Cramps Frontman Lux Interior Dies
February 04, 2009 07:04 PM ET
Cortney Harding, N.Y.
Cramps frontman Lux Interior passed away today (Feb. 4) at a Glendale, Calif., hospital due to a pre-existing heart condition, the band's publicist confirms to Billboard. He was 60.
The Cramps formed in 1976 and were part of the now legendary downtown New York punk scene. Their lineup shifted over the years but always included Lux and his wife, Poison Ivy. The band's rockabilly-infused punk has been credited as an influence by bands like the White Stripes, Pearl Jam and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Interior, whose real name was Erick Lee Purkhiser, was born Oct. 21, 1948, in Stow, Ohio. He met Ivy in 1972 and started the band shortly thereafter.
The Cramps released 14 albums over the course of their career. Their latest, 2004's "How To Make a Monster," sold 11,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Their best-selling album, 1984's "Bad Music for Bad People," has sold 95,000 copies.
Source: Billboard
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2 comments:
I was looking at a book on No Wave by Thurston Moore at the library yesterday and there was a picture of Lux in it, he looked 60 in 1978... and then I came home to the news... 60 years old...love 'em, rest in peace...
Man, I was turned on to The Cramps back in middle school from a friend's older brother. I wasn't even a teenage Goo Goo Muck yet. I've loved them ever since.
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