If there was to be a dictionary definition of the term “cult band”, one would be hard-pressed to argue against it simply being a picture of the magnificent Punishment of Luxury (Punilux for short).
Taking their name from a Giovani Segatini painting ‘The Punishment of Lust’, Punilux formed in Gateshead in 1976 and served as the musical accompaniment to various local fringe theatre groups. They emerged from the art scene in 1978 with the release of their debut single, ‘Puppet Life’, which, to this day, remains a firm favourite among fans.
Blurring the lines between art-rock and punk, Punilux’s sound would both perplex and enchant the record-buying public in equal measure, in many ways laying the blueprint for the post-punk scene that came to dominate the 1980s.
Predictably, one person who did champion the band was John Peel who, in addition to regular airplay, also recorded a Peel session in August 1978, before the band signed to United Artists and released the centrepiece of their discography, the iconic ‘Laughing Academy’ in 1979. From the eccentric dancefloor groove of lead track ‘Puppet Life’ to the primal stomp of ‘Funk Me’, to the scathing anti-racist punk of ‘All White Jack’, ‘Laughing Academy’ is an exercise in organised chaos at its best, bouncing across genres like a hyperactive pinball. The LP has since deservedly become an underground treasure, influencing artists as diverse as Franz Ferdinand and noise-rock kings, Brainbombs.
Indeed what should have been the height of their career during the post-punk boom was cut down when the band found themselves dropped from their label following a takeover by EMI, leaving their second LP ‘Gigantic Days’ unreleased until 1998. An EP, ‘7’, arrived in 1983 before the band ceased performing under the name Punilux in 1984.
Reuniting in 2007, the band has since made Middlesbrough a regular stop during their sporadic bursts of live activity, with their reputation as one of the great unsung heroes of the outsider rock movement well and truly cemented with fans across the world. It was for a 40th-anniversary gig for ‘Laughing Academy’ at the Westgarth Social Club in 2019 that the writer of the Canadian blog Ceremony Music travelled from Toronto to fulfil an ambition to finally see the band.
Punishment of Luxury returns to the Westgarth once again on Saturday 3rd December, with support coming from Rubella Ballet, Klammer, Cazimi, and Cherry and Peesh.
Tickets, priced at £15.00 in advance, are available from seetickets.com.
