Ian MacKaye and Henry Rollins unearth lost 1977 The Cramps album
Ian MacKaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat) and Henry Rollins (Black Flag, Rollins Band) have announced the release of “Gravest Gravy”, a previously unreleased studio album by The Cramps recorded in October 1977. The record arrives on August 21, 2026 — nearly half a century after the tapes were first made.
The sessions took place at Ardent Studios in Memphis with producer Alex Chilton, who worked with the band’s original lineup: Lux Interior, Poison Ivy, Bryan Gregory and Nick Knox. Those recordings yielded far more material than ever reached the public. In the late 1980s, Lux and Ivy attempted to assemble the unreleased tracks into a proper release, commissioning artwork from photographer Stephanie Chernikowski and settling on the title “Gravest Gravy”, but the project was quietly abandoned for reasons that were never explained. In 2026, Larry Hardy, founder of In The Red Records, retrieved seven original quarter-inch reels from the band’s archive. The tapes were transferred in pristine condition.
To manage the band’s legacy going forward, a new entity called The Cramps Inc. has been formed, with Poison Ivy, Larry Hardy and film producer Jimmy Maslon at the helm. Rollins and MacKaye are operating through their RAM Prod. partnership, overseeing tape restoration, editing, mixing and mastering. The band’s original imprint Vengeance Records has been simultaneously revived. The primary beneficiary of all future releases is Poison Ivy, widow and creative partner of singer Lux Interior, who died in 2009.
The tracklist for “Gravest Gravy” includes early versions of “TV Set”, “Weekend On Mars”, “Can’t Hardly Stand It”, “The Natives Are Restless” and “Rocket In My Pocket”, alongside covers including “Hungry” featuring Alex Chilton on organ. The album is available to pre-order on multiple colored vinyl variants and CD at midheaven.com and will also stream on digital platforms.
