In the 1980s, my dad, Tony Sandy, was a band promoter in Iceland.

Sniglarnir (often called Sniglar) was a motorcycle club that sometimes worked as security for concerts at that time.

I was eight. My friend Rebekka and I were in our converted attic room when we heard the bikes arrive and watched the driveway fill up with motorcycles. Neighbours were watching from behind their net curtains.

We were laughing and said in Icelandic:
“Hvaða sniglar á hjólum eru að koma hingað núna?!”
(What snails on bikes are coming here now?)

This image is a context photo of Sniglarnir.

If anyone has photos of Sniglarnir from the 1980s, especially around gigs or venues, please DM me. I’m collecting material for a personal archive.

Íslenska 🇮🇸

Á níunda áratugnum var pabbi minn, Tony Sandy, tónleikahaldari á Íslandi.

Sniglarnir (oft kallaðir Sniglar) eru mótorhjólaklúbbur sem sinnti stundum öryggisgæslu á tónleikum á þeim tíma.

Ég var átta ára. Ég og vinkona mín Rebekka vorum uppi á risi þegar við heyrðum mótorhjólin koma og sáum innkeyrsluna fyllast af hjólum. Nágrannar horfðu út um netgardínurnar.

Við hlógum og sögðum:
”Hvaða sniglar á hjólum eru að koma hingað núna?!“

Þessi mynd er samhengismynd af Sniglunum.

Ef þú átt myndir af Sniglunum frá níunda áratugnum, sérstaklega í tengslum við tónleika eða tónleikastaði, endilega sendu mér skilaboð. Ég er að safna efni í persónulegt safn.

#sniglarnir #sniglar #iceland1980s #reykjavik #musichistory #oralhistory #archive #bitsandbobs

BITS + BOBS

Bits + Bobs is an ongoing archive-led project exploring fragments of my parents’ lives and work.

The project has grown out of loss — both of my parents passed away four months apart in 2012 — and a desire to return to that time, to understand it more fully, and to reconnect with my own sense of identity and roots.

One chapter focuses on the music scene in Iceland during the late 1980s, with other chapters emerging over time as the archive expands.

Bringing together photographs, ephemera, interviews, and other people’s memories alongside my own — including personal VHS recordings and recovered broadcast material — Bits + Bobs traces small moments, backstage stories, and cultural fragments. Some are complete, others still in progress — part recollection, part reconstruction.

The project is being developed with the intention of forming a wider public body of work, with potential outcomes including exhibition, moving image, and publication.