I heard the news while in Singapore. Lux Interior, born Erick Purkhiser, lead singer of The Cramps, inventor of psycho-billy, shocking garage-punk rocker godhead...was dead at age 62. The reasoning was an existing heart condition, which is quite a vague description. This is really sad news....I especially feel bad for Poison Ivy (Kristy Wallace) who's been married to Lux for almost 40 years, the 2 of them forming the heart of the Cramps.
I first discovered The Cramps in 1992 while on a shopping spree in little-five points, Atlanta, searching for bootleg vhs footage of The Velvet Underground. After a blurry-bleached out copy-of-a-copy of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable movie by Paul Morrissey, the video suddenly skipped to a primitive music video of The Cramps' Garbage Man. I was captivated by their gothy, reverb-drenched sound and Lux's horror-film visage (as well as Poison Ivy's gold-lame leggings!). Fortunately, I saw in the paper that they were rolling through town in a few days! My sister and I went to the show and were pummuled by their morbidly sexy sound. He stood tall in a black leather body suit with high heels, sliding around the stage screaming into the microphone, while Poison Ivy stood stoic, looking hotter than ever, playing her hollow-body electric to the primitive beat.
He was a great frontman, a great record-collector and a lover of vintage kitch that will be impossible to duplicate.
I'll miss you Lux. See you around.
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