1977–1986: Formation and early years The members of the Sugarcubes had formerly been in a variety of Icelandic bands. Björk Guðmundsdóttir had the longest career out of any of the members; she had
recorded an album when she was 11. In her late teens, she joined the Icelandic
post-punk band
Tappi Tíkarrass, who released two albums before splitting in 1983. Drummer Sigtryggur "Siggi" Baldursson was a member of
Þeyr, while Einar Örn Benediktsson, Bragi Ólafsson and Friðrik Erlingsson formed a punk band called Purrkur Pillnikk. By 1984, Björk, Einar Örn and Siggi had formed the group
Kukl with keyboardist Einar Melax, and released two albums on the independent British record label
Crass Records. The Sugarcubes formed on 8 June 1986 with Björk on vocals, Einar Örn on vocals, Björk's then-husband Þór (Thor) Eldon on guitar, Friðrik Erlingsson on guitar and Bragi Ólafsson on bass. On the same day, Björk gave birth to her and Þór Eldon's son, Sindri Eldon. The band first performed in July 1988 under the name "Þukl" at the N'Art Festival held at the Nordic Culture Centre in Reykjavik, Iceland. In August of that same year, the band first performed as Sykurmolarnir (Icelandic for Sugarcubes) at the Roxzý nightclub in Reykjavik, Iceland. Some have assumed that the band's name referred to
LSD use, but it is more likely in keeping with their intention to form a "cute" pop band, which was in stark contrast to the band members' previous music endeavours.
1987–1988: ''Life's Too Good'' In late 1987, the band signed to
One Little Indian in the UK and to
Elektra Records in the US. They released their debut album, ''
Life's Too Good'', in 1988 to critical acclaim in both the UK and the US. They first came to notice in the UK when
BBC radio DJ John Peel played "
Birthday", which was later voted by his listeners as 1 in the 1987
Festive Fifty, and No.23 in the All Time Chart. Their music has been described as
avant-pop, and was characterized by a psychedelic
post-punk sound sometimes reminiscent of
the B-52's and
Talking Heads, whimsical yet heartfelt lyrics, and the imploring, girlish voice of Björk, accompanied by Einar Örn's erratic vocal performances. In the last quarter of 1988, The Sugarcubes toured North America to positive reception. In September, the band played at
The Ritz in
New York, a concert attended by
David Bowie and
Iggy Pop.
1989–1990: Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!, the band's second album, was released in September 1989. The greater vocal contribution by Einar Örn on the record was criticized in many of the record's reviews, which were noticeably weaker than those for ''Life's Too Good''. The Sugarcubes disbanded in late December 1992. The members remain involved in the management of record label
Smekkleysa (Bad Taste Ltd). Björk embarked on a solo career, coming to prominence with albums such as
Debut (1993),
Post (1995), and
Homogenic (1997).
2006: Reunion On 17 November 2006 the band had a one-off reunion concert at
Laugardalshöll sport arena in
Reykjavík,
Iceland, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut single, "Birthday", with all profits going to the non-profit
Smekkleysa SM to promote Icelandic music. They were supported by fellow Icelandic groups
múm and . Despite this reunion, the group has expressed that it has no intention to play future shows or record new material. ==Style==