Thursday 25 May 2017

Punishment Of Luxury- "Peel Session 22-08-1978"


I never started listening to the John Peel show until around the summer of '78 on our annual family 'holiday' in the bracing Skegness concentration camp(the same year that Skeg's famous pier and theatre was removed by a severe gale and storm surge;the place i saw my first pop group...Gerry and the Pacemakers....i jest not!?...and comedy legends like Norman Wisdom,Tommy Cooper, Ray Allen and Lord Charles)
The only record shop in 'Skeg' (not Skag) was a general electrical store called Herrick Watson. The summer before I had the pleasure of purchasing the first Clash Album which was displayed in the window; then the further pleasure of Uncle Ron returning from work and removing the Clash from his stereo and replacing it with some military Brass band playing the "Enigma Variations".An interesting and beautiful piece of music played on any other instrumentation than cornets, trumpets and tuba's by soldiers; driven along with military snare drums........even The Clash would have done a more sensitive interpretation.
That summer of '78 secured me a copy of "(Can't Stand) The Rezillo's", which got the same treatment. This time they did it to Holst's 'Planet Suite' !!!!!!
Uncle Ron was a miserable ex- air force ex-Navy arsehole who came from the same town as Punishment Of Luxury (Newcastle)......something dear to the clogged up arteries of Ronald's black heart, as he loved to punish anyone lower in rank to himself if they were caught enjoying any luxuries.
Television being banned, and having lost all my money in the amusement arcades, the only option was to disappear to bed to listen furtively to The John Peel Show, which, during that month of august featured the first session by Punilux. This sounded like outer-space to me, so used to the one chord shouty dirge's of '77 vintage punk. Were these mysterious musicians actually playing several chords in shifting time signatures with melodies, like the Progressive rock bands I grew up with.....but,without the messing about?....the answer was 'Yes', and opened my ears to the new intelligent bands that started to appear from that summer of 1978 onwards. There was at least four Geordies whom I liked that Geordie Nazi Uncle Ron couldn't censor.
(For those who are interested, Ron mellowed somewhat after his third heart attack, and even more after that as he died in about 2002-ish....not sure)

Tracklisting:

1 - Funk Me (6:20)
2 - Babalon (5:48)
3 - Let's Get Married/You're So Beautiful (6:54)

DOWNLOAD if you're a glutton for punishment HERE!

1 comment:

W. said...


I never got into Punilux (pah) now here's my chance.

Still loving your blog-writings. w