Lux, Redux...or, File Under: Sacred Music

Let us now pay just a bit more tribute to the patent-leather ghoul with the insatiable appetite for speaker-humping, microphone-swallowing, dirty rockabilly beats and monster movies a-go-go, Mr. Lux Interior of The Cramps, who died in Glendale, California yesterday morning from an existing heart condition after one hell of a 36-year career. Our sincerest condolences to Ivy, their family and friends...

Here's a few more video clips I'd not posted yesterday, Lux's 1984 stint as a radio DJ immortalized to CD as Radio Cramps: The Purple Knif Show, and the band's Top Ten Films list, circa '81. Stay Sick...Long Live Lux.

"Shortenin' Bread", Live in Amsterdam (1990):



"Psychotic Reaction", Live in Amsterdam (1990):



"I Was a Teenage Werewolf", Urgh! A Music War outtake (1980):



"Can Your Pussy Do The Dog?" - Live on The Tube (1987):


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Radio Cramps: The Purple Knif Show
Hosted by Lux Interior
Hollywood, 1984

(click cover for zip)

So says Garagepunk.com:

"The Purple Knif Show is a highly sought-after, classic Hollywood radio show from July 1984 hosted by Lux Interior of The Cramps. The Purple Knif is in reference and in tribute to Cleveland’s horror TV show host from 1963-’66 and former DJ Ernie (Ghoulardi) Anderson who used to say: “Stay Sick!,” “Cool it with the boom-booms,” and “The whole world is a purple knif” (”knif” being the word “fink” spelled backwards, of course). What works so well on this wonderful DJ mix which runs the gamut from raw ’60s punk, garage, and rockabilly, to Polynesian jungle rhythms and jazz themes is that Lux has picked some great music and DJs in an appropriate, heavily reverbed DJ’s voice. This not only enhances the whole thing perfectly, but also helps to take us back to the era of the early rock’n'roll DJ personality. Lux did a wonderful job DJing this set of music which no doubt inspired The Cramps. He was certainly ahead of his time in regard to how a lot of what he played on radio back in 1984 went on to be compiled in our age of the compilation."

Tracklisting:

01. The One Way Streets - Jack The Ripper
02. Swamp Rats - Louie Louie
03. JJ Jackson & The Jackals - Omi-Liddy
04. The Trashmen - Bird '65
05. The Sparkles - Oh, Girls, Girls
06. Link Wray - The Fuzz (Part 1)
07. Link Wray - The Fuzz (Part 2)
08. Bill Carter & The Rovin' Gamblers - Baby Brother
09. Tides - Midnight Limbo
10. Earl Hagan & The Interns - New Intern's Watusi
11. Mad Mike & The Maniacs - The Hunch
12. Billy Strange - 007 Theme
13. Ted Weems & His Orchestra - Heartaches
14. Ray Anthony - Dragnet
15. Grady O'Neil & The Bellatones - Turkey Neck Stretch
16. The Enchanters - Cafe Bohemian
17. Sam Space & The Cadets - Take Me To Your Leader Cha Cha Cha
18. Archie Bleyer/ Vic Mizzy - Fernando's Hideaway/Addams Family Theme
19. Spark Plugs - Chicken
20. Frantics - The Whips
21. The Five Blobs - The Blob
22. Ward Darby & The Raves - Safari
23. Cozy Cole - Topsy Part II
24. The Deadly Ones - It's Monster Surfing Time
25. Lux Interior - Outro

TRT: 56:50

And finally, here's an great little Top Ten Favorite Films list, as provided by the band (at the time consisting of Lux, Poison Ivy, Nick Knox and Kid Congo) to British writer Paul Rambaldi in 1981:

Mother's Day (1981) (Kid/Ivy)
Ship Of Zombies (1972) (Lux)
Death Race 2000 (1975) (Nick)
The Cool And The Crazy (1958) (Ivy)
The Devil On Wheels (1947) (Lux)
Hot Rods To Hell (1967) (Kid)
Death In Small Doses (1957) (Nick)
Blood Feast (1963) (Lux)
Two Thousand Maniacs (1964) (Lux)
The Creeping Terror (1964) (Lux)

(Source: The Wild Wild World of The Cramps by Ian Johnston, Omnibus Press, 1990.)

Lux and Ivy, 1990 (Corbis Photo)

“We’re just people who remain ever-curious. We’re just attracted to whatever comes in handy. Again, like the Surrealists, anything you run across is actually beautiful; within a single city block, you find miraculous things. It’s a good planet—and good things can happen.”