The ’80s fade, the ’90s arrive

An English retelling from Kjell Moberg's manuscript.

Sound Of Confusion faded as the new decade began, and a short stay around Blitz sharpened my sense of what I wanted next. Back in Bergen, I designed Punishment Park around Blondie’s melodic edge, recruited Claes, Anja and Pez, and built a working band that recorded and began playing across western Norway.

Sound Of Confusion ended gradually in spring or summer 1990, as my appetite for recording and playing more was not shared equally inside the band. A short stay at a folk high school took me east, where Blitz connected me with punk musicians and records. I returned to Bergen determined to start again on my own terms. Punishment Park began as a concept with only me in it: a loud punk/new-wave band shaped by Blondie, with a female singer and an album as priorities.

The plan became practical when I met Claes Ludvigsen during the Bergen house occupation. Anja Samsonsen agreed to sing, and after a failed trial I persuaded Jan Terje “Pez” Pedersen to return to drums. Our first rehearsal was 23 December 1990; we soon moved into a rehearsal shelter at Bohus and built songs through intense rehearsals and letters to fanzines, bands and promoters abroad. Yngve L. Sætre produced the first album at Sigma. Recording and the first concerts at Hulen and elsewhere turned the plan into a working band.

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