Pollapönk

Pollapönk are an Icelandic punk-inflected children's music band which represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with their song "No Prejudice".^[1]

History

Pollapönk introducing themselves during the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Pollapönk was founded in 2006 by singer Heidar Örn Kristjánsson and lead guitarist Haraldur Freyr Gíslason, both of the rock band Botnleðja. The pair, who were studying to work as teachers, wanted to create music which could be enjoyed by both children and their broader families.^[2] Their debut album, the self-titled Pollapönk, was created as the duo's graduation project from the Iceland University of Education.^[3] The following year, Haraldur's brother Arnar Þór Gíslason and Guðni Finnsson joined the band, playing drums and bass guitar, respectively.^[4] The quartet released a second album, entitled Meira Pollapönk ("More Pollapönk") in 2010. This was followed in 2011 by Aðeins Meira Pollapönk ("Just More Pollapönk").^[3]

In 2014, Pollapönk entered their song "Enga fordóma" in Söngvakeppnin 2014, the contest to select Iceland's entry in that year's Eurovision Song Contest, winning from 297 total entries.^[1] The song is a protest song on the evils of prejudice and bullying.^[5] This song was subsequently translated into English by American musician John Grant, under the title "No Prejudice", and was performed in this form for Eurovision.^[4] Pollapönk's entry reached the Grand Final, where it placed 15th among the 26 finalists.^[6]

Members

• Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson (born September 7th, 1974) is the blue polli (rascals), the lead singer of the band. Outside of the band, Heiðar was previously the singer in Botnleðja and currently works as a preschool teacher and is married and has two children and two step-children.
• Haraldur Freyr Gíslason (born December 14, 1974) is the red polli, the band's lead guitarist. Haraldur was previously the drummer in Botnleðja. His brother, Arnar, is Pollapönk's drummer. Outside of the band, Haraldur works as a preschool teacher and chairman of the Félag leikskólakennara (The Association of Teachers in Preschools), a branch of the Kennarasamband Íslands (The Icelandic Teachers' Union). He is married and has three children.
• Guðni Þórarinn Finnsson (born December 8th, 1970) is the yellow polli, the band's bass guitarist. Outside of the band, he is the bass guitarist for the bands Mugison and Ensími, with bandmate Arnar,^[7] and Dr. Spock, with Arnar and live member Óttarr Proppé.^[8] He is employed at Hljóðfærahúsið - Tónabúðin, a distributor of musical instruments. He is married and has three children.
• Arnar Þór Gíslason (born November 9, 1970) is the pink polli, Pollapönk's drummer, and Haraldur's brother. He is also the drummer in rock bands Ensími and Dr. Spock, alongside Guðni and Óttarr.^[7][8] When he first joined Pollapönk, Arnar performed as the green polli but, as the group found success, discovered this caused problems when recording green screen footage and transitioned to pink. He has spoken of being pleased at the normalising effect his color has had on boys wearing pink.^[4] Outside of the band, he is employed at Hljóðfærahúsið - Tónabúðin and married. He has two children.

In live performances, the band has been joined by:

• Snæbjörn Ragnarsson (born 25th of January, 1978), as the orange polli, a backup singer. Snæbjörn is a member of the heavy metal band, Skálmöld. He has stated that he was initially hesitant to join a band performing at Eurovision but realised his attitude displayed the same prejudice the band's entry railed against and agreed.
• Óttarr Proppé (born November 7, 1968), as the purple polli, a backup singer. Óttarr is a member of Althing (Icelandic Parliament) and the rock band, Dr. Spock.^[4]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Music videos

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pollapönk.

Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Artists 1980s ICY Halla Margrét Beathoven Daníel Ágúst 1990s Stjórnin Stefán & Eyfi Heart 2 Heart Inga Sigga Bo Halldórsson Anna Mjöll Paul Oscar 1998 Selma 2000s August & Telma Two Tricky 2002 Birgitta Jónsi Selma Silvia Night Eiríkur Hauksson Euroband Yohanna 2010s Hera Björk Sigurjón's Friends Greta Salóme & Jónsi Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson Pollapönk María Ólafsdóttir Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir
Songs 1980s "Gleðibankinn" "Hægt og hljótt" "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)" "Það sem enginn sér" 1990s "Eitt lag enn" "Draumur um Nínu" "Nei eða já" "Þá veistu svarið" "Nætur" "Núna" "Sjúbídú" "Minn hinsti dans" 1998 "All Out of Luck" 2000s "Tell Me!" "Angel" 2002 "Open Your Heart" "Heaven" "If I Had Your Love" "Congratulations" "Valentine Lost" "This Is My Life" "Is It True?" 2010s "Je ne sais quoi" "Coming Home" "Never Forget" "Ég á líf" "No Prejudice" "Unbroken" "Hear Them Calling"
(Note : Entries scored out are when Iceland did not compete)