- Punishment of Luxury sessions, 1978-79

Formed in December, 1976 in the north-east of England, Punishment of Luxury, also known as Punilux, came from a background working in left-wing English fringe theatre groups. The band took their name from an 1891 painting by Giovanni Segantini in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. A four-man post-punk band, they first released a single, Puppet Life, in June 1978. Shortly after, the band recorded the first of two Peel sessions, followed by a second in 1979.

By 1979 they had signed to the major label United Artists and released the single Jellyfish/Engine Of Excess and the album Laughing Academy. 1980 brought the release of the single Secrets/Brain Bomb, which received both critical acclaim and also sold fairly well. A European tour followed and United Artists sent the band into the studio to record another album, a concept album to be called Gigantic Days. However, while the recording was still going on, United Artists were taken over by EMI, who dumped the band. Punishment Of Luxury released two further albums, Seven in 1983 and Feels Like Dancing Wartime in 1984. The album Gigantic Days was finally released, on CD, in 1998.

In 2007, they reunited and played a few songs for the basist Jimi Giro's 50th birthday party. A little more than a year later they landed a gig at a small pub in Gateshead, which was considered a success and was reviewed in The Guardian newspaper. The band are apparently planning more gigs in the future and possibly introducing more new material. They are currently enjoying gigging, on June 12th they played in Kilburn, North London.

30/08/1978 : TRACKLIST

-Funk Me
-Babalon
-Let's Get Married/You're So Beautiful

30/05/1979 : TRACKLIST

-Radar Bug/Metropolis
-British Baboon
-Secrets

Punishment Of Luxury on MySpace

- Countdown to Festive Season #1: 1978

'What were you doing in December, 1978' is a question I'm rarely asked these days. Watching 'The wizard of Oz', 'Jeux sans frontieres', 'The generation game' and 'Blankety blank' is probably about as accurate an answer as I can give right now. I think this was the year that I got a Kermit the frog for christmas, although that could well have been 1979. I've absolutley no doubt that I wasn't tuning in to John Peel's 1978 Festive 50. As a five year old, I just didn't see the appeal at the time. My tastes have changed somewhat, which is why I'm so glad that I am now able to listen to this feast of music.

Stuart Hall and Ostriches, circa 1978

While my new toys were occupying me - perhaps this was the year that I got my six million dollar man doll - JP was busy broadcasting what was quickly becoming an international institution. The Festive 50 for that year was broadcast between 26th December, 1978 and 1st January, 1979. For those of you interested in listening, you can do so by clicking here, here, here and here. This is how the UK sounded before Thatcher got her hands on it.

- 7th November, 1978

Thanks to Dr. Mango for bringing this one into the 21st centruy for us. You can get more information by clicking here.

Tracklisting:

-XTC: Red (LP - Go 2) Virgin
-Sham 69: Red London (single b-side – I Don't Wanna) Step Forward
-Joe King Carrasco and El Molino: Jalapeno con Big Red (LP - Joe King Carrasco & El Molino) Lisa Records
-The Mekons: Trevira Trousers (Peel session)
-Gary Moore: Back on the Streets (single) MCA Records
-Spizz Oil: 6000 Crazy (single) Rough Trade
-Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band: When I See Mommy I Feel Like A Mummy (LP - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller))
-Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band: Owed t'Alex (LP - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller))
-Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band: Candle Mambo (LP - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller))
-The Mekons: Rosanne (Peel session)
-Buzzcocks: Promises (single) United Artists
-John Cooper Clarke: Readers Wives (LP - Disguise in Love) CBS
-Status Quo: Accident Prone (LP - If You Can't Stand the Heat) Vertigo
-Peter and Paul Lewis: Ethiopian Land (single)
-Red Crayola: War Sucks (LP - The Parable of Arable Land)
-Ted Nugent: Smokescreen (LP - Weekend Warriors)
-Jimmy McCracklin: The Walk
-The Mekons: Like Spoons No More (Peel session)
-Bethnal: Nothing New (single) Vertigo
-Xdreamysts: The Right Way Home (single) Good Vibrations

File size: 54mb

- 1978 Shows

There seem to be shows coming left right and center these days, which is only a good thing, of course. It's getting hard even trying to find the time to download them all, never mind liten to them. Here's a selection of the latest 1978 offerings from the fabled 400 box:

1978-07-31 (Patrik Fitzgerald, Magazine)

1978-08-04 (Adam & The Ants, The Fall sessions)

1978-08-08 (All records show, Robin Tower album)

1978-08-15 (Tyla Gang session)

Thanks as ever to those doing the ripping.

- The Peel 400 at the JP Wiki

I'm glad to say that the John Peel Wiki that I started (and then proceeded to neglect) is now becoming a valuable resource for documenting Peel's radio shows. This is perhaps the best way to document the the so-called '400 Box' of approximately that number of cassettes featuring material from the John Peel show between 1978 and 1982, purchased jointly on eBay by the John Peel newsgroup in July 2008. The first show from this formidible collection is now available in digitised fromat for your listening consumption. Details of the wonderful 7th July, 1978 show are available here.