Bjork: The Dull Flame Of Desire

Born Björk Guðmundsdóttir on November 21, 1965 in Reykjavik, ICELAND, at the age of 11 this eccentric singer+songwriter had already released an album and in the late '80s and early '90s she was the lead singer of The Sugarcubes, the biggest group ever to emerge from Iceland.

Björk released "Debut" in July 1993, although this was far from her real debut as a singer and musician, she set the title to Debut to signify a start of something brand new; the album hit the top 3 in U.K. and reached #61 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 chart going platinum while "Human Behaviour" shot to #2 on The Modern Rock Tracks; the follow-up single, "Violently Happy", became a worldwide club hit and "Big Time Sensuality" was a huge crossover hit reaching #5 on The Modern Rock list and peaking at #1 on the Billboard's Hot Dance Club chart.

Second album, "Post", followed in June 1995 peaking at #2 on the British Sales chart and at #32 on The Billboard 200; it contained two U.K. top 10 hit singles: "It's Oh So Quiet" and "Hyper-ballad" as well as her third U.S. Modern Rock charting track, the Industrial-tinged "Army Of Me".

In late 1996, Björk released her third LP entitled, "Telegram"; a remix-album made up largely of songs from her second album, but Björk has re-recorded several of her vocals, handing the original backing tracks to a variety of producers and musicians; she also co-produced the previously unreleased song, "My Spine". The full-length disc, who's "I Miss You" hit the top spot of the Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play, reached #66 in the United States.

The Icelandic singer's third proper album, "Homogenic", recorded in the wake of her breakup with Jungle pioneer Goldie and released in September 1997 saw her music turn bleaker, angrier and more cathartic, continuing her ongoing evolution as an artist. It peaked at #28 on The Billboard 200 and climbed into the top 20 of the Canadian Albums chart.

In 2000, Björk once again got people's attention by making her cinematic debut as Selma, a Czech factory worker who is going blind, in Lars von Trier's "Dancer In The Dark"; premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to standing ovations and controversy, it was awarded the Palme d'Or, along with the Best Actress award for Björk. Her soundtrack album for the film, "Selmasongs", which featured a duet with Thom Yorke, reached #41 on The Billboard 200 chart.

August 2001 saw the release of "Vespertine"; the CD was another worldwide hit, #19 in the States, #7 in U.K. and #2 in Canada where two singles, "Hidden Place" and "Pagan Poetry", hovered around the top 20.

Following the release of "Greatest Hits", a 15-song CD compiled by fans in a unique website vote and "Family Tree", a special box-set featuring six CDs, five 3-inch discs and one 5-inch, of her own personal favorite songs, in August 2004 Björk emerged with an album of all-new-material, "Medúlla", which hit the top 10 in every European country; the disc also peaked at #6 on Top Canadian Albums chart and at #14 on The Billboard 200.

The Icelandic star's new single "Earth Intruders" is the first track to be lifted from "Volta", her sixth studio album which was released in May 2007.

click any track below to listen