Tappi Tíkarrass is an
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
band which added elements of funk, rock and jazz to their music, marking a difference from other traditional bands at that time. The band is also considered the first serious music project of now renowned singer
Björk Guðmundsdóttir. The band was reformed in 2015 by the original members, without Björk.
Origins
In 1979, Björk was singing in a band called Exodus with guitarists Ásgeir Sæmundsson and Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, bassist
Skúli Sverrisson
Skúli Sverrisson (born 23 October 1966) is an Icelandic composer and bass guitarist.
He has worked with musicians Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey (guitarist), Derek Bailey, Lou Reed, Jon Hassell, David Sylvian, Arto Lindsay, and composers ...
, and drummer Oddur F. Sigurbjörnsson. In 1980 she left the band with Oddur and joined bassist Jakob Smári Magnússon and guitarist Eyjólfur Jóhannsson to form a band called Jam-80 because they were meant to play for just one gig, although they continued playing for a while.
They performed a mixture of pop and punk music and never released any official record, but recorded a cassette demo during a gig at Hólabrekkuskóli which contained the following tracks: two songs by
Janis Ian
Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...
: “Run too Fast, Fly too High” and “The Other Side of the Sun”; two songs by
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
: “Highball Shooter” and “Demon’s Eye”; other tracks were “13–16” by
Utangarðsmenn
Utangarðsmenn (literally Outsiders in Icelandic) was an Icelandic punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subcult ...
,
Jethro Tull's arrangement of
J.S. Bach's Bourrée
The bourrée (; ; also in England, borry or bore) is a dance of French origin and the words and music that accompany it. The bourrée resembles the gavotte in that it is in Duple and quadruple meter, double time and often has a dactyl (poetry), ...
, “Funky Town”, and two instrumental songs (untitled). This band came to an end when decided to create a punk band with more serious music. That is how Tappi Tíkarrass came into being by September 1981 with vocalist Eyþór Arnalds, who was replaced a few months later by Björk and a year later, Oddur was replaced in drums by Guðmundur Þór Gunnarsson.
The name Tappi Tíkarrass, which in Icelandic means “Cork the Bitch’s Ass” was given after Jakob’s father claimed that the band’s music “fitted like a cork in a bitch’s ass”. Tappi Tíkarrass combined elements of punk and pop music to create an exotic post punk with references to
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
and the first stage of
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
.
Björk has performed with the band dressed in porcelain doll attire.
Releases
They started to record in August 1982 and released an
EP titled ''
Bitið fast í vitið'' which went out through label Spor. This 12” vinyl was formed of 5 tracks performed by Björk, who replaced the original vocals by Eyþór. The only song in English was “London”.
They followed up in 1983 with the full-length ''
Miranda'', released by
Gramm.
After reforming without Björk, the group released a self-titled full-length in December 2017, on their own self-titled label.
Featuring and appearances on film
Tappi Tíkarrass appeared on ''
Rokk í Reykjavík'', a TV documentary directed by
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson. Tappi Tíkarrass was one of the 19 bands featured in the film and collaborated with two songs: “Hrollur” and “Dúkkulísur”, both of them sung by Björk and Eyþór with Oddur replacing Guðmundur in drums. Björk became the film's visual symbol and its cover star. The movie is considered classic in Iceland and corresponding period in Icelandic music is now known as the ‘Rokk í Reykjavík’-era.
In 1983 they appeared on ''
Nýtt Líf
''Nýtt Líf'' (, English: ''New Life'') is an Cinema of Iceland, Icelandic film directed by Þráinn Bertelsson and released in 1983. The film is a comedy shot in the Vestmannaeyjar, Westman Islands and stars Eggert Þorleifsson and Karl Ágú ...
'', a comedy directed by
Þráinn Bertelsson
Þráinn Bertelsson (born 30 November 1944) is an Icelandic film director, writer, politician, journalist and newspaper editor. He moved into politics during the 2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis, and was elected a member of the Althing i ...
. The film was shot in the
Westman Islands and Tappi Tíkarrass played on stage two songs “Sperglar” and “Kukl” (better known as “Seiður”), under the supervision of
Megas
Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic people, Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer.
Childhood and interest in music (1945-1970)
Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed ...
.
Despite the rising interest in this band as Björk developed into an international music artist, the discography of Tappi Tíkarrass has never been reissued and all the original releases are widely unavailable. The band has appeared only in two Icelandic compilations, ''Satt 3'' which was released in 1984 and featured two live B-sides: “Sperglar” and “Seiður”. Finally, by 1998 record label Spor released ''Nælur'', another compilation which contained the songs “Iltí Ební” and “London”, both of them taken from ''Bitið fast í vitið''.
Tappi Tíkarrass split up and the fate of its members
By July 1983 the band split up when Björk joined Purrkur Pillnikk’s singer
Einar Örn Benediktsson
Einar Örn Benediktsson (born 29 October 1962), often billed as Einar Örn, is an Icelandic popular music singer and trumpet player. He was a member of the Sugarcubes. He served as a member of the Reykjavík City Council between 2010 and 2014 ...
