Reykjavík Grapevine - 26.08.2011, Page 24

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2011
At the Grill Market the seasons are in control of the menu
with all the freshest ingredients available - from the sea,
heaths, lakes, rivers and farms. In our cooking methods we go
for the origin of the ingredient and use fire, smoke, wood and
charcoal to achieve deep, rich, earthy flavors that we balance
out with freshness. The result is an unexpected cuisine where
Icelandic tradition and modern times come together.
Mon – Wed: 11:30-14:00, 17:00-22:30
Thurs – Fri: 11:30-14:00, 17:00-23:30
Sat: 17:00 – 23:30 | Sun:17:00-22:30
LÆKJARGATA 2A | 571 7777 | GRILLMARKADURINN.IS
The Dreaded Eighties
Music | Dr. Gunni’s History Of Icelandic Rock / Part 28
In 1980, the world was divided into
two parts: disco and punk. In 1983,
three thunderous years later, punks
had become new-wavers, metal-
heads or ‘regular people’ and the
disco gang now got its’ kicks from
‘new romantics’ such as Duran Du-
ran and Spandau Ballet. When the
echoes from the ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’
documentary (premiered in 1982)
had faded out, the dreaded EIGHT-
IES slowly settled in.
Puffed hair. Mullets. Women in tuxedos
with pink bow ties. Men with lipstick on.
Rolled up sleeves. Glovelettes, shoulder
pads, gaiters. Lines painted on cheeks.
Pastel colours. Neon colours. Don Cano
coats. Jón Páll was the strongest man in
the world, Hófi was the most beautiful
woman in the world. You young idiots
might think all this is cute and cuddly in
retrospect—and might even believe that
these times were somewhat interesting
to live in—but believe me, it was not and
they were not.
ARE YOU WHAM OR DURAN DU-
RAN? OR MAYBE RIKSHAW?
As legend has it, people were either
on Wham's or Duran Duran's side (of
course, I couldn't care less with my
Fall and Birthday Party records sound-
tracking my isolated virgin life). No Ice-
landic band imitated Wham though, but
Duran Duran had, ehrm, a strong influ-
ence on this Icelandic band called Rik-
shaw. It was lead by the singer, a dedi-
cated guy called Richard Scobie. He
was Icelandic/American and had lived
in the USA for most of his youth. He
filled his bandmates' skulls with hopes
and dreams. "When we had rehearsed
eight songs we printed very expensive
colour posters, hired a stylist, painted
our faces like ladies and played at the
club Safarí," says Sigurður Gröndal, the
guitarist. Contrary to what some ex-
pected Safarí was packed and Rikshaw
was on a roll.
The first Rikshaw four track EP
came out in 1985 and included a hit:
‘Into The Burning Moon.’ The band
made a fancy video for the song, which
cost more than the record to produce.
Rikshaw became popular, but people
either loved the band or hated it. It
wasn't easy being a pop star in Reyk-
javík and Richard was under constant
surveillance: "Once I sat on the bus
and I overheard someone say that there
was the dude with the Duran Duran
hairdo. I got fed up, went into the next
barbershop and asked for a crop cut.
Two weeks later I saw a new photo of
Simon Le Bon where he had cut his hair
just like it. Of course everybody thought
I was ripping him off," Richard said in
1990, obviously still a bit annoyed with
life's injustices.
Iceland, of course, wasn't enough for
Rikshaw. The band ran after the "make
it abroad" carrot for several years. That
road was paved with broken promises
and crooked showbiz types. When Rik-
shaw performed in Iceland they were
usually doing so for the benefit of some
foreign big shots checking them out.
Finally Rikshaw, the album, came out
in 1987 on a tiny German label. It sank
without a trace and the band did too.
HERBERT’S GAMBLE PAYS OFF
Herbert Guðmundsson became a bone
fide pop star in 1985 with his mega
eighties hit "Can't Walk Away." Herbert
had toiled away in several rock bands in
the seventies but following his divorce
in 1980 he moved to Bolungarvík in the
West where he operated ball group
Kan. Kan's personnel laboured "like
men" under Herbert's iron restraint and
eventually became the Westfjords' main
band. Kan released their sole album in
1984, ‘Í ræktinni’ (“At The Gym”). It did
fine.
When Herbert finally got paid out
for the apartment he had owned with
his estranged wife, he put all the money
towards making his solo album—the
modestly titled ‘Dawn Of The Human
Revolution’—and to make a blow-dried,
wind machine infested video for ‘Can't
Walk Away.’ Some unadventurous plebs
thought Herbert's spending spree was
nuts, but it paid off as the album ulti-
mately shifted 10.000 copies. ‘Can't
Walk Away’ is still the numero uno Ice-
landic eighties song, and remains Her-
bert's golden goose.
ALL THE REST
Other arch Eighties groups include Pax
Vobis, which leaned towards the Japan
(Japan the band) school of slickness,
Sonus Futurae, a wonderful synth band
with one six-track EP out in 1982, Cosa
Nostra, which featured the future Lazy-
town-composer Máni Svavarsson, and
Módel, a hairy and make up-y "super-
group" featuring two Mezzoforte guys
on a leave from ‘the world of fusion’.
However, the eighties most con-
sistently popular Icelandic band was
Stuðmenn ("Funmen"). They had more
influence on Icelandic pop music than
any other band. More on that next time.
Dr. Gunni
Photos:
1. Herbert Guðmundsson in 1986
2. Rikshaw in 1985, with their fresh
puffy hairdos in the hall of mirrors.
3. Kan 's ‘At The Gym’ album naturally
had a gym-bimbo on the cover.
4. Sonus Futurae looking futuristic in
1982, no puffy hair.
By Dr. Gunni (Based on his book Eru ekki allir í stuði from 2001). We hear the
good doctor is working on an updated version of the book for 2011!