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‘Disgusted’: Exponents frontman Jordan Luck escapes drink driving conviction

Author
Anna Leask, Katie Oliver, Kurt Bayer,
Publish Date
Mon, 31 Mar 2025, 11:15am

‘Disgusted’: Exponents frontman Jordan Luck escapes drink driving conviction

Author
Anna Leask, Katie Oliver, Kurt Bayer,
Publish Date
Mon, 31 Mar 2025, 11:15am

The lead singer of legendary New Zealand  has been granted a discharge without conviction after admitting a charge of drink driving.

 was stopped on Halswell Junction Rd in  on December 7 last year while above the legal drinking limit, the Herald can reveal.

He was recorded as having 740 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, above the 400 micrograms limit.

The  appeared at Christchurch  for the first time in January and was granted interim name suppression.

At his second court appearance, his lawyer told the court he would seek permanent suppression.

The Herald notified the court the application for secrecy would be opposed.

On March 7 Luck鈥檚 lawyer advised 鈥渉e no longer wishes to pursue the application鈥.

The interim order lapsed at midnight.

Luck appeared this morning before Community Magistrate Kaye Davies who granted the discharge without conviction. Davies accepted that a conviction would have caused extensive financial difficulties to Luck and his band and team, as well as significant problems crossing foreign borders.

He has also been disqualified from driving for three months and ordered to make a $500 donation to the Little River volunteer fire brigade.

A remorseful Luck said he was 鈥渄isgusted and horrified鈥 with himself and intends to do a defensive driving course.

The Exponents singer Jordan Luck in Christchurch District Court today. Photo / George HeardThe Exponents singer Jordan Luck in Christchurch District Court today. Photo / George Heard

Luck was the frontman for  band whose 80s and 90s hits became enduring national pop anthems.

They formed as the Dance Exponents in Timaru and Christchurch in the early 80s and had a run of hit singles early in that decade and then another in the early 90s.

While the band never achieved stadium-filling status, songs like Why Does Love Do This To Me? have been sports stadium singalongs at rugby and cricket matches for decades.

The  first assembled in Christchurch in 1981 after Timaruvians Luck and Jones headed north with early member Steve Cowan.

Jordan Luck was deeply remorseful. Photo / Michael CunninghamJordan Luck was deeply remorseful. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A residency at a Christchurch pub and Luck鈥檚 songwriting led them to be signed to Mushroom Records by Mike Chunn. Debut single Victoria was the first of many top-10 hits and led the band to become the biggest local band of the post-punk generation.

Eventually decamping to England, the band were unable to make a dent in the British music industry.

But Luck鈥檚 songwriting gave them a second wind upon their return home with hits like Who Loves Who the Most and Why Does Love Do This To Me?

Various members departed during the latter half of the 90s and the band officially called it a day in 1999, though reformed for a 30th reunion tour in 2011.

Luck has spoken in the past about his battles with alcohol, saying .

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