Reykjavík Grapevine - 06.12.2013, Qupperneq 16

Whether or not you’re aware of it, you’ve probably
heard Björgvin Halldórsson’s voice a couple of times
today if you’re in Iceland. You might even be listen-
ing to him as you read this. In the decades’ worth
of music that he’s released to critical acclaim, he is
still most prevalent on the radio this time of year.
So much so that he must be considered the father of
Christmas pop music in Iceland.
Feature | Interview
But he is so much more than just the
father of Christmas pop music. He’s
a phenomenon. His contemporaries
know the 62-year-old singer from
Hafnarfjörður as Iceland’s first pop
star. Never before had the nation idol-
ized somebody like it did Björgvin
in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. There
were even persistent rumours that
Björgvin-crazed teenagers attempted
to knock out one of their front teeth to
look like their idol, who had chipped
his tooth in a swimming pool accident
in his teens.
“I couldn’t get it fixed straight
away. The knock was so severe that
it cracked the bone that holds the
tooth,” Björgvin says when I enquire
about the validity of this story. “I obvi-
ously hated having a broken tooth, but
learnt to live with it when I saw Paul
McCartney sporting a chipped tooth
in the music video to “Hello Good-
bye.” Stories about those kids trying
to knock their teeth out circulated
fairly early on, but I never really got
any conclusive proof. Maybe it’s just
an urban myth, but isn’t there always
a touch of truth in those?”
For those born to the generation
who were allegedly going for the
chipped-tooth look in their youth,
Björgvin’s voice has been an inherent
part of growing up. He sent us to sleep
with his children’s records, he was the
voice of Stöð 2—Iceland’s “other” TV
station in the ‘90s—and the rest of his
music was everywhere.
Björgvin is the perpetual patriarch
of pop music. Björgvin is our Elvis.
He’s our Sinatra. He is our Legend.
Chipped Teeth And
Popphátíð
To wit, Björgvin’s Facebook page is
actually called “Björgvin Halldórsson
(Bo Hall) Icelandic Music Legend.” As
I hesitantly enter his studio, which is
above a shipping company in an in-
dustrial part of his hometown, I can’t
help but feel the title is fitting. His
beautiful high-end recording studio is
stacked with racks of vintage guitars
in their dozens and microphones that
would make any audio geek weak in
the knees. It also functions as a small
museum, homage to his career and
accomplishment. The walls are cov-
ered f loor to ceiling in gold records
and various awards, countless memo-
rabilia and pictures from his illustri-
ous and colourful career, intermixed
with massive posters featuring Dylan,
The Beatles, The Stones and other
greats. These are clearly the stomping
grounds of a legendary pop star.
It doesn’t actually require any sub-
jective observation to maintain that
he was Iceland’s first pop star, as he
was actually crowned “Pop Star” at
Popphátíð, a battle of the bands con-
test, in 1969. To a packed audience of
4,000 people in Laugardalshöll, his
band Ævintýri beat stiff competition
from the likes of Trúbrot and walked
away with the prize.
“We became famous overnight
and for the next couple of years and
we experienced something like Bea-
tlemania. We were once chased out of
the youth centre Tónabær and had a
crowd run after us down to Miklatún,
where we climbed the statue of Ein-
ar Ben and performed a few songs,”
Björgvin recalls.
“I never really intended to be-
come a musician but after the whole
Ævintýri era I’ve never really looked
back. I had sort of reached a point of
no return.”
A point of no return indeed. In ad-
dition to fronting Ævintýri, Björgvin
released his first solo record in 1969,
singing a version of “Walk Away Re-
nee,” which had previously been re-
corded by Left Banke and Four Tops
respectively. Legendary filmmaker
Hrafn Gunnlaugsson wrote the Ice-
landic lyrics to the song, called “Þó
líði ár og öld,” and to this day remains
one of the most beloved songs in Ice-
landic history.
From there he went on to play in
a series of bands: Brimkló, Change,
HLH Flokkurinn, Ðe Lónlí Blú Blú
Boys, Hljómar and more.
“Being in a band was always the
most fun,” he says, “but I realised
pretty early on that bands are too
volatile. There’s always somebody
just about to walk out. So I couldn’t
just rely on always being in a band. I
needed to do something on my own. I
guess I’m just built that way, I need to
16The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 18 — 2013
‘Tis The Season Of
Björgvin Halldórsson
The voice of generations
— Árni Hjörvar Árnason
Baldur Kristjáns
“'Bjössi á Mjólkurbíl-
num’? ‘Poppa Piccolino’!
It’s a sound we’ve grown
up with. Besides, the Ital-
ian language lends itself
so neatly to being copied
in Icelandic. They’ve got
the long rhythmic syl-
lables that Icelandic has.”
1967 1969 1970 1977 1979
Björgvin joins his first band, Bendix. Voted Iceland's 'popstar' at
the Popphátið competition.
Joins the Icelandic band Changes,
which signs with EMI in London.
Rejoins Brimkló, which goes on to release
five best-selling albums over the next few
years.
Joins comedy duo Halli and Laddi to form
American Graffiti-inspired '50s rock band
HLH Flokkurinn.