The Skabards

The Skabards were a short-lived ska band from Longyearbyen, Svalbard, formed in the late 1960s by a group of miners and seasonal workers.

At the centre was Leroy “Icebox” Campbell, a Jamaican-born singer and guitarist from Kingston. After years moving between dock work, merchant ships and temporary contracts around the North Atlantic, Campbell arrived in Svalbard almost by accident, taking a job connected to the mining settlement.

Their only known release, Midnight Sun Ska, was recorded in mono and circulated locally before the group disappeared as work contracts ended and the members moved on.