,
Þeyr’s guitarist
Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson
Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson (born 11 December 1954) is an Icelandic musician.
Music career
Early bands
Steinblóm (Stone Flowers) (1969) was his first group. It was a trio formed by Guðlaugur (electric and acoustic guitars), Haraldur Joha ...
and drummer
Sigtryggur Baldursson
Sigtryggur Baldursson (born 2 October 1962) is an Icelandic drummer and singer.
Sigtryggur was born in Norway to Icelandic parents. He was a founding member of the Sugarcubes and has been a longtime fixture on the Icelandic punk and alternat ...
, with Medúsa’s keyboardist
Einar Arnaldur Melax, and finally
Birgir Mogensen bassist from Spilafífl. Together they formed a
goth-oriented and more experimental band called
Kukl.
Jakob Magnússon and Guðmundur joined
Bubbi Morthens
260 px, Bubbi Morthens, Laugardalsvöllur, Iceland (2007)
Bubbi Morthens (full name ''Ásbjörn Kristinsson Morthens''; born 6 June 1956) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. Aside from a lengthy solo career, he has been a member of such Ice ...
to play in Das Kapital until 1985, then Jakob followed up with Bubbi & MX-21, and worked as a session player for several artists. In 2003 he released his first solo album, ''Bassajól''. After playing in Das Kapital, Guðmundur withdrew from the music scene.
After leaving the band, Eyþór Arnalds studied cello and continued with the band Todmobile and later joined singer Móa Julíusdóttir to form a band called Bong which achieved relative success in Iceland and England. He has released a few solo albums and then collaborated with Móa’s debut album ''Universal'' in 1998 and has worked in the Icelandic music industry as sound engineer. More recently, he got involved in politics, getting elected as mayor in the town of
Árborg
Sveitarfélag ið Árborg () is a municipality in southern Iceland. It is the most populous in the region, with a population of 11,565 in 2024. Founded in 1998, its largest town is Selfoss. Eyrarbakki and Stokkseyri are two communities on the ...
. Eyjólfur Jóhannsson continued playing with bands like Dá, The Wunderfoolzs, and in 2002 joined S.S.Sól. Oddur joined a
heavy metal band called Foringjarnir, and he became an electrician. More recently he followed up with another band called Santiago, releasing an album in 2002.
The last performance of Tappi Tíkarrass took place in 1987 when the band reunited to play at a night club called ''Safari''.
Performances
Tappi Tíkarrass had numerous gigs throughout Iceland when originally formed, and visited UK in spring 1983 (below are listed some of the known performances). After a 30-year hiatus, the band performed (without Björk) at Secret Solstice 2017 in Iceland, and then later the same year at Iceland Airwaves 2017.
Discography
EP:
*1982 – ''
Bitið fast í vitið'' (Spor)
Album:
*1983 – ''
Miranda'' (
Gramm)
*2017 – ''Tappi Tíkarrass'' (Tappi Tíkarrass)
Featuring:
*1982 – ''
Rokk í Reykjavík'' (Hugrenningur), soundtrack to the documentary directed by
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson.
*1984 – ''Satt 3'' (Satt), Icelandic compilation.
*1998 – ''Nælur'' (Spor), Icelandic compilation.
Films:
*1982 – ''
Rokk í Reykjavík'' (Íslenska kvikmyndasamsteypan), documentary directed by F. Þ. Friðriksson.
*1983 – ''
Nýtt Líf
''Nýtt Líf'' (, English: ''New Life'') is an Cinema of Iceland, Icelandic film directed by Þráinn Bertelsson and released in 1983. The film is a comedy shot in the Vestmannaeyjar, Westman Islands and stars Eggert Þorleifsson and Karl Ágú ...
'' (Nýtt Líf ehf.), film directed by
Þráinn Bertelsson
Þráinn Bertelsson (born 30 November 1944) is an Icelandic film director, writer, politician, journalist and newspaper editor. He moved into politics during the 2008–2012 Icelandic financial crisis, and was elected a member of the Althing i ...
.
*2003 – ''
Inside Björk'' (
One Little Indian), a retrospective documentary of singer Björk.
See also
*
Music of Iceland
Related bibliography
*''Rokksaga Íslands'', by Gestur Guðmundsson. Forlagið (1990).
*''Björk'', Colección Imágenes de Rock, N°82, by Jordi Bianciotto. Editorial La Máscara (1997).
*''Alternative Rock : Third Ear – The Essential Listening Companion'', by Dave Thimpson. Backbeat Books (2000).
*''Lobster or Fame'', by Ólafur Jóhann Engilbertsson. Bad Taste (2000).
References
External links
Björk official websitePage of Jakob Smári Magnússon at MySpace.comNote: This article features Icelandic characters. For more information see
Icelandic language
Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national languag ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tappi Tikarrass
Björk
Icelandic pop music groups
Icelandic punk rock groups
Musical groups from Reykjavík