Artists » Egó » About artist
Egó
Egó
It is hard to talk about the band Egó without mentioning the band Utangarðsmenn (The Outsiders) at the same time. The two bands are tightly connected because at one time three members of Utangarðsmenn were also members of Egó. It might be said that these individuals became known while playing with Utangarðsmenn but they became popular when they played in Egó. Suffice it to say that Egós first album stayed in the top 10 for the best selling albums in Iceland, longer than all the albums of Utangarðsmenn put together.
When lead singer Bubbi Morthens left Utangarðsmenn in 1981, the other band members kept playing together under the name The Bodies. At the same time, Bubbis brother, Bergþór, and the brothers childhood friend, bass player Þorleifur Guðjónsson, were jamming in a basement in Reykjavík. Bubbi dropped by and together they formed the band Egó, the name being a reference to rumours that Bubbi had one hell of an ego. They hired drummer Jói Motorhead and guitar player Ragnar Sigurðsson and the band went on their first tour of the country. By the time the band recorded their debut album, Jói and Ragnar had left the band. They were replaced by former Utangarðsmenn and Bodies drummer Magnús Stefánsson. Keyboard player Tómas Tómasson was hired as a session musician and producer. Magnús was generally considered a great asset to the band and their playing got better. The album Breyttir Tímar (Changed Times) was released on April 1st 1982 and became one of the most popular albums in Icelandic music history. On April 16th the album went to number 2 on the Icelandic album chart and stayed in the top 10 for 19 straight weeks. They went on another tour of the country to promote the album. In september of the same year Þorleifur Guðjónsson was replaced by former Utangarðsmenn member Rúnar Erlingsson.
In November 1982 the album Í mynd (Image) was recorded and released. It was considered to be musically superior to the first album, the musical arrangements were more elaborate and the band was tighter. In May 1983 Egó toured Scandinavia. Just before they embarked the drummer left the band and Jökull Úlfsson took his place. Gunnar Rafnsson was hired to play keyboards. The tour was a success and the band was well received, they were even offered a recording contract but never signed it. In 1984 conflicts had arisen within the band and with their record label, but they were contractually obliged to release one more album. The last album, Egó, was finished in haste under the work title Bless (Goodbye). After the album was released the band broke up. Bubbi went abroad and the other members went in different directions.