- 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

- Old Grey Whistle Test Archives: Tubeway Army 1979

If the ever wonderful Davy can write one word and get a gazillion comments, I reckon I can get away with a single sentence.

Also available for download...

- NME Interview: August, 1979

I've had this tucked away in the archives for quite a while now, and must confess to having no idea where I got it from.

This is quite a lengthy interview with NME journalist Paul Morley dated August 18th, 1979. Peel discusses the music scene of the time, which is quite relevant to the recent unearthing of the 'so-called' (Sorry Steve) 400 box.

I've PDFised it for your increased reading pleasure. Download the little gem here. If I got this from you, thank you very much.

- First Ruts Session, January 1979

As far as I know (Ken's book is tantalisingly close to being available in my uni library) The Ruts did 4 sessions, this offering being the first (and best?), featuring the classic lineup of Malcolm Owen (vocals), Paul Fox (guitar), John "Segs" Jennings (bass) and Dave Ruffy (drums) and produced by Tony Wilson. In their early days they were active in anti-racist causes, and their song 'Jah War' is about the Special Patrol Group's violence in Southall in 1979, in which Blair Peach was beaten to death and Clarence Baker was severely injured.

The band came together in '77 and are considered among the best of the second wave of British punk bands, inspired by the likes of the Pistols and the Clash. Not untypically, they were enthusiastically supported by a certain John Peel. For my part, I was too young to appreciate them fully at the time, being more preoccupied with episodes of 'Monkey' and 'the Water Margin', although 'Babylon's Burning' remains a personal favourite of mine. They were also admired by a wide array of rock legends, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page all being ardent admirers.

Malcolm Owen died from a heroin overdose in July, 1980 at the young age of 26. The band continued in a number of guises for a while, but not with the same success. Almost three decades later, in July, 2007, the band reformed for the first time in 27 years and played a special one off benefit gig for Paul Fox, following his diagnosis with cancer. Hardcore U.S. punk singer and long time Ruts fan, Henry Rollins (of Black Flag), stood in for Malcolm Owen. They were supported by Tom Robinson, The Damned, Misty in Roots, UK Subs among others. If anyone has a copy, please let me know!

Track Listing:

-Savage Circle
-Babylon's Burning
-Dope For Guns
-Black Man's Pinch
-Criminal Mind

Download:



File size:14mb

- First Killing Joke Session: 29th October, 1979

With no action from the much-loved Perfumed Garden blog since last August, I think I'll start posting some of the many sessions I have in the archive, starting with this beauty.

In late 1979, Killing Joke began the Malicious Damage record label with graphic artist Mike Coles as a way to press and sell their music; Island Records distributed the records, until Malicious Damage switched to E.G. Records in 1980. The songs on Killing Joke's early singles were proto punk rock, sometimes mixed with funk ("Nervous System") and dub/reggae ("Turn to Red") styles. Their 'Nervous System/Turn To Red' EP came to the attention of John Peel, who was keen to champion the band's sound and gave them extensive airplay. This session dates from this era, and was the first of five the band did for Peel


Track list in no particular order

-Psyche (which went on to be a three-time festive fifty track)
-Wardance
-Nuclear Boy
-Malicious Boogie


Line up

Jazz Coleman (Keyboards, Vocals)
Geordie Aka A. Lizzard (Guitar, Vocals)
Big Paul (Drums, Vocals)
Youth (Bass, Vocals)
Disco Whoop (Backing Vocals-Malicious Boogie only)






File size: 11 mb

Expect more of the Killing Joke sessions soon.

- 1979 Revisited

The 1979 Festive 50 Top 10 link has expired on that crap filesharing site I was using, so I've uploaded it to Divshare.