Click on the YouTube icon to listen to the playlist as you read along.

My brother, Aaron, had a big influence on the music I listened to growing up. He brought home a lot of different and less-known music during his university years that he collected from friends. I would explore his records and tapes every day after school. One band I discovered in his collection was the band, Punishment of Luxury. They were introduced to him by Stephen Scott, a high school friend who went on to become a DJ at some of Toronto’s best-known alternative dance clubs in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and then a music video, film, and TV director/producer. I taped the copy of the album, Laughing Academy, from my brother’s collection and listened to it repeatedly in my Walkman to and from school during my grade eight year. I also gave Aaron the mini-album, 7, as a birthday gift. These would be the only two releases issued by the band from Gateshead, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in England that, while taken up by a small fan base, would be overlooked by most music fans. Until I requested them on the radio show, The Lost Indie City, in recent years I had never heard them played anywhere else other than on my stereo.

Also known as ‘Punilux’, the band would straddle the line between novelty and serious punk band. Their penchant for costumes, strange and humourous lyrics and themes, and music that would alternate between whimsical turns and straight-ahead, meaty power-punk chords would invite fans and dismissive critics alike. Mojo magazine put Laughing Academy in their Hall of Shame as one of the one hundred worst albums of all time. My view was that of a band of unique perspective and talent whose distinct sound was a thrilling and different contribution to an explosive era of music. They provided some of the most intriguing and enjoyable songs of the post-punk period.

Punishment of Luxury by Giovanni Seganti, 1891

The band was born in 1976 from fringe theatre groups, which explained the flare for the dramatic in their sound and look. They were named after an 1891 painting (also known as “The Punishment of Lust”) by Giovanni Seganti. The band OMD also named their most recent album after the same painting. The original line-up was Brian Bond (Rapkin) on vocals, Neville Luxury (Atkinson) on guitar and vocals, Red Helmet (Malla Cabbala) also on guitar and vocals, Jimi Giro on bass, and ‘Liquid’ Les Dunham (Jeff Thwaite) on drums.

Punilux caught the attention of BBC DJ John Peel in 1978 with their debut single, “Puppet Life,” issued on dark-pop label, Small Wonder. They then signed with United Artists and also replaced Dunham with Mick Avery on drums. The band issued two more singles through the first half of 1979, “Secrets,” which was backed by the frenetically charged punk tune, “Brainbomb,” and “Engine of Excess,” which had the fun tune, “Jellyfish,” on the B-side. There was a final change on drums when Steve Sekrit came on and Red Helmet left for the recording and release in the fall of ’79 of their debut LP, Laughing Academy, with the title track issued as the single in early ’80 with “Baby Don’t Jump” as the B-side. Despite the consistent quality of their music none of the releases made a dent in the chart but Punilux did build a fan base over a couple tours and festival appearances. When UA was bought by EMI, Punilux was dropped.

The band continued, selling copies of their unreleased and unfinished concept album, Revolution by Numbers, at their shows but under the title, Gigantic Days. The line-up saw additional changes as guitarist Tim Magenta came on, soon replaced by Rob Aitch, and Brian Bond left the band. It took until 1983 before Punilux was signed by Red Rhino Records and released a single, “Hold Me (Never Mould Me),” followed by a mini-album, 7, in 1984. The band broke up not long after and Neville went on to do some solo work, issuing the LP, Feels Like Dancing Wartime. There was a brief reconvening in 1989 to issue the EP, Hi Alien.

In 1997, Revolution by Numbers was issued as a compilation that included their unreleased demos from 1980, and the 7 mini-LP and the single from the Hi Alien EP, 1989’s “Alien Contact.” In 1998, Gigantic Days was finally released as part of a compilation that also included Neville’s solo LP. Both were put out by Overground Records. Punilux wouldn’t come back together proper until 2007 to play a gig for Giro’s 50th birthday, which led to more shows and recordings, put out as 5-song CD in 2012 called 5. The band has played a few more shows sporadically over the years since.

Punishment of Luxury’s legacy revolves around the epic album, Laughing Academy. It was a fun and rewarding listen if you could get past the oddities throughout, not the least of which was the spoken intro to the album’s first track, “Puppet Life.” Full of hooks, led with guitar and mixed with psychedelic keyboards, the band blended progressive rock and punk. Neville and Brian brought drama, angst, fear, chaos, and passion to the songs with lyric and voice. “Puppet Life” and “All White Jack” were fantastic songs that fit comfortably on any punk or goth compilation of the period. To this day, the first side of Laughing Academy is one of my all-time favourite album sides.

The second mini-album was more rhythmically based, reeling you in with repeated rhythms and beats; though some of the silliness of the song’s content and dramatic elements made it hard to take as seriously as the first. Both albums were produced with a murky, thick feel in which the bottom-end seemed to drag down the high notes. So, if you think the bass and treble are set wrong on your stereo, it’s probably not you. It does make the music sound dated and like you’re listening to it through a wall, which can be either annoying or intriguing, much like everything else about Punilux.

For many years I believed I was one of the only people in the world that knew of this band, and through that felt a special, personal relationship to their music. The arrival of the internet revealed a broader awareness of their music, though mostly focused, naturally, in their native England. Punishment of Luxury may have been generally overlooked, but in my mind are certainly not forgotten.

(UPDATE: November 2019) In September my wife and I went to England to see Punishment of Luxury perform for the 40th anniversary celebration of Laughing Academy’s release. The show was close to their home in the town of Middlesbrough and we also caught the warm-up show the night before in Leeds. I was able to meet the entire band and chat with them at both shows, and they were very appreciative of our having come from Canada to see them play. The line-up now consists of Brian Bond, Neville Luxury, Jimi Giro, and Steve Sekrit – indeed, the original line-up that recorded Laughing Academy. They were also promoting the upcoming November release of Puppet Life – The Complete Recordings, a 5-cd Box Set of their entire library issued by Cherry Red Records. The shows were a blast, held in small venues for appreciative, long-time fans. The band sounded great, running through much of Laughing Academy along with assorted singles and recent recordings, including a brand-new song, “Do I Belong?” to which Brian commented was the first of several new recordings to come. It seems Punilux still has life and their eccentric spirit remains strong.

The Playlist - song \ album (year)

Puppet Life \ non-album single (1978)
Brainbomb \ B-side to “Secrets” (1979)
Jellyfish \ B-side to “Engine of Excess” (1979)
All White Jack \ Laughing Academy (1979)
The Message \ Laughing Academy (1979)
Obsession \ Laughing Academy (1979)
Laughing Academy \ Laughing Academy (1979)
Baby Don’t Jump \ B-side to “Laughing Academy” (1980)
Hold Me (Never Mould Me) \ non-album single (1983)
The Bird and the Elephant \ 7 (1984)
Revelations \ 7 (1984)
Golden Corsets \ 7 (1984)
Party Goblins \ Hi Alien EP (1989)

These are the inside gate-fold picture from Laughing Academy and the back cover of 7, showing some of the bizarre elements of their imagery and album artwork.