It was a college gig ~ Leeds, and I was giving the band time to settle before going back stage. At the entrance to the back stage area 2 kids were trying to pluck up the courage to go back and see the Cramps, but they were very nervous about that. Maybe the fact that Lux had taken a flying leap into the unknown, off the balcony, made them nervous. But hey the audience caught him, and Lux really was that cool.

My abiding memory of Lux, who has died way way too young at the age of 62, is of the most charming, affectionate and erudite man it has been my pleasure to have known in all my years of working in music. On stage he went as far as how far could go, often terrifying his friends in the audience with his audacity, whilst thrilling the thrill seeking crowd.

Like many others I heard so many records because of Lux and Ivy, and I was fortunate to work with them, releasing Cramps records in the U.K. and getting to visit them at home and spend hours being introduced to new old records I had never heard and that were invariably amazing.

Lux was a rock (‘n’ roll) star without a doubt, but also without the hubris, and without the, all too often, disengagement from reality that too many ‘Stars’ suffer. The Cramps dealt in reality, in many ways of their own creation, but also grounded in humanity, and a genuine need to communicate Cramps World. This was a complex place that evolved from a stew of films, exotic, noir and just plain “interesting”, and a taste for ‘out there’ records second to none.

The Cramps were a lexicon of all these elements, both lyrically and musically, and their understanding went way beyond the ken of most.

There were many who got the big picture beyond the glib notion of the ‘cartoon’, ‘cult’, ‘ retro’ band that they were too often portrayed as. The Cramps were the most complete contemporary artistic expression of Rock ‘n’ Roll that it was possible to create. They lived it at the same time as performing it in the most extreme way. They have been and will continue to be a massive influence, but there never has been and never will be another Cramps, no one else could be that glamorous.

Lux died 50 years and 1 day after Buddy Holly and his inspiration will keep the burning desire to rock ‘n’ roll alive in the hearts, minds and sexuality of generations to come. Screw this ‘day that the music died’ malarkey.

During the ‘Date With Elvis’ tour, they played 3 nights at the Hammersmith Palais. Lux asked me to film the 2nd night with his stereoscopic video camera. Lux only dealt in 3D photography. But that is a whole other story. The last night, I was standing at the back of the room when all the ‘haircuts and elbows’ were freaking out down the front. Lux left the stage and ploughed through the audience, which encrusted around him, until he was dragging a tail of demented punters behind him. The crowd parted in front of me as this remarkable chain of humanity came through. Lux looked at me and said in the most nonchalant way possible ‘Hi Rog’, wheeled round to the left and dragged his herd back towards the stage ~ the epitome of cool.

Lux Interior was no cartoon, he was as real as they come, and with no fear. His death for me and many others round the World creates a palpable absence, but there’s a reverberation that will echo way into the future.

My heart goes out to Ivy who along with Lux produced the definitive rock ‘n’ roll art statement and performances of the last 30 years, without even a whiff of nostalgia.

So bye Lux, it was a pleasure and privilege to have worked with you and may you rest in peace, come back to haunt us or just keep wailin’ out there somewhere. .

Roger Armstrong
10th Feb 2009


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