Biography

Formed by fusing the energy of punk and inventive music with artistic values of musical theatre, the band Punishment of Luxury were born in Gateshead at the end of 1976. The acclaimed debut single ‘Puppet Life’ was their first on the leading independent label Small Wonder (1978) owned by the visionary Pete Stennett and his wife Mari. This prompted a deal with United Artists for the debut album ‘Laughing Academy’ (1979) and several singles including Brainbomb b/w Secrets and Jellyfish b/w Engine of Excess. The band name came from a postcard of a painting by Giovanni Segantini at the Walker Gallery Liverpool sent to Nev by Rob Meek. This is when Brian met Nev and this creative collision became the essential catalyst to produce such dramatic musical and memorable visual performances. In 2008 after a break of about 30 years, the original ‘Laughing Academy’ line up of, Nevilluxury (Guitar Vocals), Brian Bond (Vocals keyboards), Jimi Giro (Vocals Bass) and Steve Sekrit (Vocals Drums) all reunited started playing live again and recorded the album 5 (2011). The latest release in November 2019 was the Puppet Life ‘The Complete Recordings” a five cd box set on Cherry Red Records with all the music from 40 and more years including unreleased songs and special live recordings is captured on this unique collection. Investigate more news, stories and gig info on www.punishmentofluxury.com and on Facebook at punishmentofluxury@punilux