Enjoy an incredible Christmas playlist made by The Cramps frontman Lux Interior
“I don’t know about art, but I know what I like.” – Lux Interior
Erick Lee Purkhiser, better known by the stage name Lux Interior, was the uncompromising singer of the now-iconic punk band The Cramps. As the above quote suggests, Lux Interior wasn’t concerned with doing or saying what was expected of him; instead, he lived his life exactly how he wanted to.
Having formed the band in 1972, Interior continued to front the band right up until he died in 2009 at the age of 62, delivering his chaotic, frenetic and downright provocative performances on a regular basis.
Lux Interior was never your tidy, front-of-house frontman. He was all rough edges, odd fascinations, and sweat-soaked energy. Growing up in Akron, Ohio, he threw himself into B-movie horror, scrappy garage rock, and long-lost surf records – all the weird, wonderful stuff that most people ignored. What came out on stage felt unfiltered, like he was channelling something half-mad and completely electric.
All this goes without saying, The Cramps were never ones to blend in. They were never some ironic throwback to the ‘50s (as some people tried to label them), and they weren’t doing it for laughs. It was off-kilter, and it was entirely theirs. They took the spirit of old-school rock ’n’ roll and twisted it into something borderline fucking feral. And front and centre of it all was Lux, half-naked and howling, flinging himself about like a man possessed.
While many pioneers of the punk movement may distance themselves from the very merry festive spirit of Christmas, Lux embraced it with a quite spectacular mixtape.
“It’s a little bit like asking a junkie how he’s been able to keep on dope all these years – it’s just so much fun,” Interior once told the LA Times about why he was able to keep performing his unique style well into middle age. “You pull into one town and people scream, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ And you go to a bar and have a great rock ‘n’ roll show and go to the next town and people scream, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.’ It’s hard to walk away from all that.”
That quote about junkies and the roar of “I love you” in every town says it all, really. Interior wasn’t chasing fame in the traditional sense. He was hunting energy, movement, and connection. Every gig was a chance to be outrageous and adored. And that Christmas bloody spirit? It might sound odd for a man known for crotch-grabbing and crawling across stage monitors, but it’s perfectly on-brand. Lux believed in sharing the good stuff…whether it was a mixtape full of festive sleaze or a night of deranged rockabilly madness.
While all of the on-stage nudity, sexually suggestive performances, and, at times, somewhat surreal live shows, it turns out Lux Interior had a soft spot for the festive period and would regularly curate alternative Christmas mixtapes for his friends – one of them being influential no wave figure Kristian Hoffman.
“Lux Interior used to make holiday cassettes for me, and so many of his friends,” Hoffman revealed in an old post on social media. “As odd as it seems, he was all about sharing. Listening to this one right now.”
Typically, Interior managed to include some more unusual choices in a playlist he titled: “Jeezus Fuck, It’s Christmas!!”.
Below, you can see the handwritten tracklist and, being the good people we are, a playlist with all the available songs on Spotify.
Enjoy.
