[Boeing Guy]

Being a big fan of Joe Jackson, I got into him in the early 80's, I would say he is anything but punk.
Night and Day, the album which 'Steppin Out' was off was a nod and tribute to Cole Porter.
he is just finishing a tribute album to Duke Ellington, his work comprises Classical, Jazz, Pop and Rock sometimes combining them all.
I have seen him a few times live and he is one of the best live acts I have ever seen.

To say that Punk paved the way for him, well if having a record producer hear your tape, then signing you is down to the influence of punk so be it. but where does that leave The Beatles.
His label at the time was A&M a rather large label.

To be fair, I always thought the start of DIY etc started with the Teac A3440 4 track reel to reel and the Tascam home studio that used cassettes.

Maybe we should class Marillion as punk, they don't have a record label, instead rely on their fans to buy albums up front, so they can record them.