tion, with more than 60.000 people in attendance.
I think the message of self-respect has touched
a chord in the public. Anyone who has doubted
their own self-respect can relate to this. To me, it
is a long-term project. I think it’s important to chil-
dren and teenagers to witness the Gay Pride event
taking place. That’s why we have to do this every
year. In 25 years, it will be interesting to see the
real harvest of Gay Pride. I look forward to witness
the straight peoples’ attitude towards gay people
in the future, not to mention gay peoples’ attitude
towards themselves.

PáLL óSKAR ON... MSC ICELAND
The MSC Club is a private club on Saturdays for
men only, where you have to ring a doorbell to
get in. If the club is open, there is candlelight lit
at the front door. The doorkeeper will let you in
if you follow the dress code. It is OK to wear tight
jeans, workers shirt and boots, not tight jeans
and sneakers for example. This is not a suit and
tie club. What waits for you inside is the cream of
Icelandic gay men, lovingly friendly and relaxed
atmosphere. There is enough space for 30 to 40
men, three chairs and one cage. I love this club.
If I’m not DJ-ing next Saturday night, you’ll prob-
ably find me there. You can get all the information
about this club and the dress code at www.msc.
is.

PáLL óSKAR ON... NASA
NASA at Austurvöllur is the best, biggest and most
glamorous club venue in Iceland, hands down. It
hosts the Gay Pride party [DJ’d by Paul Oscar him-
self] on Saturday August 9, which will be the best
party of your gay life. Tourists visiting Nasa usu-
ally have their eyes popping out of their sockets.
They cannot believe that a fab club this size can
be hidden behind that rather small and crummy
entry. I’ll be singing my own pop songs, spinning
a lot of Madonna, Kylie and Eurovision favourites.
If you’re wearing Dolce & Gabbana, this is the club
to show it off. Expect confetti bombs and sing-a-
longs.
Reykjavík’s LBGT community is
rapidly readying the 2008 Gay-
Pride extravaganza. Pop star ex-
traordinaire Páll Óskar took time
out of his busy, busy schedule to
divulge some tricks for the sleeves
of our Gay Pride suit.
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