Einar Örn Benediktsson
The punk-turned-pop trumpeter and co-founder of the Sugarcubes, who helped launch Iceland's quirky art-rock scene onto the world stage.
Born 1962 (age 64)·Icelandic musician·Birthday: October 29·Baby Boomers
Biography
Long before Iceland became a tourist destination, Einar Örn Benediktsson was exporting its strange and wonderful noise. Cutting his teeth in the Reykjavík punk scene of the early 1980s, he brought an anarchic, theatrical energy to everything he did. His most defining move was co-founding the Sugarcubes with Björk and others, a band that seemed to bottle the surreal landscape and creative ferment of their island home. As co-vocalist and trumpeter, Einar Örn provided the gritty, spoken-word counterpoint to Björk's ethereal vocals, creating a dynamic tension that captivated international audiences. After the band's dissolution, he remained a restless creative force, diving into electronic music, running a record label, and even serving on the Reykjavík city council, applying his subversive spirit to civic life. He is a permanent fixture in Iceland's cultural fabric, a connector and provocateur.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Einar was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Einar Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Einar's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential Icelandic band the Sugarcubes, whose international success in the late 1980s opened global doors for Icelandic music.
- Served as a member of the Reykjavík City Council from 2010 to 2014, representing the Best Party, a satirical political group.
- Founded and ran the Smekkleysa record label (Bad Taste), which released early work by the Sugarcubes and other seminal Icelandic artists.
- Pioneered the fusion of punk ethos with pop and electronic music in Iceland through various projects before and after the Sugarcubes.
Did You Know?
He studied media and communications at the Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster) in the early 1980s.
Before the Sugarcubes, he was in the influential Icelandic punk group Purrkur Pillnikk.
He provided the voice for the character of the Mayor in the English dub of the Icelandic children's film "The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela."
“The best thing about Reykjavík is that it's a small town with a big city complex.”
