Biography
What later materialized as Punk Lurex OK first took shape as a tribute act devoted to the storied Finnish punk unit Kollaa Kestää, a group also known under the name Porttikielto. In a surprising development, Kollaa Kestää’s founding guitarist Juha Helminen and drummer Jyrki Siukonen stepped into the tribute project, steering it toward an original strain of 1977-style Brit-punk. The outcome was Punk Lurex OK, which introduced itself with the self-released debut EP Tappajan Silmät/Paalimaja in 1994 and promptly secured a deal with Hiljaiset Levyt Records. Once a roster change stabilized around P. Kaukonen on vocals and guitar, A. Väntänen on guitar, J. Sakki on bass, and J. Huovinen on drums, the group issued a string of recordings across the remainder of the decade. Those titles comprise 1995’s Veljet, Siskot, 1996’s Hatut Ja Myssyt, 1999’s Prolex, and the 2000 collaboration TV Smith & Punk Lurex OK: The Future Used to Be Better.