Luxury Stranger

Luxury Stranger is an English post-punk and new wave band based in Nottingham, in the East Midlands. The project is built around founder member Simon York, and its sound draws on Depeche Mode, David Bowie, Joy Division, Echo & the Bunnymen and Pearl Jam. The band is described as moving between a controlled studio approach and a more forceful live presentation.

Formation and early releases

Luxury Stranger begins in July 2006 as a solo project for Simon York. He records more than 60 songs in different styles and with different instrumentation while developing the basis for the project’s sound. The debut album, Desolation, is recorded and performed entirely by York. The first live performance follows in September 2008 at Junktion 7 in Nottingham.

In December 2008, the band signs to Major Digital, an offshoot of Germany’s Major Records. That same month, it launches the A Funeral Party event series, a set of live music and DJ nights curated by members of the band.

Live activity in Europe and festival appearances

By mid-2009, Luxury Stranger is being noticed in the UK goth scene. In December 2009, the band plays in Germany with post-punk band Die Art. In March 2010, it returns to Germany and makes its first trip to the Netherlands, supporting Levinhurst, which includes Lol Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey, both founder members of The Cure. The band also appears at the Whitby Goth festival fringe event The Other Side with Nosferatu in April 2010, then plays in Hagen and at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig in May 2010. It later shares a Nottingham bill with O Children and performs a special show with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry in October 2010.

The band returns to Germany in 2011 for European dates with ChameleonsVox, the project formed by former members of The Chameleons. It also appears at the annual Official UK David Bowie Convention, including a later return visit in 2017.

Albums and singles

Luxury Stranger releases the single Precious for Evermore in September 2010, and its second album, Commitment and Discipline, follows at the end of that year. In November 2012, the band issues the single Nothing Holy/Ripple, which reaches number 4 in the European Alternative Music singles top 40 chart for week 51 of 2012. The Face EP appears in 2013.

During 2014, Simon York releases the instrumental EP Other Voices on Cold Insanity Music, followed by his self-released solo album Nothing's Ever Quite What You Thought It Would Be. He also performs acoustic solo shows, including support for the March Violets.

Work begins on Darkness Falls Upon The Light in 2015. The album is recorded at Random Recording Studios in Nottingham, with Guy Elderfield engineering and co-producing alongside York. Kevin Bales plays real drums on the record, and Robert Squirrell contributes piano and trumpet on the closing title track. The first single from the album, a new version of When The Lady Takes The Blame, appears in September 2016, and the album is released in April 2017.

Later work

In 2018, Simon York demos material for a planned album titled Take Me, I'm Yours!, and the songs are rehearsed and performed live during touring. After shows in early 2020, the pandemic stops further collaborative work. In 2021, York releases another solo album, Uh-huh..., through Earth-Two Records, while also writing material for a new Luxury Stranger album, Above and Below. This release is later scheduled for rehearsals, replacing Take Me, I'm Yours!. The band plays live shows in 2022, debuting much of the newer material, and recording begins in 2023.

York continues to write new material for Luxury Stranger, and the project is described as reaching toward a ninth album. Its recorded catalogue is credited to SDBsongs and related publishing names.

Recognition

Luxury Stranger is associated with dark alternative, goth and post-punk circles, and it receives support from magazines and reviewers who describe Simon York as a strong vocalist and the band as a notable act within the UK alternative scene.