Martin Aston

THE BLURB:

The first biography of the most famous Icelander on the planet.

    Of all the day’s female artists, Björk is a defining icon of the Nineties, and beyond – a bewitching, maverick presence, an extraordinary singer with gale-force energy with a widely imitated - if never matched - fashion sensibility,  The Icelandic artist has put her country on the map, her stamp on the international music scene, and her name on numerous awards – not for nothing has she been referred to as the successor to Madonna, though Björk’s advancements through musical fusion testifies to a less style-bound imagination at play.

In this first full-scale biography of Björk, Martin Aston traces her life, from birth in 1965 through a communal-style upbringing in Iceland’s capital Reykjavik to 11-year old child star status, teenage punk years and her part in pure-pop renegades The Sugarcubes before spinning off into solo orbit and initially relocating to London, where her 2m-selling albums Debut and Post won a fantastic reception.

     Help is on hand from family members, friends, band associates and the numerous collaborators she had sought out. Alongside interviews with Björk herself by the author, Björkgraphy proves how the conveniently narrow media perception of a naive, childlike spirit is only a fraction of the truth. A pragmatic Icelandic sensibility, a self-sufficient childhood, motherhood at 20 and a devout attempt to control her own destiny has produced a simultaneously restless spirit and down-to-earth individual who touts the positive politics of individualism, refuses to deny the child within, and enjoys life to the max.

   London-based writer Martin Aston conducted The Sugarcubes’ first UK interview in 1987, and has followed Björk’s trajectory ever since, with increasing fascination and admiration.