Thor's Hammer (band)
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Thor's Hammer, or Hljómar, was an
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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primarily active in the 1960s. Outside of Iceland, they are known among music collectors for their rare releases on
Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...
, sung in English and recorded in London for export. The most famous of these is the 1966 EP ''Umbarumbamba'', regarded as one of the rarest released records in the world and known to fetch prices into the thousands of dollars when a copy surfaces. Their style can be described as garage rock, fuzz rock, and freakbeat, with noticeable influences from both
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and
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.


History

Formed in Keflavik in 1963 under the name Hljómar (literally "''Chords''"), they soon became popular in Iceland at a time when local rock music was a rarity. By the mid-1960s they were recording in London on Parlophone Records for the international market, including the EP ''Umbarumbamba'', now a valuable collector's item. This record was recorded as a tie-in with a movie starring the band also entitled ''Umbarumbamba'', but the film was not a success.'' Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969''. Liner notes, p.85.
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: 2001.
From these sessions also came the singles "Once" and "If You Knew". The band even attempted a single entitled "Stay" in the United States on Columbia Records, which was produced by John Simon, known for his work with The Band and
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's album '' Cheap Thrills'' with Janis Joplin. In 1969 a number of Thor's Hammer members went on to form the prog-flavored band Trúbrot, which recorded four albums until itself splitting in 1973. Continual interest in the band among collectors of 1960s rock music lead to the 2001 Ace Records compilation album ''From Keflavik With Love'', which collects all of the band's English-language output, including the tracks from ''Umbarumbamba'', "Once", "If You Knew", and "Stay", as well as a number of their Icelandic tracks. Rúnar Júlíusson died on 5 December 2008 at the age of 63 after going into
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. The group's collected work is featured on the anthology, '' From Keflavík, With Love'', released in 2001 on Big Beat Records.


Band members

*
Rúnar Júlíusson Guðmundur Rúnar Júlíusson (13 April 1945 – 5 December 2008), alternate names: Rúnar Júlíusson or Rúni Júl, was an Icelandic pop singer, music producer and footballer from Keflavík. Football career Rúnar was a member of Keflavík ...
(13 April 1945 – 5 December 2008) – vocals, bass *Gunnar Þórðarson – guitar, vocals *Erlingur Björnsson (1966–1969) – guitar, vocals *Engilbert Jensen – vocals, drums *Shady Owens (1968–1969) – vocals *Gunnar Jökull Hákonarson (1968) – drums *
Björgvin Halldórsson Björgvin Helgi Halldórsson (Alternate names: Bó Halldórsson, Björgvin Halldórsson or Bó Hall) (born 16 April 1951) is an Icelandic pop singer from Hafnarfjörður. He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song ...
(1973–1974) – vocals *Birgir Hranfsson (1973–1974) – guitar *Pétur Östlund (1966) – drums


Discography

;Studio albums *1967: ''Hljómar'' *1968: ''Hljómar'' (a second self-titled album) *1974: ''74'' ;Compilation albums *''Fyrsti kossinn - Hljómar í 50 ár'' ;Singles and EPs *1965: ''Fyrsti Kossinn / Bláu Augun Þín'' *1965: ''Fjögur Ný Lög'' (EP) *1968: ''Hljómar'' (EP)


References


External links

* Allmusic entrybr>Hljomar biography and discography (in Icelandic)Thor's Hammer biography and discography (in Icelandic)
{{Authority control Icelandic rock music groups Keflavík